Anna and the King of Siam
Original U.S. Poster
Directed by	John Cromwell
Produced by	Louis D. Lighton
Starring	Irene Dunne Rex Harrison Linda Darnell
Music by	Bernard Herrmann
Distributed by	Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Release date(s)	June 20, 1946 (U.S. release)
Running time	128 min
Language	English
IMDb profile

Anna and the King of Siam is a 1944 book by Margaret Landon, a play and a 1946 movie directed by John Cromwell. Based on the diaries of Anna Leonowens, a British governess in the Royal Court of Siam (now modern Thailand) during the 1860s, the story mainly concerns the culture clash of the Imperialist Victorian values of the British Empire with the autocratic rule of Siam's King Mongkut. The successful film starred Rex Harrison as the king and Irene Dunne as Anna. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 401 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (505 × 755 pixel, file size: 120 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This image is of a film poster, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher of the film... John Philip Cromwell (11 September 1901 – 19 November 1943) was a submariner of the United States Navy. ... Irene Dunne in Love Affair (1939) Irene Dunne (December 20, 1898 - September 4, 1990), was born Irene Marie Dunn in Louisville, Kentucky. ... Sir Reginald Carey Rex Harrison (b. ... Linda Darnell Monetta Eloyse Darnell, better known as Linda Darnell (born October 16, 1923; died April 10, 1965), was a American film actress. ... Bernard Herrmann (June 29, 1911 – December 24, 1975) was an Academy Award-winning composer and is today generally regarded as one of the greatest of all film composers. ... Related articles FOX Television Network Fox Searchlight Pictures Fox Entertainment Group List of Hollywood movie studios List of movies Variant of current 20th Century Fox logo External links 20th Century Fox Movies official site Twentieth Century Fox is also the punning title of a song by The Doors on their... June 20 is the 171st day of the year (172nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 194 days remaining. ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... A chained book in the Bodleian Library at Oxford University A Chinese bamboo book, in a collection at the University of California, Riverside. ... Margaret Landon (September 7, 1903 - December 4, 1993) was an American writer who became famous for Anna and the King of Siam, her 1944 novel of the life of Anna Leonowens. ... Romeo and Juliet by Ford Madox Brown A play, written by a playwright, or dramatist, is a form of literature, almost always consisting of dialog between characters, and intended for performance rather than reading. ... See also: 1945 in film 1946 1947 in film 1940s in film years in film film // Events Top grossing films North America The Bells of St. ... Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. ... John Cromwell (December 23, 1887 – September 26, 1979) was an American actor, producer and director. ... Anna Leonowens (November, 1831 - January 19, 1915) is chiefly famous for being the British governess portrayed in the musical The King and I. The play, based on adaptations of her factually slipshod memoirs, provides a fictionalised look at her life in the royal court of Siam (present-day Thailand). ... Anthem: Phleng Chat Royal anthem: Phleng Sansoen Phra Barami Capital Bangkok (Krung Thep) Largest city Bangkok Official languages Thai Government Military junta under Constitutional Monarchy  - King HM The King Bhumibol Adulyadej  - Prime Minister General Surayud Chulanont  - President of the Council of National Security General Sonthi Boonyaratglin Formation    - Sukhothai kingdom 1238... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ... King Mongkut (Rama IV), (October 18, 1804 – October 1, 1868) was king of Siam from 1851 to 1868. ... Sir Reginald Carey Rex Harrison (b. ... Irene Dunne in Love Affair (1939) Irene Dunne (December 20, 1898 - September 4, 1990), was born Irene Marie Dunn in Louisville, Kentucky. ...

The story was adapted by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II into a Broadway musical, and subsequent Academy Award-winning film, entitled The King and I. For more on his work with his two partners, see Rodgers and Hart and Rodgers and Hammerstein. ... For work done with Richard Rodgers, see Rodgers and Hammerstein Oscar Hammerstein II (July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was a New-York born writer, producer, and (usually uncredited) director of musicals for almost forty years. ... Broadway theatre[1] is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... Musical theater (or theatre) is a form of theatre combining music, songs, dance, and spoken dialogue. ... Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony in the world. ... For other uses see The King and I The King and I is a 1956 musical film starring Yul Brenner and Deborah Kerr. ...

American Film Director Andy Tennant remade the film in 1999 as a non-musical, Anna and the King, starring Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat. Andy Tennant (born in 1955) is an American dancer, screenwriter, and film and television director. ... // April 17 - Star Wars fans begin lining up at movie theaters in Westwood and Hollywood to buy tickets for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. ... Anna and the King is a 1999 motion picture loosely based on the true story of Anna Leonowens, who was an English schoolteacher in Siam, now Thailand, in the 19th_century. ... Jodie Foster (born November 19, 1962) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress, director, and producer. ... Chow Yun-Fat (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ) (born May 18, 1955 on Lamma Island, Hong Kong, China) is a Hong Kong actor. ...

