Marilyn Monroe’s 1956 trip to the UK to film The Prince and the Showgirl with Laurence Olivier was not a happy one, despite having husband Arthur MiIller with her. This much-anticipated and eventful visit saw her infuriate the press, charm royalty and thoroughly exasperate Laurence Olivier.
It was a rainy day in London on July 14, 1956 but the woman walking down the aeroplane steps made everyone feel a little bit sunnier. Marilyn Monroe, the blonde superstar, had just arrived in order to make a movie with Sir Laurence Olivier. The Sleeping Prince (later retitled The Prince and The Showgirl) would see Marilyn and her husband Arthur Miller living in England for more than four months, and both the public and press were very excited.
For weeks, newspapers had been whipping fans into a state of near hysteria, sharing every detail of the upcoming trip. By the time Marilyn finally arrived, everyone wanted to see her in the flesh, and fans stood outside the gates of Parkside House in Englefield Green, just waiting to catch a glimpse of her.
Marilyn had recently set up her own company, and The Sleeping Prince was to be the first film made under that umbrella. This, however, caused a problem with the British press, as while reporters wanted flirty, glamorous Marilyn, they were instead presented with a serious actress, who wanted to work rather than attend social events. This new Marilyn did not go down at all well with the Fleet Street posse.
A few days after her arrival, a group of students went to Parkside House in the middle of the night. Once there, they managed to jump over the walls, locate the area of Marilyn’s window and sing lullabies in the dark. Both the actress and her husband were woken by the noise, but Marilyn was told by security that under no circumstances must she
go out and meet the fans. When she also turned down invitations to visit the local pub, many journalists began calling Marilyn standoffish and one even criticised her ‘dowdy’ clothes.
Under scrutiny
While some of the scrutiny was brought on by Marilyn’s reluctance to mingle, other barbs had nothing to do with her at all. For instance, a woman turned up in Stratford-upon-Avon, dressed head-to-toe as Marilyn. Her arrival at the door of Shakespeare’s house brought crowds rushing to meet her, but all were left disappointed on realising it was not their favourite star after all.
Another woman claiming to be Marilyn booked appointments all over London, then did not turn up; causing various designers to complain bitterly. When it was discovered that the phantom client was actually a fake, newspapers vowed to find out who she was, but the woman was never found.
Away from the drama, Marilyn was getting ready to make the film. However, from the very beginning, she and Laurence Olivier clashed bitterly over almost everything. First of all, Marilyn hated rehearsals but Olivier (who was not only starring in the film, but directing too), demanded weeks of them.
Then, when the production finally did get underway, the actor made the fatal mistake of talking in what Marilyn thought of as a patronising tone. On one occasion he infuriated the actress when he told her to “be sexy” and then on another complained that he couldn’t see her in a particular part of the set.
“Oh well if you can’t see me, I will go home,” Marilyn replied, and stormed off.
The atmosphere was a minefield. Some members of the cast were afraid to approach Marilyn for fear of upsetting her, while others complained her acting method was vastly different from their own. Marilyn also had an entourage which included her acting teacher, her business partner and husband. Whenever Olivier yelled “Cut”, she would head straight for her people, and would not be seen again until next called. Gossip leaked that Marilyn was so private she chose to eat in her dressing room, rather than mingle in the commissary.
To make matters worse, the closed set proved to be very intriguing for gossip-hungry members of the press. They tried various ways to get inside, including pretending to be tourists, and even climbing the roof in order to snap pictures. The attention became so bad that Olivier finally sanctioned several photos to be released, though this did little to calm the rumours of disquiet.
While Marilyn may have had a rotten time on-set, her home life wasn’t so good either. Arthur Miller made the mistake of sharing his private – and apparently negative – thoughts in a notebook, which the actress found and read. This understandably led to tensions between them and Marilyn then had reason to believe that her husband was on Olivier’s side.
A surprise ally
She did, however, find one ally in Dame Sybil Thorndike, who had been cast as Olivier’s vague mother-in-law. When she caught the actor complaining about Marilyn on set, the grande dame chastised him heavily and said that out of the entire cast, Marilyn was the only one who really knew how to act in front of a camera.
In the middle of all this, a moment of light relief appeared when Marilyn met Queen Elizabeth II at a Royal Command Performance at the Empire Theatre in London. The two women chatted happily about life in England and Marilyn’s hobby of cycling in Windsor Park. Marilyn's dress of choice was rather controversial with a plunging neckline.
Other celebrities such as Brigitte Bardot were also in attendance, but it was Marilyn who stole the show, dressed in a revealing gown and gold, platform sandals. Also there was Princess Margaret, who spoke to Marilyn about Arthur Miller’s current play. The actress gave it a glowing review and the princess attended a performance a few nights later.
While Marilyn had been unable to win over Olivier, various other people were charmed by her warm spirit and gentle nature. One member of the crew was heard teaching her Cockney rhyming slang, while the young daughter of her housekeeper left such an impression that Marilyn joked she would take her back to the States to live.
A local lady who enjoyed gardening would look out for Marilyn’s car sweeping down the lane. The two women began waving to each other and it wasn’t long before the actress actively looked out for the friendly face. Later she sent her a signed photograph.
One person who spent a lot of time with Marilyn was a young man called Alan, who was employed to play piano at Parkside House. They would often take trips into London together and Marilyn would spend hours looking around Foyles bookshop; admiring Eros in Piccadilly, or gazing at paintings in the National Gallery. During a trip to Trafalgar Square, a pigeon messed up her hat and she laughingly washed it off in the fountain.
After months of hard work, the film was finished and it was time to go back to New York. Marilyn and Olivier faked a hug at London airport, and falsely told everyone how wonderful it had been to work together. However, she had the last laugh, as when the film premiered, the actor came across as wooden and stuck-up. Marilyn, however, was witty, carefree and extremely natural. In 1958 she was awarded the David Di Donatello award (an Italian Oscar) for her performance, and 60 years later, fans remain mesmerised by her.