User Reviews

I lived in Thailand for a couple of years and had visited many long summers before that, so this movie was of interest to me. I had read quite a bit about Anna Leonowens and her stint as teacher of King Mongkut's children, including Prince Chulalongkorn, who eventually became Thailand's greatest king. It is true that Anna was a teacher of the royal children, but the idea that she had any influence over the king is preposterous, and that is the conclusion of British historians. I should also point out that while the history of Anna is highly fictionalized, some of the history of Siam as represented here is somewhat accurate. Although many of the events pictured here are totally fictitious, at least this version of the story (as compared to the musical) seems somewhat more believable. There are some things I found a bit difficult to swallow -- like that the King would not know how to eat soup. The Thais have several wonderful soups, but perhaps they came to be after this period; I don't know. And, although I don't know what the habits were back then, Thais don't usually use chopsticks. The real problem here, from the point of view of the Thais, is that (particularly during the first half of the film), Anna is so condescending to the King. Think about it -- commoner versus King in any country.

Knowing that in advance, I was interested in seeing how realistic the film was in other matters, and to my surprise, I have to give it fairly high marks. While I am not fluent in Thai, I speak a little, and I easily recognized many phrases that were spoken relatively accurately. The representations of exterior and interior architecture are reasonably realistic, with an occasional exception. The representation of the exteriors of the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Keow (the royal temple) are quite good. Art work is rather authentic...for example as related to the Thai Ramakien.

Of course, King Mongkut would never have acted the way Rex Harrison acts here, although Mongkut was a rather unattractive man and something about Harrison's face does remind me of Mongkut. Early on there is a mention of "sin", a concept that is not really recognized in Thailand. It's too bad more of the Siamese in the film were not at least Asian.

I was particularly interested in Anna's reaction to the first house she was offered. Even today if she saw how many poor Thais live, she would be appalled at the conditions. Clearly, considering the era, she was expecting far too much.

In terms of acting, this film is extremely well done. Irene Dunne as Anna is superb. Yes, we know many of these things didn't happen, but Dunne makes them seem reasonable. Rex Harrison is excellent as the King. Again, we know the King wouldn't have behaved in those ways, but nevertheless, it's a very good performance, and I believe it was Harrison's first in an American film.

Two actors that usually don't impress me were quite good here. Lee J. Cobb seems an odd choice to play the King's closest adviser, but he does it very well (and his spoken Thai was well-coached). And, Gale Sondergaard, who all too often played villainous women, is quite good here as one of King Mongkut's wives (and the mother of Prince Chulalongkorn).

The latter portions of the film are interesting. One tragedy -- Anna's son dies. Which he did not in real life, and the company he founded can still be seen in Bangkok. And one last inaccuracy: King Mongkut died from malaria contracted when he went upcountry to view a total eclipse (astronomy was a passion); Prince Chulalongkorn also contracted malaria on the trip and nearly died himself...which is not at all depicted in the film. On the other hand, long after Anna left Siam, the real King Chulalongkorn traveled to Europe and really did visit Anna. So obviously there was a real teacher/student relationship of respect between the two.

The film is so well done that I'd be tempted to give it a rare 8 rating, but due to the historical inadequacies, I'll give it a 7.

I should mention the documentary about the real Anna Leonowens on the 20th Century Fox DVD of the film. It's too "pro" the story of Anna. A number of British historians have debunked much of Anna's story, but this documentary interviews her relatives...hardly unbiased. Other parts of it are realistic, particularly her fabrication of her early life. Take it with a grain of salt, but it's an interesting documentary.

Solid drama that was the genesis for The King and I is much darker in tone than the later musical. Rex Harrison and Irene Dunne do well by their characters and Lee J. Cobb is appropriately brusk as the king's right hand man. Gale Sondergaad is compassionate and regal as the number one wife. Linda Darnell perfectly haughty and full of youthful pride as the tragic Tuptim. Her fate is quite different than the one meet by Rita Moreno in the musical. This is the picture during which she was slightly burned during filming leading to her lifelong fear of fire, a sad irony since that was to be her end. A very good film but if you enter into viewing it expecting a similar experience to the Yul Brynner/Deborah Kerr picture you're in for quite a shock.

