The King and I (1961)

Touches You

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

A musical that tries to breach cultural clashes works pretty well. It's my understanding that due to respect for the King of Siam (Thailand), there was a lot of furor over this stage musical and the movie. Yul Brynner is a strong king with all his children idolizing him. He bullies his way around, sort of like Von Trapp in "The Sound of Music." Once again, a woman comes into the picture and tames the big guy. Of course, since the king is held in such high esteem, countrymen might find his behavior unsettling. Of course, it's a love story, and those are generally dominated by Western ideals. Brynner steals every scene and Deborah Kerr is pretty and intense and a match for him intellectually. The list of songs is wonderful as Kerr charms her charges. Great dance sequences and rhythms dominate.

It's 1862 Siam. Anna Leonowens (Deborah Kerr) and her son Louis arrive in Bangkok. She's a strong-willed English lady who lost her husband. She's been hired to teach English to the children of King Mongkut (Yul Brynner). Prince Chulalongkorn is the oldest of the students. Kralahome is the Prime Minister. Tuptim (Rita Moreno) is a gift to the King from Burma although she's in love with Lun Tha. Lady Thiang is the head wife. The King is looking to modernize. Kralahome warns him of encroaching English imperialism. England sends Ambassador John Hay and his aide Sir Edward Ramsay who turns out to be Anna's former love.The colorful set designs and costumes are amazingly beautiful. They are grand and really pops on the screen. There are some classic songs like 'Getting to Know You'. This is a big lavish production. Yul Brynner is utterly memorable although his singing is nothing to write home about. He would win the Oscar along with the music, costumes, and set designs.

Yes, the King of Siam might seem like a Barbarian to us descendent's from Europeans, but even behind an apparent Barbarian is a human being with real emotions, desires and ambitions. It's the King's ambition to take on the best that European society can offer, so he's reviewing the situation with the help of an English nanny and teacher for his many children from his many wives. The towering presence of Yul Brynnur took the King from featured billing in the original Broadway production to above the title, and a featured actor Tony to leading actor Oscar, one of the few times in history that an actor won the award for the stage production then another one for the film production.The original musical Mrs. Anna was England's Gertrude Lawrence, and she got top billing over the title and Mr. Brynnur, but after she passed away, his success in the role moved him to the star spot with Mrs. Anna often second billed and often under the title when presented with him. Yul played the King on stage so many times that only Carol Channing's Dolly Levi rivals with him, and even when he was much older and dying from cancer, he was still performing the role on stage. There was even a T.V. series based upon the stories with him repeating his role. No actor since then has been able to become as identified with this part, and when you see this film, you will understand. "It's not a puzzlement!" in this case.Even though Rex Harrison ("My Fair Lady") had already played the role on screen (oppposite Irene Dunne in "Anna and the King of Siam"), it is Brynnur who dominates the memory of the philosophical king who can't quite escape his roots. Through his imperiousness, his tenderness and his love for his children, the King is quite a man, and it is understandable as to why Anna would constantly forgive him. As Lady Chiang (Terry Saunders) explains, "He'll always need your love, so he will get your love." And that is what makes him wonderful to each and every one of his wives, his mistresses and his children. Just not to Tuptim (Rita Moreno), the Burmese slave girl given to the king as a present. As other characters in a more adult time would explain, "He may get my body, but not my heart".Rodgers and Hammerstein took a universal story and transfered it to the stage and later to the screen with the passion of a Florenz Ziegfeld and a Cecil B. De Mille. This is a lavish world of elephants, jade and bamboo, but unlike a 1999 animated feature version of the musical, none of the non human animals talk. Deborah Kerr may have needed to be dubbed by Marni Nixon as Mrs. Anna, but the singing voice and Kerr's speaking voice mix naturally which unfortunately wouldn't be the case for two other actresses Nixon dubbed-Natalie Wood in "West Side Story" and Audrey Hepburn in "My Fair Lady". This is perhaps why Kerr was the only one of those three nominated for an Oscar and the other two were overlooked.There's much carping on the casting of the Puerto Rican Rita Moreno as Tuptim, but she carries it off perfectly with grace and tenderness. Of course, Tuptim is as far from "West Side Story's" Anita as Rex Harrison's king would be from Henry Higgins in "My Fair Lady". Harrison would have talked/sung this part had he been cast, but Brynnur's singing is very real and quite moving. Terry Saunders as the head wife Lady Thiang is also very touching, and Carlos Rivas is loyal and tragic as the doomed Lun Tha. There's a touching friendship which develops between the king's son (Patrick Adiarte, later of "Flower Drum Song") and Anna's son (Rex Thompson) which gives the indication that all of the King's dreams which wouldn't come through now will because the tides are turning in the world of supposed Barbaric kings and influences of peace-loving people are finally working together to close the barriers between Europeans and those, as Hammerstein wrote in a song against prejudice, whose eyes were deemed to be ugly made.Ready for another revival on Broadway, "The King and I" is a musical drama which will never leave the repertoire of the live theater. Several small non-Broadway New York revivals were very popular, as were two revivals with Brynnur and a mid 1990's revival that was highly acclaimed. The glorious score, breathtaking choreography, opulent costumes and sets and a passionate story of a love between a man and a woman that transcends physical lust are highly timeless.

The King and I is a fictional account of a historic era and some people who lived during that era. The setting is 19th century Siam. Anna is a widow to travels from Europe to Siam with her young son at the behest of the King of Siam. He is a monarch who sees the world changing quickly around him--especially with the opening of trade between the Orient and the West--and wants to educate his royal family in the Western ways.In the process, the king discovers that Anna is not a submissive woman. She stands up for herself and demands what is best for her son. As imperious as the King is, Anna discovers that although he is dedicated to maintaining the illusion of a perfect monarch, his innermost motivations are love for his family, his country and his subjects. Improbably, the two develop feelings for each other.The King and I is one of the great American musicals. The story is written with great sensitivity and creativity, the Rodgers and Hammerstein score contains some real gems, the orchestration is exciting, the sets are beautiful, the costuming eye-catching, the singing top rank.There are many in the cast, but the two leads create the magic that drives this film.Yul Brynner's portrayal of the king is the crowning achievement of his career, both on stage and on screen. It's an iconic portrayal. Though the script gives him the opportunity to create magical moments of cinema, his king perfectly captures the strong veneer of an absolute patriarchal monarch overlaying childlike enthusiasm for knowledge, pride in his family, fear of obsolescence, tenderness for Miss Anna, and confusion caused by personally-held beliefs that contradict.Deborah Kerr, as Anna, embodies the duality of the strong female role--feminine, mothering, and sentimental combined with intensity of purpose, strength of conviction, and bravery in facing uncertain circumstances far from home.I have loved this film since I was a child. Because of its clever storyline and its singable score, it remains a favorite.