This one gets broadcast a lot for some reason when greater classics do not. It must be some sort of economic thing.<br /><br />In general, Marilyn Monroe had nothing but her body to offer. Put her and James Dean in a grave together (maybe with Marlon Brando who seems incongruous in this company only because he's still alive). Monroe was famously difficult to direct. In this one, directed by Olivier himself, he said to her one day, "Is there some reason you have to be so [serious expletive deleted} late every day?" And she replied, "Oh, you have that word in England too." <br /><br />Nevertheless, this movie is a smashing success. I'm a sucker for foreign language scenes. Sybil Thorndike's rapid-fire French is perfect not in accent but in delivery. In fact her whole performance is so unexpectedly cogent to the plot and so subtle that every time I see it I have to listen carefully for something I didn't pick up before. The boy playing the young uncrowned king rips through a bit of German in a phone conversation and unfortunately mars it with a glaring mispronunciation near the end. A pity that Olivier, a fiend about detail, didn't notice it.<br /><br />Another subtlety that is often overlooked is Northbrook's initial apprehension at accepting the job of being the liaison with this royal family, at the same time he is obviously, explicitly, attracted to the regent in a way you would not expect to find in a movie of this era.<br /><br />A splendid movie in every detail and in every respect of movie making. A masterpiece.