Anna and The King of Siam (film)

Anna And The King Of Siam (film)

Anna and the King of Siam is a 1946 drama film directed by John Cromwell.

An adaptation of the 1944 book by Margaret Landon, it was based on the diaries of Anna Leonowens, a British governess in the Royal Court of Siam (now modern Thailand) during the 1860s. Darryl F. Zanuck read Landon's book in galleys and immediately bought the film rights.

The story mainly concerns the culture clash of the Imperialist Victorian values of the British Empire with the autocratic rule of Siam's King Mongkut. The successful film starred Rex Harrison as the king and Irene Dunne as Anna.

At the 19th Academy Awards ceremony, the film received two Oscars; for Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction (Lyle R. Wheeler, William S. Darling, Thomas Little, Frank E. Hughes). Nominations also went to Bernard Herrmann's score, to the screenplay and to supporting actress Gale Sondergaard.

The story was later adapted by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II for a 1951 stage musical and subsequent 1956 film. American film director Andy Tennant remade the film in 1999 as Anna and the King with Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-fat.

The portrayal of Tuptim in Anna and the King of Siam is considerably less sympathetic than in the musical version The King and I and the 1999 Anna and the King. There is a definite animosity between Tuptim and Anna in the 1946 film.