June 25th
The Prince and the Showgirl*
GB 1957. Warner Bros/Marilyn Monroe Productions. 117m.

The temporary ruler of a far Eastern European state, on a visit to London for the coronation of King George V, spends a night with an American music hall artiste, who is smarter than he gives her credit for.
Opulent but superficial and mostly stagy adaptation of Terence Rattigan's The Sleeping Prince, notable mainly for its two mismatched stars. Olivier hams it up, and also gives himself the added burden of having to direct Marilyn Monroe, who outshines him (in her only non-American film). Some interesting moments, but on the whole it's patchy, although certainly of curiosity value.

Written by: Terence Rattigan, from his play.
Producer: Laurence Olivier.
Directors: Laurence Olivier, Anthony Bushell.
Starring: Marilyn Monroe, Laurence Olivier, Sybil Thorndike, Jeremy Spenser, Richard Wattis, Esmond Knight, Jean Kent, Daphne Anderson, Maxine Audley.
Photography: Jack Cardiff.
Music: Richard Addinsell.

Preceded by:
My Friend Marjorie**
(GB 2006. 5m.; A retired music hall artiste thinks nostalgically back to her showbiz past, and also worries about the present.; w,d: Louise Wilde; voice of Marjorie Curtis; for Model Robot/UK Film Council/Film London.)