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Title:
The King and I
Synopsis:
OSCAR WINNER - 1956
• Best Actor - Yul Brynner
• Best Costume Design
• Best Production Design
• Best Score Adaptation
• Best Sound
AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE:
• 100 Years... 100 Passions (2002): #31
• 100 Years... 100 Songs (2004):
”Shall We Dance?” - 54
YUL BRYNNER AND DEBORAH KERR SHARE AN ENCHANTED ORIENTAL KINGDOM IN ONE OF THE MOST MEMORABLE MUSICALS OF ALL TIME
This visual and musical masterpiece features Yul Brynner’s Academy Award winning performance, an unforgettable Rodgers and Hammerstein score and brilliant choreography by Jerome Robbins. It tells the true story of an Englishwoman, Anna Leonowens (Deborah Kerr), who comes to Siam as schoolteacher to the royal court in the 1860s. Though she soon finds herself at odds with the stubborn monarch (Brynner), over time, Anna and the King stop trying to change each other and begin to understand one another. Winner of five Academy Awards, THE KING AND I contains some of the most lavish sets and costumes in Hollywood history and some of the world’s best-loved songs, including ”Getting to Know You,” ”I Whistle a Happy Tune,” ” ”Hello, Young Lovers” and ”Shall We Dance?”
SONG INDEX:
• Main Title
• I Whistle a Happy Tune
• March of the Siamese Children
• Hello, Young Lovers
• A Puzzlement
• Getting to Know You
• We Kiss in a Shadow
• Something Wonderful
• Prayer to Buddha
• Small House of Uncle Thomas Ballet
• Song of the King
• Shall We Dance?
• Finale Ultimo
TRIVIA:
• The reality of the ”Shall We Dance” sequence was that Deborah Kerr suffered continual bruising from the hoops in her skirt and Yul Brynner - a chain smoker who had already lost a lung to his habit - had to take oxygen in between takes.
• In Thailand (previously called Siam) the royal family is held in very high esteem. This film is banned in Thailand due to its really historical inaccuracies and the perceived disrespect to the monarchy. The real Prince Chulalongkorn grew up to be especially good King Chulalongkorn and led the way for modernization, improved relations with the West and instituted many important cultural and social reforms in Thailand. A well-researched book that corrects the many myths of Anna’s stated story is MASKED: THE LIFE OF ANNA LEONOWENS, SCHOOLMISTRESS AT THE COURT OF SIAM, by Alfred Habegger.
• The real-life Anna Leonowens was the maternal aunt of Boris Karloff.
• Yul Brynner is the only actor to have played a lead role in a Rodgers and Hammerstein production both onstage and onscreen, also winning a Tony and an Oscar, respectively.
• It was Yul Brynner who pushed for Deborah Kerr to be cast as Anna. He had seen some of her stage work, was highly impressed with her and was convinced that she was the one for the part.
• Baking under the hot lights onset, Deborah Kerr lost over 12 pounds and would often refer to herself as ”The melting Miss Kerr”.
• Darryl F Zanuck first cast Maureen O’Hara as Anna because she was not only gorgeous but had a fine soprano voice and would not have to be dubbed. When Zanuck told her the news, she immediately sent sample recordings of her voice. Richard Rodgers agreed that O’Hara had a great voice but reportedly said, ”No pirate queen is going to play my Anna!”
• Rita Moreno said that the heavy Siamese headdresses she and the ballet dancers wore in the ”Small House of Uncle Thomas” ballet sequence gave them headaches, which lasted for days.
• Deborah Kerr’s gowns, designed by Irene Sharaff, each weighed between 30 and 40 pounds, due to all the pleats, hoops and petticoats.
• During the Bible scene, the King mentions Moses. Yul Brynner had finished work on THE TEN COMMANDMENTS prior to this film.
• Although Walter Lang is given sole directorial credit on the film, Yul Brynner clashed with him and made many of the directorial suggestions which found their way into the final film.
• The play was written for Gertrude Lawrence and her appearance in the film was contractually guaranteed. However, shortly after the show opened she was diagnosed with cancer and she died while still playing the part on Broadway.
• The cost of the film was ten times more than that of the original lavish Broadway production.
• Deborah Kerr’s signature in cement for Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood was actually cast on the set of THE KING AND I and not at the theater.
• The short scene in which Anna is taken through the streets of Bangkok to the King’s palace by the royal entourage required 25 sets on a three-acre area on the Fox backlot, not counting the stables for the elephants used in the sequence.
• 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 the Best Actress Academy Award in CARMEN JONES, was strongly advised to refuse the role because Tuptim was a slave. The role went to Rita Moreno, who was of Puerto Rican descent.
• Both Yul Brynner and screenwriter Ernest Lehman were determined to include the King’s solo ”A Puzzlement” in the film, but this idea was refused by hands-on producer and 20th Century Fox head, Darryl F Zanuck. He did relent on this to the extent that if he deemed that the film needed it upon completion, then he would allow for re-shoots. This is exactly what happened. ”A Puzzlement” was shot, as was an opening sequence showing Anna and her son Louis arriving in Bangkok, all to the tune of an additional $400,000.
