A widow accepts a job as a live-in governess to the King of Siam's children.A widow accepts a job as a live-in governess to the King of Siam's children.A widow accepts a job as a live-in governess to the King of Siam's children.
- Won 5 Oscars
- 11 wins & 12 nominations total
Robert Banas
- Keeper of the Dogs - in Play
- (uncredited)
Dennis Bonilla
- Mongkut's Twin Son
- (uncredited)
Thomas Bonilla
- Mongkut's Twin Son
- (uncredited)
Jerry Chien
- Royal Child
- (uncredited)
Nancy Chien
- Royal Child
- (uncredited)
Mary Lou Clifford
- Royal Wife
- (uncredited)
Judy Dan
- Royal Wife
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaYul Brynner is the only actor to have played a lead role in a Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II production both on the stage and on the screen, winning a Tony and an Oscar, respectively. He also played the role on the small screen in the Anna and the King tv series.
- GoofsThe map of the world prominently visible in the classroom shows parts of the Arctic and Antarctic regions that hadn't yet been explored or mapped in 1862.
- Quotes
King Mongkut of Siam: Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera!
- Crazy creditsIn the 1991 VHS release, after the "Feature Presentation" card fades to black, at first a film called A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1969) starts playing, and it goes up until the start of its opening credits, then you hear someone saying that they put in the wrong film. The film stops, a quick reel change slide is put up, and then the real movie starts.
- Alternate versionsIn the 1961 re-release (the 70mm blow-up version), right after the 20th Century Fox logo at the beginning, in place of "A CinemaScope Picture in CinemaScope 55," was "In Grandeur 70" (same background, but the text was huge, streamlined and stretched across the screen in a banner-like curve).
- ConnectionsFeatured in Precious Images (1986)
- SoundtracksOverture
(1951) (uncredited)
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Performed by the 20th Century-Fox Studio Orchestra Conducted by Alfred Newman
Featured review
A Worthy If Not Ideal Screen Adaptation
Director Walter Lang does his best to ruin what may be Rodgers & Hammerstein's strongest stage musical, but he's no match for the stellar material.
He directs with a stodgy, anonymous style -- why actually move your camera around a set when you can root it to the floor as if it's a potted plant? With the exception of Yul Bryner and Deborah Kerr, he elicits performances from his cast that would be at home in a cheesy sword-and-sandal Biblical epic. And the film has that overblown, garish visual design too common to big films from this time period, that manages to look both cheap and expensive at the same time, as if all the sets are made out of brightly colored plexiglass.
But, and this is a big "but," this musical tells a beautiful story about cultural tolerance that remains intact in the film, and the movie offers the strong performances of Bryner and Kerr, both perfectly cast in their roles. "Carousel" may have given audiences the most sophisticated R&H score, but for me, the music in "The King and I" remains the most glorious. Too bad the adapted film score severely truncates its stage counterpart: many songs are missing entirely, and almost all of those left are shortened versions.
Happily, the "Small House of Uncle Thomas" ballet sequence remains in the film and retains the original Jerome Robbins choreography as it appeared on stage. It may just be the most memorable musical number ever conceived for stage or screen.
This film isn't the best possible screen adaptation of a nearly perfect stage show, but thanks to Bryner and Kerr, and of course R&H, it'll do.
Grade: B+
He directs with a stodgy, anonymous style -- why actually move your camera around a set when you can root it to the floor as if it's a potted plant? With the exception of Yul Bryner and Deborah Kerr, he elicits performances from his cast that would be at home in a cheesy sword-and-sandal Biblical epic. And the film has that overblown, garish visual design too common to big films from this time period, that manages to look both cheap and expensive at the same time, as if all the sets are made out of brightly colored plexiglass.
But, and this is a big "but," this musical tells a beautiful story about cultural tolerance that remains intact in the film, and the movie offers the strong performances of Bryner and Kerr, both perfectly cast in their roles. "Carousel" may have given audiences the most sophisticated R&H score, but for me, the music in "The King and I" remains the most glorious. Too bad the adapted film score severely truncates its stage counterpart: many songs are missing entirely, and almost all of those left are shortened versions.
Happily, the "Small House of Uncle Thomas" ballet sequence remains in the film and retains the original Jerome Robbins choreography as it appeared on stage. It may just be the most memorable musical number ever conceived for stage or screen.
This film isn't the best possible screen adaptation of a nearly perfect stage show, but thanks to Bryner and Kerr, and of course R&H, it'll do.
Grade: B+
- evanston_dad
- Aug 13, 2006
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I
- Filming locations
- Stage 15, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA(palace courtyard; schoolroom; pool)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $4,550,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $21,300,000
- Gross worldwide
- $21,320,209
- Runtime2 hours 13 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.55 : 1
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