The King and I (1956)

I have resisted watching this film for a long time, and I feel that it is at the end of my 50s-60s unwatched musicals list.  The reason I resisted it was, I dislike watching films that are supposed to set in an area I know something about, and ends up feeling stereotypical and wrong.   Also, I while I know how noteworthy Yul Brynner is, obviously it is an odd choice having a Russian play the role of the Thai king.  But as it turns out, there were not a lot of cultural mistakes that stood out enough to detract from the overall film.  Yul Brynner's performance was amazing, as he gave an exotic feel to the character, as well as regal air.  Every time Yul Brynner appeared, he was always entertaining and his songs enjoyable.

Before watching this film, I had read that Rita Moreno was in the film, but had not only completely forgotten that while watching the film, but I completely didn't recognize her while watching the film.  I was keen to find out who the actress was who played the Burmese girl Tuptim and quite surprised to find she was Rita Moreno.

Oddly enough, I don't believe a single Thai person was cast in this film (or any other production or version of the King and I) nor was one word of Thai spoken.  Also, I thought some of the sets were slightly off, as well as I was uncertain if the costumes (especially those of Yul Brynner) were culturally accurate.  Also, there were a number of times when Thai people were touched on the head, which is a cultural faux pas.

The oddity which is the "Thai" production of  "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was also quite entertaining and certainly a unique twist on the story.  I have never read Uncle Tom's Cabin, so I don't know how faithful it was to the original, but the English narration gave some insight to the actions often performed in Thai dance.

A number of concepts were brought up, including the Thai's not knowing the world was round or the size of their country.  Also, they showed some antagonism towards Burma, which I never knew existed.  And it was proposed that England make Thai a protectorate.  I don't know how many of these ideas were historically accurate, but I would like to look into them further.

I was only aware of one song before watching this film, "Getting to Know You", though I was unaware that it was from this musical.