Evening star., 1946-08-01


tale into a corking motion picture
all over Anna and the King of s
whole, but especially of the parts
played by Irene Dunno as Anna
and Rex Harrison as the King. The
screenplay which opened there to-
day should make the Palace theater
the happiest place in town for some
time.
There is an obvious Highland
most logical-e h u 81 a m about
everyone's work in the picture which
was drafted by John Cromwell.
That this enthusiasm should fail to
communicate itself to moviegoers is
an unspeakable notion. On the con-
trary, the latter will find the screen
play glistening with unforgettable
passages which set it high above the
run of cinema fare.
4 y =
A mere thumber of Miss Landon' s
work in its original form would not
know how faithfully the adapta-
tion conforms. Yet the screenplay
by Talbot Jennings and Sally Ben
son is lacking in no important dra-
matte quality. It's strongest f1avors
are humor and tenderness, but these
are merely two among many. Miss
Dunne's Anna is too high spirited to
miss any of the adventure of living,
and in so odd place as Siam in the
later 18th Century that was adven-
ture indeed. So while most of it was
comic and gentle, it had the sharp
contrasts of tragedy and one spot
of barbaric brutality to give it dis
tinction.
Now that she has become a movie
heroine. millions will learn of Anna,
the young and pretty English widow
who went to Siam to become teach
er in the household of King Thai.
They will be as innocent as she was
of what she was to find there, and
quite as surprised and generally de-
lighted. They will learn of the
King who was proud, young hand
some, and bound by tradition yet
anxious to give Siam some of the
progressiveness of the west, of which
he had heard
Anna was to be a great asset to
the King in his yearning to be a
liberal, but they were to have their
tempestuous conflicts before she. a
mere woman. was to convince him
that she was his teacher even more
than of his household.
The lavish stage which has been
erected for the picture is dominated
by Miss Dunno and Harrison. They
are the epitome of the difference
between the East and West. Both
are colorful, intense personalities,
born for combat. The attraction
between them always far outWeights
the inevitable repulsions born of
different ways of life. In the play
ing of the principals, Anna and the
King are matchlessly interesting
screen characters.
Miss Landon's story was aglow
with incident. So is the picture. 1t
is not afraid to take time to say
what it has to say and it is one of
few screen dramas that can afford
to be so fearless. The wealth of in
cldent is always wisely used to il
Illuminate character. not merely that
of Anna and the King, but a num-
Der of others who are important and
engaging.
Director Cromwell is never re-
quired to wrestle any of its effects
out of Annals story. It's comedy is
there in her dudgeon when she
discovers she is to live in the Kings
harem; when she learns that he has
81 children; when she goes into re-
morseless conflict with his pride and
his petulance in order to get a
house of her own as he had
promised; and in dozen other
dramatic episodes. It's tragic inter-
ludes are etched with equal ease and
certainty. The highlight of these.
as readers of the book will remem-
Der, is the funeral pyre incident in
which the King forces Anna to wit
ness the death of the recently fav-
or1te concubine she tried to save
from his barbarity.
~ 40 A'NN a &CSI, UuL 1U Is 6lWdYS
a dramatic line in which the story
moves toward greater understand
Ing between the King and Anna.
The bond which holds them is :.
more unbreakable. It is tied
not merely in the scenes mentioned.
but in quiet ones in the Kings quar-
ters. In these, the petulant mon
arch cuts humorously poignant
figure before he surrenders to
Anna's flrmness and his own desire
to moderniZe his poor but proud
kingdom. These constitute some of
the littlest spots of the picture. but
also some of the best.
Other minor facets of the nara
tive are handled with equivalent
force. Among these are Annals re-
lations with the even-tempered, cor
pulent prime minister played by
Lee j. Cobb; the touching relation
ship between the teacher and the
older concubine who is mother of
the Crown Prince; and the tragic
one between herself at Tuptin. the