• THE KING AND I opened on Broadway at the St James Theater on March 29, 1951 and closed on March 20, 1954 after running for 1,246 performances. The original cast included Gertrude Lawrence as Anna, Yul Brynner as the King, Doretta Morrow as Tuptim and Yuriko as Eliza (in ”Small House of Uncle Thomas” ballet). The original production went on to win five 1952 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Actress in a Musical for Lawrence, Best Featured Actor in a Musical for Brynner, Best Scenic Design and Best Costume Design.
• The ”Small House of Uncle Thomas” segment in this film is the only American theatrical version of UNCLE TOM’S CABIN to be made in the sound era. It was filmed in 1965 as a German theatrical movie and in America for TV in 1987 but not as a theatrical film per se. (The very obscure UNCLE TOM’S CABIN from 1976 does not count, as it’s an exploitation movie centered on torture and with little more than the title to do with Harriet Beecher Stowe’s story.)
• Marlon Brando was briefly considered for the role of the King.
• Marni Nixon dubbed Deborah Kerr’s singing in the film.
• Three musical numbers and two fragments had been in the original Broadway production and had been recorded for the film version were subsequently deleted:
- ”My Lord and Master”
- ”Shall I Tell You What I Think of You?”
- ”I Have Dreamed”
- an extra opening verse of ”Song of the King”
- a choral reprisal for ”I Whistle a Happy Tune”
Ironically, all of these numbers can still be heard on the soundtrack album.
• Patrick Adiarte made his film debut as Prince Chulalongkorn.
• One of the background voices in the ”Small House of Uncle Thomas” sequence is that of a young Marilyn Horne.
• Dinah Shore, who both a singer and an actress, was initially considered for the role of Anna.
• Jason Scott Lee, Ken Watanabe and Lou Diamond Phillips later played the eponymous king in stage revivals. Watanbe and Phillips played the role on Broadway and received Tony nominations for their performances.
• Leona Gordon was hired to augment Rita Moreno’s singing.
• The film features three voice-only actors: Marni Nixon (as Anna), Leona Gordon (for portions of Tuptim’s scenes) and Rueben Fuentes (as Lun Tha).
• Best Actor - Yul Brynner
• Best Costume Design
• Best Production Design
• Best Score Adaptation
• Best Sound
AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE:
• 100 Years... 100 Passions (2002): #31
• 100 Years... 100 Songs (2004):
”Shall We Dance?” - 54
YUL BRYNNER AND DEBORAH KERR SHARE AN ENCHANTED ORIENTAL KINGDOM IN ONE OF THE MOST MEMORABLE MUSICALS OF ALL TIME
This visual and musical masterpiece features Yul Brynner’s Academy Award winning performance, an unforgettable Rodgers and Hammerstein score and brilliant choreography by Jerome Robbins. It tells the true story of an Englishwoman, Anna Leonowens (Deborah Kerr), who comes to Siam as schoolteacher to the royal court in the 1860s. Though she soon finds herself at odds with the stubborn monarch (Brynner), over time, Anna and the King stop trying to change each other and begin to understand one another. Winner of five Academy Awards, THE KING AND I contains some of the most lavish sets and costumes in Hollywood history and some of the world’s best-loved songs, including ”Getting to Know You,” ”I Whistle a Happy Tune,” ” ”Hello, Young Lovers” and ”Shall We Dance?”
SONG INDEX:
• Main Title
• I Whistle a Happy Tune
• March of the Siamese Children
• Hello, Young Lovers
• A Puzzlement
• Getting to Know You
• We Kiss in a Shadow
• Something Wonderful
• Prayer to Buddha
• Small House of Uncle Thomas Ballet
• Song of the King
• Shall We Dance?
• Finale Ultimo
TRIVIA:
• The reality of the ”Shall We Dance” sequence was that Deborah Kerr suffered continual bruising from the hoops in her skirt and Yul Brynner - a chain smoker who had already lost a lung to his habit - had to take oxygen in between takes.
• In Thailand (previously called Siam) the royal family is held in very high esteem. This film is banned in Thailand due to its really historical inaccuracies and the perceived disrespect to the monarchy. The real Prince Chulalongkorn grew up to be especially good King Chulalongkorn and led the way for modernization, improved relations with the West and instituted many important cultural and social reforms in Thailand. A well-researched book that corrects the many myths of Anna’s stated story is MASKED: THE LIFE OF ANNA LEONOWENS, SCHOOLMISTRESS AT THE COURT OF SIAM, by Alfred Habegger.
• The real-life Anna Leonowens was the maternal aunt of Boris Karloff.
• Yul Brynner is the only actor to have played a lead role in a Rodgers and Hammerstein production both onstage and onscreen, also winning a Tony and an Oscar, respectively.
