{"id":43359,"date":"2019-04-17T11:49:19","date_gmt":"2019-04-17T18:49:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=43359"},"modified":"2020-11-26T15:08:44","modified_gmt":"2020-11-26T22:08:44","slug":"anna-and-the-king-of-siam-1946","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=43359","title":{"rendered":"Anna and the King of Siam (1946)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Women do not exist in Siam &#8212; they simply do not exist.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Anna-and-the-King-Poster-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Anna-and-the-King-Poster-1-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-55137\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Anna-and-the-King-Poster-1-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Anna-and-the-King-Poster-1-85x128.jpg 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Anna-and-the-King-Poster-1-180x270.jpg 180w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Anna-and-the-King-Poster-1.jpg 666w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA widowed schoolteacher (Irene Dunne) arrives in Siam with her son (Richard Lyon) prepared to teach the many wives and children of King Mongkut (Rex Harrison) &#8212; including the son (Tito Renaldo) of Mongkut&#8217;s first wife (Gale Sondergaard). She&#8217;s quickly taught by Mongkut&#8217;s right-hand-man (Lee J. Cobb) about his many quirks and sexist beliefs, but pushes back when Mongkut refuses to give her the house he promised. When Anna witnesses Mongkut&#8217;s &#8220;number one wife&#8221; (Linda Darnell) being mistreated, she feels she&#8217;s had enough &#8212; but can she be convinced to stay?\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Feminism and Women&#8217;s Issues<\/li>\n<li>Historical Drama<\/li>\n<li>Irene Dunne Films<\/li>\n<li>John Cromwell Films<\/li>\n<li>Lee J. Cobb Films<\/li>\n<li>Linda Darnell Films<\/li>\n<li>Rex Harrison Films<\/li>\n<li>Royalty and Nobility<\/li>\n<li>Teachers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nThis first cinematic adaptation (by director John Cromwell) of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Anna_and_the_King_of_Siam_(novel)\">Margaret Langdon&#8217;s biographical novel<\/a> about <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Anna_Leonowens\">Anna Leonowens<\/a> is a worthy predecessor to its more famous musical remake, <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=42240\"><em>The King and I<\/em> (1956)<\/a>. Dunne matches Deborah Kerr in both intensity and believability as a bold widow who stands up to toxic patriarchy and corruption in a foreign country while remaining sympathetic to the conflicted goals of its intelligent but brutal leader. Refreshingly, there is no hint of romantic interest between Dunne and Harrison; their relationship is one of begrudging mutual respect (and, for Dunne, eventually deep commitment). Of note are both Arthur Miller&#8217;s cinematography and Bernard Herrmann&#8217;s score, adding to the quality of this slightly over-long but engaging feminist tale.  <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Irene Dunne as Anna (nominated as one of the Best Actresses of the Year in Peary&#8217;s <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em>)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Anna-and-the-King-Dunne-1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Anna-and-the-King-Dunne-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"512\" height=\"368\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-55142\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Anna-and-the-King-Dunne-1.png 512w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Anna-and-the-King-Dunne-1-300x216.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Anna-and-the-King-Dunne-1-128x92.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Anna-and-the-King-Dunne-1-376x270.png 376w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Rex Harrison as the King (nominated as one of the Best Actors of the Year in <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em>)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Anna-and-the-King-Harrison-1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Anna-and-the-King-Harrison-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"512\" height=\"368\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-55139\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Anna-and-the-King-Harrison-1.png 512w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Anna-and-the-King-Harrison-1-300x216.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Anna-and-the-King-Harrison-1-128x92.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Anna-and-the-King-Harrison-1-376x270.png 376w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Arthur C. Miller&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Anna-and-the-King-Cinematography2-1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Anna-and-the-King-Cinematography2-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"512\" height=\"368\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-55141\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Anna-and-the-King-Cinematography2-1.png 512w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Anna-and-the-King-Cinematography2-1-300x216.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Anna-and-the-King-Cinematography2-1-128x92.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Anna-and-the-King-Cinematography2-1-376x270.png 376w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li>Bernard Herrmann&#8217;s score (check out the horror-flick ambience  as Anna is leaving the king&#8217;s palace at night and hears a baby crying on her way home)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, but it&#8217;s certainly recommended for one-time viewing. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0038303\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1599anna.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1946\/06\/21\/archives\/the-screen-anna-and-the-king-of-siam-fox-film-starring-irene-dunne.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Women do not exist in Siam &#8212; they simply do not exist.&#8221; Synopsis: A widowed schoolteacher (Irene Dunne) arrives in Siam with her son (Richard Lyon) prepared to teach the many wives and children of King Mongkut (Rex Harrison) &#8212; including the son (Tito Renaldo) of Mongkut&#8217;s first wife (Gale Sondergaard). She&#8217;s quickly taught by Mongkut&#8217;s right-hand-man (Lee J. Cobb) about his many quirks and sexist beliefs, but pushes back when Mongkut refuses to give her the house he promised&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=43359\"> 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-43359","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\/43359","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=43359"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43359\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55144,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43359\/revisions\/55144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}