The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958)

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Better Late Then Never

best movie i've ever seen.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Despite its length, the mish-mash of accents and the alarming number of handkerchiefs needed to watch this film, 'The Inn of the Sixth Happiness' overflows with love of life and humanity. Bergman is luminous in her role, and the intense emotion she pours into every scene lifts this otherwise average film onto a higher plane.Robert Donat was terminally ill with a brain tumour when he made this film, and (much to his professional embarrassment) had to have his lines on cue-cards dotted around the set for his last few shots. Ingrid Bergman's tears are desperately real, for Donat's final words are the farewell of a dying man where art and life fold together into a brief unity. One of the most poignant moments in cinema.

This is a story of a real English woman (Gladys Aylward) who gave her life for the Chinese people as a missionary with surprisingly strong will.She visited the office of China Inland Mission Center in London only to be refused. On her way to the introduced employer for a housemaid, she stopped by a travel agent and booked a train to China via Siberia. In this way, she always does what she believes she ought to do, upon belief of that God protects and leads her. She shows her sanguine attitude and tireless energy which are typical to God believers. One may doubt if such a woman actually exists, but I remember similar woman. I read an autobiography ("Chasing the Dragon" by Jackie Pulllinger) of another English woman who served as a missionary at the Walled City of Hong Kong. From the memory of my surprise from the book, I could believe that Cladys Aylward actually existed. I think Ingrid Bergman acted this woman very well. However, this movie has many embroideries and dramatizations that are typical to 1950s Hollywood movies. For example, English language dominates the movie in China, and the scene the children are welcomed amid hearty cheers of people of Sian. The most questioned embroidery is that the colonel is given Caucasian blood and made to the lover of Cladys.

I had high hopes re-viewing this film which I remember being entranced by as a child. Sorry to say it didn't live up to my expectations. That may be as much to my adult cynicism as anything else but even so I found the film, particularly in the second half, to be overly cloying and sentimental. I know from related reading that the real - life Nurse Gladys Aylward (still alive when the film was released) was upset by the phony insertion of a love interest between her and the army captain. I strongly believe it weakens the dynamic premise of the film - here was a woman single-mindedly devoted to missionary work amongst the people and particularly children of an obscure North Chinese province and it just detracts from her religious dedication to her cause for her to be swooning around a handsome Eurasian as played by Curt Jurgens. The earlier more episodic scenes work better for me than the sub-"Sound of Music" march of the Chinese children (to mix my Rodgers and Hammerstein metaphors) to safety. I found the hackneyed swelling and subsiding of the music at key scenes, especially during the concocted love scenes between Bergman and Jurgens, to be intrusive and detracting. The whole film should have been done in a grittier more realistic way and would thus have made for a better more cohesive movie. Ingrid Bergman is radiant and energetic in the lead part (you have to laugh when she states at one point that she's not attractive), Jurgens is leaden in a contrived stereotypical role while an aged Robert Donat is excellent and almost unrecognisable in his role as the mandarin with a heart of gold. All told, however, I found the film too sentimental reflecting more on the merits of Bergman the actress than on Aylward whose true - life story this was. And for a bio - pic that, in my book, has to be wrong.

I had seen this movie about a year ago in my World History Class and i have to say it is a great movie that is rarely seen nowadays. The characters are believable and the story is very well done. I would recommend seeing this if you ever get the chance. Just having to watch the main character struggle in a new society, with new challenges, ideals is simply an amazing point of view not common in any movie produced now. Once again I would strongly urge that you find a copy of this movie for your viewing pleasure you will not be disappointed by any aspect contained within. Nothing in this movie has any obscene shock value and is a great family movie