Original, A Musical & The Remake

Two of my favorite movies are The King and I (the 1956 musical) and Anna and the King (the 1999 remake.)  I didn't find out till today however that there is a third movie - the original - Anna and the King of Siam, done in 1946.  All three movies are based on the 1870 book The English Governess at the Siamese Court - written by English governess Anna Leonowens, a widow with two children. Based on her 6 years as a governess for the 64 children of King Rama IV (or King Mongkut) the book was a huge hit and a second volume of stories of her time in Siam was published in 1872 as The Romance of the Harem.  Unfortunately the "true story" presented in the movies has been denounced for its inaccuracies by the current government of Thailand.  When Mrs. Leonowens published her first book it is said that the King of Siam responded with the statement that she "has supplied by her invention that which is deficient in her memory."  So I see the movies as a little bit of fact, mixed with a lot of fiction.

Here are some fun facts about all 3 movies!

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Anna and the King of Siam

1946

Irene Dunne as Anna Owens

Rex Harrison as King Mongkut

This movie (as well as the 1999 version) was banned in Thailand because of what the Thai government said were historical inaccuracies about the King of Siam.

Rex Harrison's first American movie.

In the film, Linda Darnell (who plays Tuptim) - her character dies by being burned at the stake (in the subsequent versions, Tuptim is beheaded.)  This was a particularly difficult sequence for Darnell to film as she was terrified of fire.  What makes this a double irony is the fact that, 19 years later, she was killed in a house fire.

The King and I

("Shall We Dance" clip)

1956

Deborah Kerr as Anna Leonowens

Yul Brynner as King Mongkut

Deborah Kerr's gowns each weighed between 30 and 40 pounds, due to all the pleats, hoops and petticoats.  And baking under the hot lights on set, Kerr lost over 12 pounds and would often refer to herself as "The melting Miss Kerr."

Marni Nixon dubbed Deborah Kerr's singing in the film.  Nixon was hired on a six week contract and she was to be at the studio every day that Kerr rehearsed a scene with a song in it.  Nixon would actually stand next to Kerr and walk through the whole scene - both of them singing - and Nixon would be looking closely at Kerr's facial expressions to try to imitate her speech pattern in the songs.  Nixon said that she realized the keys of Anna's songs were very low for her - "very contralto keys" - and that she was really too young (just 21) to be able to sound "adult" and "womanly."  Hence, a modifier was placed in Nixon's microphone to make her voice sound deeper and more mature.  Nixon said she also had a terrible cold at the time and that probably helped in matching Kerr's voice.

Marni Nixon was the voice double for many movies.  

An Affair to Remember, character Terry McKay's singing voice (Terry McKay was played by Deborah Kerr)

West Side Story, character Maria's (played by Natalie Wood) singing voice

My Fair Lady, character Eliza Doolittle's (played by Audrey Hepburn) singing voice

The Sound of Music, Nixon plays Sister Sophia 

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.

Yul Brynner won the 1952 Tony ward for Supporting or Features Actor in a Musical for "The King and I" as the King of Siam and recreated his role in the movie version.  Brynner is also the only man to have played a lead role in a Rodgers and Hammerstein production both on the stage and on the screen.

In real life the King died of malaria, not a broken spirit as portrayed in the movie.

Anna and the King

1999

Jodie Foster as Anna Leonowens

Chow Yun-Fat as King Mongkut

This version was filmed in Malaysia due to the fact that Thailand still felt that it was historically inaccurate and refused to let them film on location in the country.

Bai Ling completely shaved her head bald for her role as Tuptim.

If you turn on the French audio track on the DVD, you can hear Jodie Foster dubbing her own character's voice.

The real King Mongkut was paralyzed on one half of his face, a fact that has apparently been dropped from the movies.