Summary of the film

Anna Owens (Irene Dunne) and her son Louis (Richard Lyon) arrive in Bangkok in 1862 to tutor the King's children. She believes she is sufficiently acquainted with Asian customs to know what is proper in Siam, having read a book summarizing same. However, when the Kralahome or Prime Minister (Lee J. Cobb) comes out to welcome her, he asks her a number of personal questions, and she does not know that this is common courtesy in Siam. Her letter from the King asking her to come to Siam includes a promise that she will have a house of her own away from the Palace, but the Kralahome says she will have to stay in the harem for now (although she'll have a private room there). Irene Dunne in Love Affair (1939) Irene Dunne (December 20, 1898 - September 4, 1990), was born Irene Marie Dunn in Louisville, Kentucky. ... Richard Lyon is the name of: Richard F. Lyon (1819–1894), a Confederate Georgia jurist Richard Francis Lyon (born 1952), a co-founder of Foveon Inc. ... Lee J. Cobb Lee J. Cobb (December 8, 1911 – February 11, 1976) was an American actor. ... Coming from the Arab tradition, the harîm حريم (compare haram) is the part of the household forbidden to male strangers. ...

Anna goes to the Kralahome's office the next day and apologizes for her misunderstanding, asking him to introduce her to the King so she can get the house business straightened out and start her school. He says it is New Year in Siam and the King is busy with many festivities and ceremonies, but he will work her into the schedule. When he does so, he tells her that it is polite to prostrate oneself before the King; Anna refuses, and says she will bow as she would to her own Queen. Darius I on the relief of the northern stairs to the Apadana in Persepolis. ...

Mongkut (Rex Harrison) challenges her with personal questions; she responds with nonsense answers. Liking her spirit, he introduces her to his many wives and his 67 children, asking that she instruct the wives in English as well as the kids. She is enchanted, but reminds him that he promised her a house. He refuses to remember that he promised such a thing and insists she live in the palace, where she will be more accessible in case students (or himself) have questions. When she insists, she is shown a sleazy house in the fishmarket, but rejects it and stays in the palace, starting her school there. Lady Thiang, the head wife (Gale Sondergaard) knows English and translates. Among other things, Anna teaches proverbs and songs about promises and home or houses. Soon even the royal secretary is singing "There's No Place Like Home" under his breath as he works. Sir Reginald Carey Rex Harrison (b. ... Gale Sondergaard (February 15, 1899–August 14, 1985) was an Academy Award-winning U.S. film actress. ...

Meanwhile the Kralahome comes in and tells Mongkut that Cambodia, once a part of Siam, has sold out to the French, who have established a protectorate. The King says his plan is to hold onto Siam, to save what he can. He finally cedes to Anna on the matter of the house; she likes it but plans to leave. However, the Kralahome tells her to stay, because Mongkut is a complex man who needs her influence. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Mongkut begins summoning Anna in the middle of the night to discuss how the Bible should be interpreted, and other scholarly matters. On the way back from one of these sessions, she discovers a chained slave with a baby. This is L'Ore, who belongs to Lady Tuptim (Linda Darnell), the new favorite. Tuptim is very young and very bitter about being brought to the Palace and shut up behind the walls, even though the King likes her. She refuses to let L'Ore go, even though L'Ore's husband has offered to pay for her. As he has done several times in the past, Crown Prince Chulalongkorn (Tito Renaldo) questions her about these matters, but she puts him off. Lady Thiang, the crown prince's mother, is concerned, but Anna gives her the brush-off too, saying they will talk "later, when she has time". Linda Darnell Monetta Eloyse Darnell, better known as Linda Darnell (born October 16, 1923; died April 10, 1965), was a American film actress. ...

Anna tells the King about L'Ore, reminding him that it's his own law that slaves must be freed if the money is offered. This law protects all. The King asks if Queen Victoria is above the law. Anna explains that she is not and neither is President Lincoln. She tells about the fight against slavery in America, and about the Civil War. He writes to Lincoln offering to send pairs of elephants that can be used as army transport (an actual incident); Lincoln writes back, thanking him for the offer but explaining that elephants wouldn't do well in American climates. Tuptim shows Anna a jeweled glass pomegranate the King gave her for freeing her slave, but then believes that the King listened to Anna about this, not to her. "If I am not first here, what is left for me?"

Mongkut expects English visitors and asks Anna to dress some of his prettiest wives in European style and to provide English-style decor and utensils to show that he is not a barbarian. Much is at stake - foreign papers have written very biased things about Siam, and Britain is thinking about establishing a protectorate. Anna suggests that the King invite consuls to come from other countries at the same time. The party is a great success, combining British, European and Siamese traditions and convincing the visitors that Siam is indeed a civilized nation with a very old and very proud history.

