Anna and the King of Siam (20th Century-Fox) flies in the face of established Hollywood precedent by ignoring Young Love, and proves that a movie can be lively entertainment even if boy doesn't get—or even meet—girl.
Set in the 1860s, the film is a fairly literal transcription of Margaret Landon's 1944 best-selling biography. Anna (Irene Dunne) is a purposeful widow, handsome in her crinolines, who arrives in Siam clutching her young son by the hand. Having firmly decided against marrying again, she is taking a job as schoolmarm in the gaudy, uncivilized court of King Mongkut (Rex Harrison). The King's domestic arrangements...
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