The Inn of the Sixth Happiness

Infobox Film
name = The Inn of the Sixth Happiness


caption = Original film poster
director = Mark Robson
producer = Buddy Adler
writer = Alan Burgess (book)
Isobel Lennart
starring = Ingrid Bergman
Curd Jürgens
Robert Donat
distributor = 20th Century Fox
released = flagicon|USA December 11 1958
runtime = 158 min.
language = English, Mandarin, Japanese, Russian
music = Malcolm Arnold
cinematography = Freddie Young
editing = Ernest Walter
imdb_id = 0051776

"The Inn of the Sixth Happiness" is a 1958 20th Century Fox film based on the true story of Gladys Aylward, a tenacious British maid, who became a missionary in China during the tumultuous years leading up to World War II. Directed by Mark Robson, who received an Academy Award for Directing nomination, the film stars Ingrid Bergman as Aylward and Curt Jurgens as her love interest, Colonel Lin Nan, a Chinese officer with a Dutch father. Robert Donat, who played the mandarin of the town in which Aylward lived, died before the film was released. The musical score was composed by Malcolm Arnold. The cinematography was by Freddie Young.

The film was shot in Britain, including Snowdonia in Wales, and some of the main Chinese characters were played by Europeans, including Robert Donat. Most of the children used in the film were little Scouse Chinese kids, as North Wales is close to Liverpool. Liverpool has Britain's oldest Chinese community. At one point in the film the kids can be heard singing "This Old Man" and they sound suspiciously like scouse accents.

Plot

The story begins with Aylward being rejected as a potential missionary to China because of her lack of education. Dr.Robinson, the senior missionary, feels sorry for her and secures her a position in the home of a veteran explorer with contacts in China. Over the next few months, Aylward saves her money to purchase a ticket on the Trans-Siberian railway, choosing the more dangerous overland route to the East because it is less expensive.

Once in China, she settles in the town of Yang Cheng, where she secures a post as assistant to a veteran missionary, Jeannie Lawson (played by Athene Seyler), who has set up an inn for traveling merchants, where they can get a hot meal and hear stories from the Bible. The film follows Aylward's acculturation, culminating in her taking over the inn when Lawson dies in an accident.

The local mandarin appoints Aylward, a stubborn but endearing woman, as his Foot Inspector to ensure that the ancient practice of foot binding is eradicated in the region he governs. She succeeds in this, and manages to put down a prison revolt as well, winning her the esteem of the local population as well as of the mandarin. Meanwhile, however, China is being invaded by Japan, and Aylward is encouraged by Lin to leave. She refuses, and as the town of Yang Cheng comes under attack, she finds that she has fifty orphans in her care.

As the population prepares to evacuate the town, the mandarin announces that he is converting to Christianity as a result of the Christian love shown by Aylward. Aylward is overcome with emotion, but is now left alone with the children, aided by Lee, the former leader of the prison revolt that she helped to resolve (played by Burt Kwouk). Lin tells her that the only hope for safety is to take the children to the next province, where trucks will drive them to safety, but they must get there within three weeks, or else the trucks will leave without them.

Just as they are preparing to leave, another fifty orphans appear from a neighbouring town, so Aylward and Lee have no choice but to lead one hundred children on a trek across the countryside. Although it should only have taken them a week, the roads are infested with Japanese patrols, and the group has no choice but to cut across the mountains. After a long, difficult journey, they all arrive safely (except for Lee, who gave his life to save them from a Japanese patrol) on the day the trucks are to leave. Aylward is greeted by Dr.Robinson, whom she reminds how he rejected her as a missionary years before.

The film culminates with the column of children, led by Aylward, marching into the town, singing the song "This Old Man" to keep up their spirits.

Critical reaction

Despite overwhelmingly positive responses from contemporary and current critics, the film has garnered some negative attention:

*The film has been criticized as having the most inauthentic casting, showing Ingrid Bergman, tall with a Swedish accent, as Gladys Aylward, who was short and had a London accent. Robert Donat, a British actor who was not Chinese at all, played the mandarin, and the Austrian actor Curt Jurgens was Colonel Lin.

*The real-life Gladys has reportedly commented that the part of Colonel Lin was not accurate, as it was based on her real friend, Linnan, and he was pure Chinese.

Trivia

*The film was based on the book "The Small Woman" (1957), by Alan Burgess.

*Sean Connery was considered for the role of Colonel Lin. The screen tests from this can be seen on the DVD.

*"Inn of the Sixth Happiness" inspired Penny Rimbaud, latterly founder and drummer of punk band Crass, to set up the Dial House 'open house' in 1967 ["There is No Authority But Yourself", dir. Alexander Oey, 2006] .

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0051776|title=The Inn of the Sixth Happiness
*tcmdb title|id=79235|title=The Inn of the Sixth Happiness