Lady Tuptim, who's been missing for some time, is found in a Buddhist temple, disguised as a young man. She is put on trial and explains; she couldn't stand being shut up, and so disguised herself and went to the monastery because she had nowhere else to go. She was accepted as a novice and studied with Phra Palat, her former fiance, who'd taken holy vows when Tuptim was presented to the king. No one believes that she was simply in disguise and that Phra Palat had no idea who she was.

Anna runs to the King and begs his help, but he's very insulted that Anna even knows about what happened -- it's a private matter as well as something that harms his dignity. Anna unwisely loses her temper and tells the king he has no heart and that he's a barbarian. Protesting her innocence and Phra Palat's, Tuptim is burned at the stake and he with her.

Anna decides that she has had enough and says goodbye to the children. The royal wives read her a letter pleading with her to stay. Lady Thiang is disappointed with Anna, explains her life story through the illustrations on her wallpaper, and says that the crown prince may not grow up to be a good king if Anna doesn't stay to educate him. At the same time, Anna's own son dies in a riding accident. The Kralahome comes to her and reads a proclamation from the King granting the child royal funeral honours. He explains that the King does this by way of apology for what happened with Tuptim. But when the King asks Anna to continue secretarial duties, she says "It's the children I want," and goes on with her school.

The British open a consulate in 1865, the French in 1867, and the USA in 1870. Many years pass, and the crown prince is now a young man. Anna is summoned to the bedside of the King, who is dying. The King says that Anna spoke the truth to him and was a good influence on the children. He expresses his gratitude and dies. The Kralahome asks Anna to stay and help the prince. When Chulalongkorn is crowned, his first act is to abolish the prostration, so that everyone can respect each other and work together.

Trivia

This film takes extreme liberties with the facts even as presented by the not always truthful Anna Leonowens.

• Anna was born in India, and was well acquainted with Asian custom. She would have known that personal questions are a matter of courtesy all through Asia as they show an interest in the person's health and well-being.

• Anna was engaged only to teach English. The children had other teachers for different subjects.

• The story of Lady Tuptim is out of Anna's book Romance of the Harem and was put together from bits of palace gossip. It is not factual. There is no precedent for an unfaithful wife to be burned at the stake, or beheaded, as in the 1999 version of this story. Furthermore, Mongkut had instituted a law stating that if a girl were unhappy with harem life, and if she had no children, she could return to her family with no disgrace. Twelve ladies did so.

• Some of the changes in the laws popularly attributed to Chulalongkorn were actually made by Mongkut, and a few were made by Mongkut's father.

• Mongkut really did write a letter to Washington offering elephants, but addressed the letter to President Buchanan during the last month of his term, along with some presents. (He actually wrote to Buchanan "or to whomsoever the people have elected anew as Chief ruler in place of President Buchanan".) The response, dated a year later, came from Lincoln. [1] Text of the actual letter

• One of the few details every film or theatrical portrayal of Mongkut has gotten right is his use of "etc., etc., etc."; he even used it in the announcement of his daughter's death.

• The issue of English-style utensils at the dinner party is extremely debatable. Some sources report that Mongkut had actually banned these items. Even if Mongkut had provided English utensils just for the party, he would have known to use a spoon for soup, because a Chinese spoon was traditionally used for soup in Siam at that time. [2]

• The Siamese theatricals presented at the dinner party are accompanied by music that is not Siamese, but Balinese. The characteristic sounds of a gamelan orchestra are unmistakable. Furthermore, the piece is in a style known as gong kebyar, which didn't exist in the 1860s.

• Anna's son did not die, but became a soldier in the Siamese army, then an extremely successful merchant and entrepreneur. It was the King's favorite daughter, Crown Princess Chandrmondol (or Fa-Ying, Heavenly Princess) who died at the age of eight years, during Anna's stay there. This is depicted in the 1999 film, albeit inaccurately; Anna states in her memoirs that she was summoned by Mongkut to say goodbye to the Fa-Ying, but got there too late.

• Anna wasn't in Siam when Mongkut died; she was home on leave. Chulalongkorn wrote to her thanking her for her service but he didn't invite her to return.

• Prince Chulalongkorn was only fifteen when Mongkut died, and his regent was Si Suriyawongse.

• The possession of anything related to Anna and the King of Siam or The King and I is illegal in Thailand.^[1]

1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Bali is an Indonesian island that shares in the gamelan and various other Indonesian musical styles. ... Gamelan - Indonesian Embassy in Canberra A gamelan is a kind of musical ensemble of Indonesian origin typically featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums, and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings, and vocalists may also be included. ... --84. ... Regent, from the Latin, a person selected to administer a state because the ruler is a minor or is not present or debilitated. ... Somdet Chao Phraya Borom Maha Si Suriyawongse (Chuang Bunnag, December 23, 1808 - January 19, 1883) was a Thai minister and regent. ...

References

1. ^ Thailand travel guide from Wikitravel

Wikitravel is a project to create an open content, complete, up-to-date, and reliable world-wide travel guide. ...

External links

• Anna and the King of Siam at the Internet Movie Database