The King and I (1956)

Director:

Walter Lang

Writers:

Margaret Landon (book)
Oscar Hammerstein II (musical play)
(more)

Release Date:

29 June 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Family | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

More Than You've Ever Seen On The Screen!

Plot:

Musical about a widow who accepts a job as a live-in governess of the King of Siam's children.

Plot Keywords:

King | Widow | Uncle Tom's Cabin | Teacher | Mother Son Relationship

Awards:

Won 5 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Deborah Kerr	...	Anna Leonowens
Yul Brynner	...	King Mongkut of Siam
Rita Moreno	...	Tuptim
Martin Benson	...	Kralahome
Terry Saunders	...	Lady Thiang
Rex Thompson	...	Louis Leonowens
Carlos Rivas	...	Lun Tha
Patrick Adiarte	...	Prince Chulalongkorn
Alan Mowbray	...	Sir John Hay
Geoffrey Toone	...	Sir Edward Ramsay
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Banas	...	Keeper of the Dogs, in Play (uncredited)
Dennis Bonilla	...	Mongkut's Twin Son (uncredited)
Thomas Bonilla	...	Mongkut's Twin Son (uncredited)
Gemze De Lappe	...	Specialty Dancer (uncredited)
Reuben Fuentes	...	Lun Tha (singing voice) (uncredited)
Leona Gordon	...	Tuptim (singing voice) (uncredited)
Charles Irwin	...	Captain Orton (uncredited)
Michiko Iseri	...	Angel, in Play (uncredited)
Irene James	...	Siamese Girl (uncredited)
Marion Jim	...	Simon Legree - in Play (uncredited)
Fuji Levi	...	Whipping Guard (uncredited)
Weaver Levy	...	Whipping Guard (uncredited)
Jocelyn Lew	...	Princess Ying Yaawolak (uncredited)
Marco López	...	Extra (uncredited)
Eddie Luke	...	Messenger (uncredited)
Marni Nixon	...	Anna (singing voice) (uncredited)
Stephanie Pond-Smith	...	Youngest Princess (uncredited)
Josephine Smith	...	Guest at Palace (uncredited)
Leonard Strong	...	Interpreter (uncredited)
Dusty Worrall	...	Uncle Thomas, in Play (uncredited)
William Yip	...	High Priest (uncredited)
Yuriko	...	Eliza, in Play (uncredited)

Directed by
Walter Lang

Writing credits
Margaret Landon		(book "Anna and the King of Siam")
Oscar Hammerstein II		(musical play)
Ernest Lehman		(screenplay)

Produced by
Charles Brackett	....	producer
Darryl F. Zanuck	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Richard Rodgers

Cinematography by
Leon Shamroy

Film Editing by
Robert L. Simpson		(as Robert Simpson)

Art Direction by
John DeCuir		(as John De Cuir)
Lyle R. Wheeler

Set Decoration by
Paul S. Fox
Walter M. Scott

Costume Design by
Irene Sharaff

Makeup Department
Ben Nye	....	makeup artist
Helen Turpin	....	hair stylist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Eli Dunn	....	assistant director

Art Department
Wah Chang	....	designer: Siamese masks (uncredited)

Sound Department
Warren B. Delaplain	....	sound (as Warren Delaplain)
E. Clayton Ward	....	sound
Carlton W. Faulkner	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Ray Kellogg	....	special photographic effects
Doug Hubbard	....	special effects (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Lee Crawford	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Bob Rose	....	additional grip (uncredited)
Clyde Taylor	....	gaffer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sam Benson	....	wardrobe (uncredited)
Charles Le Maire	....	wardrobe director (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Leonard Doss	....	color consultant

Music Department
Robert Russell Bennett	....	orchestrator
Ken Darby	....	associate music supervisor
Gus Levene	....	orchestrator
Bernard Mayers	....	orchestrator
Alfred Newman	....	conductor
Alfred Newman	....	music supervisor
Edward B. Powell	....	orchestrator
Trude Rittman	....	music arranger: ballet arrangements
Robert Mayer	....	music editor (uncredited)

Other crew
Michiko Iseri	....	consultant: oriental dancing (as Michiko)
Jerome Robbins	....	choreographer
Darryl F. Zanuck	....	presenter

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (as Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation)

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1956) (USA) (theatrical) (as Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1967) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere) (pan/scan)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (1998) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Encore Entertainment (199?) (UK) (video) (laserdisc)
• Fox Video (1996) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Angel Records  soundtrack released by (1990's CD edition) (uncredited)
• Angel Records  soundtrack released by (2001 expanded soundtrack CD edition) (uncredited)
• Bausch & Lomb  CinemaScope lenses
• Capitol Records  soundtrack released by (1956 LP and first CD edition) (uncredited)
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation  registered trademark of CinemaScope

Also Known As:

Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

133 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Thai

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm re-release)

Certification:

Iceland:L | New Zealand:G | USA:G (certificate #17864) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Canada:G | Chile:TE | Finland:K-8 | Norway:7 | Peru:PT | Thailand:(Banned) | UK:U

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Dorothy Dandridge was the original choice for the role of Tuptim. It has been reported that Miss Dandridge, who had just made history as the first African American woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in Carmen Jones (1954), was strongly advised to refuse the role because Tuptim was a slave. The role went to Rita Moreno, who was of Puerto Rican descent.

Goofs:

Factual errors: There could have been no scarlet macaws (from South America) in a Siamese marketplace.

Quotes:

King: I do not remember such words.
Anna: I remember them.
King: I will do remembering!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Valerie Bertinelli/Robert Cray Band (#12.13)" (1987)

Soundtrack:

Finale Ultimo: Something Wonderful

Wonderful, glorious colour and Brynner in his finest hour.

Brynner is so strongly identified with this role that it is difficult to remember him in anything else. He gives his all in this performance, sometimes way over the top, but it fits with this movie which is in itself over the top, offering us the Hollywood version of Siam and introducing 1955 sensibilities to the era of 1862. No matter.

The musical numbers are great and hummable, most done by Marni Nixon, who dubbed for so many in that era of endless musicals and no-voice stars.

People who protest about the insensibility and racial aspect of these musicals (Showboat and South Pacific, etc. also comes to mind)don't get it - that this is a musical, composed about an unenlightened era and is not a documentary and cannot be taken seriously.

The play within the play is truly magical, I could watch it over and over again, it is a perfect little opera.

Deborah Kerr is terrific in this and should have received an Oscar. I felt sorry for the boy who played her son - I think they appeared again together in Tea and Sympathy, but I could be wrong - there was not much to his role, he had to stand around and just be pretty and nod at his mother a lot. Very difficult.

Rita Moreno excelled as usual.

8 out of 10. Not to be missed.