After another viewing of this well-produced 1946 Fox effort, what I'm most struck by is how closely Oscar Hammerstein II adhered to the Talbot Jennings-Sally Benson screenplay in turning the material into "The King and I." There are marked differences: The death of Louis (a 10-second horseback accident scene, not much is made of it), the darker character and fate of Tuptim, the reduction of Lun Tha to a cameo. But so much fine character writing I'd attributed to Hammerstein originates here: the king's "et cetera," the evolving relationships of Anna with the king and the Kralahome, whole swatches of dialogue. The growing warm feeling between Anna and the king stops short of romance, depriving us of that thrilling moment in "Shall We Dance?" when forbidden love rears its head. Yes, it's a pretty much all-white cast, and Harrison exudes less heat than Yul Brynner, and much of the cast isn't even made up to look particularly Asian. But if you can step past the abiding racist casting of the day, you'll find a penetrating character study and an eye-filling production, and a touchingly illustrated dilemma in its monarch's struggle to embrace both science and tradition. Among the cast, Gale Sondergaard's dignified Lady Thiang stands out, and Lee J. Cobb's Kralahome exudes authority while negotiating a difficult character arc. Complain about the Western casting and European-superiority attitudes all you want, this is a fine movie.

"Anna and the King of Siam" 1946 is the first big screen adaptation to borrow from the personal journals and public account of British school teacher, Anna Leonowens and her experiences in the far East. After the death of her beloved husband, Anna (Irene Dunne) departed England in 1862 with her young son in tow to become the educator of the King of Siam's many children. However, upon arrival, Anna discovers that King Mongkut (Rex Harrison) is very much a renaissance man trapped in heritage thinking. He refuses to acknowledge Anna's request for a house, expects that she will bow and grovel as his servant, and demands, above all else that the protocol of suppliant be strictly observed. The headstrong Anna, of course, disagrees.

And although their initial meeting is marred by a considerable clash of wills, eventually the two begin to recognize a genuine affection and respect for one another. He, in marvel of her forthright nature in the face of his wielding totalitarianism, realizes his way may not always be right. She, in absence of having a man to love, discovers a fallible side beneath the king's rather gruff façade. Together these two launch a formidable quest to bring western culture and change to the seemingly backward status of Siam. However, the revolution will neither be easy nor straight forward.

Director, John Cromwell does his very best to ensure an integrity in what are essentially cardboard caricatures of people who perhaps defy any three-dimensional understanding. In point of fact, Anna Leonowens probably overestimated her influence on the country and its monarch in her journals. Hence, the whole tale is thrown off balance by a very traditionalist and imperialist perspective that reduces Mongkut to parody from the start. As a Siamese king, Rex Harrison is hardly ideally cast – yet he manages to make much of the shortcoming, transforming what might otherwise have been a very dismal characterization into a challenging bit of reflection. Irene Dunne is an effervescent Anna – though in her, one sees perhaps too much of the screwball heiress a la Cary Grant in "The Awful Truth" and less of the stalwart schoolmarm that was, in fact, the real Anna Leonowens.

Fox's Studio Line transfer on "Anna and The King of Siam" is impressive, if flawed. Though dirt, scratches and grain are kept to a bare minimum, there are still occasions riddled throughout, where the gray scale falters. Blacks are sometimes black, sometimes deep gray. Whites can be clean, but most often appear slightly speckled. Contrast levels vary throughout. There's some speculation as to whether dupe negatives were used for certain scenes. There is a genuine loss of fine details in certain scenes. The audio is mono but nicely balanced. The only extras are an audio commentary and a Biography Special on the real Anna Leonowens.

Producer: Louis D. Lighton. Executive producer: Darryl F. Zanuck. Copyright 20 June 1946 by 20th Century Fox Film Corp. U.S. release date: August 1946. New York opening at the Radio City Music Hall: 20 June 1946. U.K. release: 30 September 1946. London opening at the New Gallery, and Tivoli, Strand: 11 August 1946. Australian release: 2 January 1947. 14 reels. 11,548 feet. 128 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: English governess meddles in state affairs in 19th century Siam.

