“I
cannot promise that it will ever be easy for you.”
Anna and the King of Siam is one of the
few of Irene Dunne’s films that was remade at a later date. Dunne was in the
1930s musical version of Showboat,
she was in Love Affair which An Affair to Remember is based off of.
Most people probably only know the musical version of Anna and the King of Siam called The King and I starring Yul Brenner and Deborah Kerr. This is one
of the many reasons why I find remakes not good or completely unfair. Dunne is
a classic actress that not many people know and it is mostly because several of
her films were remade.
The
year is 1862 when much of the Far East was becoming open to the Western world.
A young English widow named Anna Owens (Dunne) has traveled to Siam to be
teacher to the king’s children. As soon as she steps off the boat things do not
go smoothly with her. The prime minister Kralahome keeps giving her the run
around by constantly correcting her and telling her she will have to be patient
in meeting the king. Anna’s biggest problem is where she and her son Louis will
live. She was promised her own house but the king changed his mind and wants
her to live in the palace. Anna refuses to live in the palace she wants her own
place that she can take care of and to go to once she is done with teaching. Eventually
the king gives in and gives Anna her own very nice place away from the palace.
After
some time Anna finally gets to meet King Mongkut (Rex Harrison). He is a nice
intelligent eccentric man. Mongkut has sixty-seven children (holy shit!) and
quite a number of wives. He wants Anna to teach all of his children and his
wives to speak English. Mongkut is very open to western ideas, in his library
he has several English books on various subjects. He wants his country to
progress and be modern. He feels that his children should also be part of the
progression.
As
time goes on Anna learns to love living in Siam and being in Mongkut’s company
even though he can be very demanding. He calls her in the middle of the night
just to ask her questions such as her opinion on an Old Testament story or
foreign governments. Louis becomes friends with Mongkut’s oldest son and child
and Anna becomes close with the son’s mother. The son so wants his father’s
attention and to learn and to be noticed. The mother asks Anna to pay some
attention to him and listen to what he has to say to which Anna is more than
willing to do so.
One
of the king’s newest women Tuptim (Linda Darnell) was caught running away from
the palace with another man and was sentenced to death. Anna defends the girl
saying that she was young and deserves a second chance. No one will listen to
her not even Mongkut. Upset over Tuptim’s death Anna decides to leave Siam and
find work elsewhere. Before Anna can leave tragedy strikes. She tells Mongkut
that she wants to stay now that she needs to be around the children to make her
happy again. Anna winds up staying on for many years.
I
like the story. I like seeing how Anna and Mongkut teach other things and how
to be better people (or that is what I got out of it). I really enjoyed the
friendly relationship they had. Anna was a great character because she never
really backed down to Mongkut like other people did, she never coward when he
came around. She told Kalahome that she would bow but not to the ground like everyone
else did because it was not proper for her to do with her dress. Mongkut in a
way likes that Anna is not like the other people in his life. Even though she
is a woman he looks to her as an equal which is probably why he was always
asking her opinion on things.
Irene
Dunne was wonderful. I have seen several of her films and I am starting to see
the woman never gave a bad performance ever, some of her characters may have
been dull but her performances are always incredible. Dunne was perfect for this
role because she was always such a lady. Sure she played some comedy but she
constantly had this poise to her, she may have been funny but you still
respected her characters. I loved her scenes when Mongkut would call her in the
middle of the night or just when she was getting into bed after a long day she
was so funny and you just felt bad for her. What I really liked seeing Dunne
act out was Anna’s toughness. As I said Anna did not back down she chose what
she wanted to follow but kept her own western customs. But also again this
comes down to Dunne’s acting because you can really believe her no matter what
type of woman she plays she was just that good.
Rex
Harrison as King Mongkut was excellent. Besides this film I have only ever seen
Harrison in Sidewalks of London with
Vivien Leigh which was a great film and he was great in it. I enjoyed his
chemistry with Irene Dunne. I really think Harrison did a great job with
playing the king who wants to be respected and somewhat feared but also had
this good natured understanding side.
The
rest of the cast was excellent too. Linda Darnell had the perfect look for the
new younger woman in the king’s life but she was bratty and not satisfied. Gale
Sonnergard as the king’s first wife was amazing. She was nominated for an Oscar
for Best Supporting Actress but lost to Anne Baxter for The Razor’s Edge.
Anna and the King of Siam is a very good
film. It is a little long but in the end for the performances and the story it
is worth sitting through. Anna and the
King of Siam was very well made and very heartfelt
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