{"id":26444,"date":"2012-07-12T11:11:06","date_gmt":"2012-07-12T18:11:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=26444"},"modified":"2022-04-23T09:33:03","modified_gmt":"2022-04-23T16:33:03","slug":"inn-of-the-sixth-happiness-the-1958","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=26444","title":{"rendered":"Inn of the Sixth Happiness, The (1958)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;You feel where you belong, as if you&#8217;re told; for me, it&#8217;s China.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Poster-195x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"195\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-26446\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Poster-195x300.jpg 195w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Poster-83x128.jpg 83w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Poster.jpg 580w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 195px) 100vw, 195px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA young housemaid (Ingrid Bergman) determined to become a missionary in China saves up enough money to travel there from Britain, and finds work helping an older missionary (Athene Seyler) run an inn. Soon she finds herself a respected member of a local community led by an aging mandarin (Robert Donat), and falls in love with a half-Chinese captain (Curd Jurgens), who warns Donat and Bergman of an impending invasion by Japan.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Biopics<\/li>\n<li>China<\/li>\n<li>Curt Jurgens Films<\/li>\n<li>Ingrid Bergman Films<\/li>\n<li>Mark Robson Films<\/li>\n<li>Missionaries and Revivalists<\/li>\n<li>Orphans<\/li>\n<li>Robert Donat Films<\/li>\n<li>Strong Females<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nBased upon the real-life adventures of missionary <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gladys_Aylward\">Gladys Aylward<\/a>, this lushly photographed biopic (directed by Mark Robson) notoriously took some liberties with Aylward&#8217;s life, to the point where Aylward herself renounced the film. She was most upset about the inclusion of a romantic subplot, given that she claims never to have even kissed a man; see <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gladys_Aylward\">Wikipedia&#8217;s article<\/a> for more specific complaints. Regardless, <em>Inn&#8230;<\/em> remains an entertaining film about a fascinating personality, played to perfection by Bergman (who looks nothing like Aylward; naturally, Aylward complained about this, too). Bergman\/Aylward&#8217;s utter conviction that she belongs in China rather than England gives one renewed faith in the notion that we all may have a specific path to follow, if we&#8217;re willing to listen to our hearts and follow our passions. Aylward never questions the challenges she faces, instead simply accepting them as part of the life journey she&#8217;s meant to undertake; for instance, she adopts numerous orphans throughout the course of the film, never doubting whether she has the ability or the resources to care for them &#8212; they simply become a part of her ever-expanding household. <\/p>\n<p>The culminating sequence &#8212; chronicling Aylward&#8217;s harrowing cross-country journey to bring 100+ orphans to safety in the midst of a Japanese invasion &#8212; is likely what most viewers will remember years after viewing this film; it remains a gripping adventure, especially knowing that it really occurred. Much less involving is Bergman&#8217;s romance with Jurgens, which comes across as strictly Hollywood, and should likely have been cut altogether (the film runs too long as it is); Aylward&#8217;s complaint was accurate in this case. However, Bergman&#8217;s relationship with Donat&#8217;s aging mandarin remains of interest, as we view his growing respect for the vital qualities she brings to his village &#8212; most specifically her ability to convince villagers to finally give up the barbaric practice of foot-binding. Her final scene with Donat (who died during the film&#8217;s screening) is genuinely touching, and will surely bring a lump to any ff&#8217;s throat.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Donat.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Donat-1024x430.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"269\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-68591\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Donat-1024x430.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Donat-300x126.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Donat-128x54.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Donat-768x323.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Donat-1536x645.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Donat-604x254.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Donat.png 1823w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ingrid Bergman as Gladys Aylward (nominated by Peary as one of the Best Actresses of the Year in his <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em>)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Bergman.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Bergman-1024x433.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"271\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-68587\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Bergman-1024x433.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Bergman-300x127.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Bergman-128x54.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Bergman-768x325.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Bergman-1536x650.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Bergman-604x256.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Bergman.png 1590w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Fine cinematography by Freddie Young<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Cinematography-1024x435.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"272\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-68588\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Cinematography-1024x435.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Cinematography-300x128.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Cinematography-128x54.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Cinematography-768x327.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Cinematography-1536x653.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Cinematography-604x257.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Cinematography.png 1599w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>The harrowing final escape sequence<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Escape.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Escape-1024x438.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"274\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-68586\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Escape-1024x438.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Escape-300x128.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Escape-128x55.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Escape-768x328.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Escape-1536x657.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Escape-604x258.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Inn-of-the-Sixth-Happiness-Escape.png 1597w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, though it&#8217;s definitely worth a one-time look. Listed as a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary&#8217;s book. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0051776\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1958\/12\/14\/archives\/screen-china-mission-inn-of-6th-happiness-at-paramount-plaza.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s898inn.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/film\/reviews\/76034\/the_inn_of_the_sixth_happiness.html\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;You feel where you belong, as if you&#8217;re told; for me, it&#8217;s China.&#8221; Synopsis: A young housemaid (Ingrid Bergman) determined to become a missionary in China saves up enough money to travel there from Britain, and finds work helping an older missionary (Athene Seyler) run an inn. Soon she finds herself a respected member of a local community led by an aging mandarin (Robert Donat), and falls in love with a half-Chinese captain (Curd Jurgens), who warns Donat and Bergman&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=26444\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26444"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26444\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83266,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26444\/revisions\/83266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}