The King and I (1956 film)

The King and I
Theatrical release poster by Tom Chantrell
Directed byWalter Lang
Screenplay byErnest Lehman
Based on
Produced byCharles Brackett
Starring
CinematographyLeon Shamroy
Edited byRobert Simpson
Music byRichard Rodgers
Distributed by20th Century-Fox
Release date
  • June 28, 1956 (1956-06-28)
Running time
133 minutes[1]
144 minutes (with Overture, Entr'acte, and Exit Music)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$4.55 million[2]
Box office$21.3 million[3]

The King and I is a 1956 American musical film made by 20th Century-Fox, directed by Walter Lang and produced by Charles Brackett and Darryl F. Zanuck. The screenplay by Ernest Lehman is based on the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, which is itself based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon. That novel in turn was based on memoirs written by Anna Leonowens, who became school teacher to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the early 1860s. Leonowens' stories were autobiographical, although various elements of them have been called into question.[4] The film stars Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner.

The film was a critical and commercial success and was nominated for 9 Oscars and won 5, including Best Actor for Brynner.

An animated film adaptation of the same musical was released in 1999. On February 12, 2021, Paramount Pictures and Temple Hill Entertainment announced that another live-action film version was in development.

  1. ^ "THE KING AND I (U)". British Board of Film Classification. 1956-10-07. Archived from the original on 2014-05-12. Retrieved 2014-05-09.
  2. ^ Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1. p249
  3. ^ Box Office Information for The King and I. Archived 2013-06-29 at the Wayback Machine The Numbers. Retrieved MArch 4, 2013.
  4. ^ Susan Morgan, Bombay Anna: The Real Story and Remarkable Adventures of the King and I Governess (University of California Press, 2008)