Monaco Revue -- The celebrity and lifestyle magazine with purpose

Social Diary by Candace Durocher

Mourning the loss of a great talent

With so many high profile events this year to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Princess Grace's passing, it's rather surprising that the actual day she left this world should be so low key.

Strangely, the last time we checked, there was not even a memorial service planned at the church in which the principality's most famous consort lies, and it seems the only manner in which Monaco is marking this day (Sept 14, 2007) is by allowing its citizens free entry to the exhibition “The Grace Kelly Years”.

Also somewhat underplayed last week was what was said to be the first-ever public showing of a Grace Kelly movie in her adopted land after her transformation from Hollywood actress to European princess. That's perhaps understandable, given that such a ban on her films could have been ordered only by her husband, Prince Rainier III, who passed away two years ago.

“It's a wonderful occasion; it's very special,” said Prince Albert, Kelly's son and the current sovereign, as he and members of the Monaco government arrived for the screening of Dial M for Murder (Le Crime était presque parfait, in French).

The audience applauded lustily at the end of this 1953 Hitchcock thriller, Kelly's fourth movie. For those wondering why the more obvious choice To Catch A Thief, which was filmed in the French Riviera, was not screened, there came the sad revelation that with the advancement of technology and the deterioration of material from half a century ago, few of Kelly's movies are in a condition for showing in a modern theater.

Dial M for Murder was still a treat, very much so. Watching it, those under 40 years old who didn't experience the Grace Kelly/Princess Grace phenomenon could begin to appreciate the excitement she brought to the movie business. Yes, she was gorgeous, so much so you didn't want to take your eyes off her. Yes, she exuded innocence and charm, winning the audience's sympathy even as she played a woman who runs around with another man behind her husband's back. And yes, looking at her deliver a confident yet vulnerable performance, you felt a buzz that told you this is a young actress who could go places.

Well, as Destiny would have it, after just seven more films, where she went kept her away from any other movie set.

Perhaps they were too close to the situation to see it, but if Hitchcock and Princess Grace were to have any hope of success in convincing the prince and people of Monaco that their princess should resume her acting career, then Marnie was not the vehicle to put before them. After all, Grace Kelly had become the second highest representative of a Catholic state. Given the ethos of the 1960s, how compatible was that real-life role with her portraying a thief whose employer discovers her crimes and blackmails her into marrying him, rapes her on their honeymoon and then helps her remember her childhood in which she killed a man, whom her mother, a prostitute, had attacked when she thought the man was molesting her little girl?

Maybe a role as a universally respected or lovable character – Joan of Arc or Maria in The Sound of Music – may have won Monaco over. Maybe. We'll never know exactly what was said in this particular discussion between a husband and wife about the woman resuming work after the children were born. In her letter to “Hitch” after her plans to play Marnie were scuppered, Princess Grace added some intrigue by telling the director there were reasons behind the decision which she could not put on paper and needed to tell him in person.

The screening of Dial M for Murder highlighted what a pity it was that the actress and movie audiences were deprived of the opportunity to see her talent fully explored.

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Comments to date: 4. Page 1 of 1.

Penny, Baja Mexico	Posted at 1:58am on Sunday, January 27th, 2008
She has been a role model for so many of us. I just got through reading " The Bridesmaids " and feel a real kinship with her. As I do my charity work here in Mexico, I think of her. God Bless her and her Family that she loved so dearly. Thank you for this site !
Thiebar 10010, LA	Posted at 4:32pm on Friday, September 14th, 2007
I read elsewhere on the Internet there was a private service at the Palace chapel today.
Loretta, Livonia MI	Posted at 6:46am on Friday, September 14th, 2007
Princess Grace was the most beautiful woman that God created. Grace Rest in Serene Peace! I know you are an Angel... Please watch over us all.
Sam K, London	Posted at 2:49am on Friday, September 14th, 2007
Why didn't they show "Rear Window"? That was my favourite Hitchcock film. Grace Kelly, James Stewart and everyone in it surpassed themselves.

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