NOTES: Winner of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' award for Best black-and-white Cinematography: Arthur Miller (defeating George Folsey's The Green Years).

Also winner of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' award for Best black-and-white Art Direction (defeating Kitty, and The Razor's Edge). Also nominated for Supporting Actress, Gale Sondergaard (Anne Baxter in The Razor's Edge), Adapted Screenplay (The Best Years Of Our Lives), and Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (The Best Years Of Our Lives).

Number three in The Film Daily annual Poll of U.S. film critics.

Cutting-room floor players: Sir C. Aubrey Smith (Sir John Lawford), Margaret Bannerman (Mrs Hillary).

Rex Harrison worked out his interpretation of the king in conjunction with his drama coach, Elsa Schreiber, much to the displeasure of director John Cromwell, who complained to studio head, Darryl F. Zanuck. When Harrison was supported by Zanuck, however, the director refused to even speak to Harrison on the set, concentrating all his attention on Irene Dunne.

COMMENT: A disappointingly boring piece of feminist propaganda, somewhat overshadowed by its musical remake, The King and I. Cromwell's direction is surprisingly dull and the film would benefit by some sharp cutting. Most of Lee J. Cobb's scenes could go for a start. He is miscast and looks most incongruous as a native head-of-state. Then we would slice into quite a few of Miss Dunne's scenes and eliminate some of her close-ups .

Rex Harrison's rounded portrait of the king is the film's chief asset, though he is not as dynamic as Yul Brynner. Gale Sondergaard has a few effective moments as the king's first wife and Linda Darnell is surprisingly powerful as the unstable Tuptim. Originally, Gene Tierney was assigned to this role but she rejected it as she felt "it was too small".

The rest of the cast is completely overshadowed by the script's and the director's relentless concentration on Miss Dunne. The film is lavishly produced (though the sets and costumes cry for color).

OTHER VIEWS: An exotic soap opera. Irene Dunne and Rex Harrison as the leads are a help but running gags like everyone singing "No Place Like Home" as part of Dunne's campaign for separate accommodation or Harrison's drinking soup from a plate don't really mesh with the remarkably bizarre incident where Linda Darnell as the defecting favorite is burned at the stake; and the child's death finally plunges the whole film into the lavish weepy bracket. Cromwell's direction is indecisive. "Anna and the King of Siam" used to be a must-see experience for Siamese traveling away from their homeland where it was banned. - B.P.

Based on the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, an English woman that went to Siam as a teacher to the royal family of the then King Mongkut, gave way to Margaret Landon's novel that served as the setting for the 1946 Twentieth Century production. It was 1862 when the action occurs. The kingdom of Siam is breaking from its splendor into what became the modern Thailand. It must have been a quite a cultural shock for an educated woman facing an exotic land she knew nothing about.

The original film was directed by John Cromwell who gave the material a lavish treatment. Talbot Jennings and Sally Benson adapted Ms. Landon's book into a film that even by today's standards can stand against the other versions of the novel. Of course, the Rogers and Hammerstein's musical "The King and I" was a glossy account of what had been achieved in a film with less. Who can forget Yul Brynner in the role? Comparisons do not take into account what was achieved by Mr. Cromwell.

Irene Dunne was always a reliable actress that gave excellent portrayals of whatever she was asked to play. It is a pleasure watching her in the role of the woman that had the resolute spirit to stand for what she believed, even if she had to speak her mind to a king. Rex Harrison's king, while not as strong, still shows an actor that knew how to convince us he was that strange individual, cruel, as well as generous. The combination of Ms. Dunne and Mr. Harrison paid off well.

The great Lee J. Cobb shows up in a supporting role. We had trouble placing him with the dark looks he was given for his part. Linda Darnell is Lady Tuptim, the girl that goes from being a favorite to being rejected by the king. Gale Sondergaard appears as the disgraced wife that only wants to have the crown prince learn from Anna.

The cinematography is by Arthur Miller who produced vivid images of a phony Siam appear real. Bernard Hermann's musical score works well in the picture. John Cromwell directed with style and got excellent results from the large cast. See the film for what it is and do not compare it with what came out later. This was the original!