• It was Yul Brynner who pushed for Deborah Kerr to be cast as Anna. He had seen some of her stage work, was highly impressed with her and was convinced that she was the one for the part.
• Baking under the hot lights onset, Deborah Kerr lost over 12 pounds and would often refer to herself as ”The melting Miss Kerr”.
• Darryl F Zanuck first cast Maureen O’Hara as Anna because she was not only gorgeous but had a fine soprano voice and would not have to be dubbed. When Zanuck told her the news, she immediately sent sample recordings of her voice. Richard Rodgers agreed that O’Hara had a great voice but reportedly said, ”No pirate queen is going to play my Anna!”
• Rita Moreno said that the heavy Siamese headdresses she and the ballet dancers wore in the ”Small House of Uncle Thomas” ballet sequence gave them headaches, which lasted for days.
• Deborah Kerr’s gowns, designed by Irene Sharaff, each weighed between 30 and 40 pounds, due to all the pleats, hoops and petticoats.
• During the Bible scene, the King mentions Moses. Yul Brynner had finished work on THE TEN COMMANDMENTS prior to this film.
• Although Walter Lang is given sole directorial credit on the film, Yul Brynner clashed with him and made many of the directorial suggestions which found their way into the final film.
• The play was written for Gertrude Lawrence and her appearance in the film was contractually guaranteed. However, shortly after the show opened she was diagnosed with cancer and she died while still playing the part on Broadway.
• The cost of the film was ten times more than that of the original lavish Broadway production.
• Deborah Kerr’s signature in cement for Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood was actually cast on the set of THE KING AND I and not at the theater.
• The short scene in which Anna is taken through the streets of Bangkok to the King’s palace by the royal entourage required 25 sets on a three-acre area on the Fox backlot, not counting the stables for the elephants used in the sequence.
• 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 the Best Actress Academy Award in CARMEN JONES, was strongly advised to refuse the role because Tuptim was a slave. The role went to Rita Moreno, who was of Puerto Rican descent.
• Both Yul Brynner and screenwriter Ernest Lehman were determined to include the King’s solo ”A Puzzlement” in the film, but this idea was refused by hands-on producer and 20th Century Fox head, Darryl F Zanuck. He did relent on this to the extent that if he deemed that the film needed it upon completion, then he would allow for re-shoots. This is exactly what happened. ”A Puzzlement” was shot, as was an opening sequence showing Anna and her son Louis arriving in Bangkok, all to the tune of an additional $400,000.
• THE KING AND I opened on Broadway at the St James Theater on March 29, 1951 and closed on March 20, 1954 after running for 1,246 performances. The original cast included Gertrude Lawrence as Anna, Yul Brynner as the King, Doretta Morrow as Tuptim and Yuriko as Eliza (in ”Small House of Uncle Thomas” ballet). The original production went on to win five 1952 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Actress in a Musical for Lawrence, Best Featured Actor in a Musical for Brynner, Best Scenic Design and Best Costume Design.
• The ”Small House of Uncle Thomas” segment in this film is the only American theatrical version of UNCLE TOM’S CABIN to be made in the sound era. It was filmed in 1965 as a German theatrical movie and in America for TV in 1987 but not as a theatrical film per se. (The very obscure UNCLE TOM’S CABIN from 1976 does not count, as it’s an exploitation movie centered on torture and with little more than the title to do with Harriet Beecher Stowe’s story.)
• Marlon Brando was briefly considered for the role of the King.
• Marni Nixon dubbed Deborah Kerr’s singing in the film.
• Three musical numbers and two fragments had been in the original Broadway production and had been recorded for the film version were subsequently deleted:
- ”My Lord and Master”
- ”Shall I Tell You What I Think of You?”
- ”I Have Dreamed”
- an extra opening verse of ”Song of the King”
- a choral reprisal for ”I Whistle a Happy Tune”
Ironically, all of these numbers can still be heard on the soundtrack album.
• Patrick Adiarte made his film debut as Prince Chulalongkorn.
• One of the background voices in the ”Small House of Uncle Thomas” sequence is that of a young Marilyn Horne.
• Dinah Shore, who both a singer and an actress, was initially considered for the role of Anna.
• Jason Scott Lee, Ken Watanabe and Lou Diamond Phillips later played the eponymous king in stage revivals. Watanbe and Phillips played the role on Broadway and received Tony nominations for their performances.
• Leona Gordon was hired to augment Rita Moreno’s singing.
• The film features three voice-only actors: Marni Nixon (as Anna), Leona Gordon (for portions of Tuptim’s scenes) and Rueben Fuentes (as Lun Tha).
Format:
Amazon
Streaming Service
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Movie Release Year:
1956
Barcode:
4715320110099
Genre:
Family
Classics
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Show Type:
Movie
Date Added:
2018-02-07 18:24:25
Original Aspect Ratio:
2.55:1
Actors:
Deborah Kerr
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Directors:
Walter Lang
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Automatic Estimated Value:
~$7.00
Automatic Estimated Date:
2025-06-23
Date Added:
2018-02-07 18:24:25
