The King and I (1956)

Movie
German title	The king and me
Original title	The King and I
Country of production	United States
original language	English
Publishing year	1956
length	133 minutes
Age rating	FSK 12
Rod
Director	Walter Lang
script	Ernest Lehman
production	Charles Brackett
music	Richard Rodgers , ; Alfred Newman , ; Ken Darby
camera	Leon Shamroy
cut	Robert L. Simpson
occupation
	Deborah Kerr : Anna Leonowens; Yul Brynner : The King; Rita Moreno : Tuptim; Martin Benson : Kralahome; Terry Saunders : Lady Thiang; Rex Thompson : Louis Leonowens; Carlos Rivas : Lun Tha; Patrick Adiarte : Crown Prince Chulalongkorn; Alan Mowbray : British envoy;

The King and I is the title of a US CinemaScope film by 20th Century Fox in color by DeLuxe from 1956. The musical of the same name by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II " The King and I " was used as a template .

action

Siam 1862. The British widow Anna Leonowens arrives with her young son Louis in the port of Bangkok to teach the children of the King of Siam as a tutor. She is received by the unfriendly Prime Minister Kralahome, who treats her from above.

Anna is said to live with her son in the palace, although she was guaranteed a house of her own. She protests against it and immediately wants to see the king, who is holding an audience. She overhears Lun Tha, an envoy from Burma, giving a girl as a present. It's called Tuptim and it's in love with Lun Tha. The audience is then declared over, which does not prevent Anna from addressing the king again, contrary to the protocol. He overlooks her faux pas and explains her tasks. He introduces his favorite women and children. He ignores your question about a house.

Anna teaches the women and children, teaching them songs and stories to remind the king of the unfulfilled promise about a house. And then the king discovers the book “Uncle Tom's Hut” at Tuptim. The Prime Minister warns Anna not to further undermine the king's authority.

But then Anna's hour comes. It is learned that Great Britain considers the king to be a barbarian and wants to make Siam a protectorate. After some initial hesitation, the king turned to Anna for advice. She suggests inviting the British envoy to prove otherwise. She teaches everyone at court European customs, and Tuptim performs a dance performance with others based on “Uncle Tom's Hut”. The whole thing was a great success, and the king gave her a precious ring.

In the midst of the hustle and bustle, Tuptim was able to escape with her Lun Tha, but was caught again while he was missing. She is said to be flogged to reveal his hiding place. Anna intervenes publicly and wants to prevent that. In doing so, she has questioned the authority of the king, who has no choice but to have Tuptim whipped now even more. Lun Tha is later found dead.

Anna cannot understand the king and packs her bags with Louis. She wants to go back to the UK. Then she is called to the king who is dying. He thanks her for her openness on many questions. And the king's wives and children storm them to stay in Siam. She agrees. His father's successor is Crown Prince Chulalongkorn, who is the first to abolish the outdated rituals of court etiquette, true to Anna's teachings.

background

The historical figures behind the main characters are Anna Leonowens , King Mongkut and his son Chulalongkorn .
The material was filmed five times. 1946 as a glowing love story under the title Anna and the King of Siam with Irene Dunne and Rex Harrison , 1956 as the musical The King and I with Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner , 1972 as a 13-part television series with Samantha Eggar and again Yul Brynner and finally in 1999 as a cartoon The King and I and as a real-life version with Jodie Foster under the name Anna and the King . The Thai government reacted insulted to the first two films because the king was portrayed too naively. Even the last film adaptation did not find the goodwill of Thailand, the film Anna and the King had to be shot in neighboring Malaysia .
Music Director Alfred Newman : “The equally beautiful and excellent Deborah Kerr is a great actress, but absolutely not a singer. My friend and colleague Ken Darby found Marnie Nixon to be the double voice for Deborah Kerr. The two of them worked, sang together, read grades, studied and practically lived together for six weeks before we could record a note from King and I. "

Reviews

“ The King and I is noteworthy for the mature acting of Yul Brynner as the Siamese king; Add to that the charm of Deborah Kerr as a teacher who admires him. Walter Lang elegantly directs. "

- Lee Edward Stern: The Musical Film, Heyne Film Library No. 10