The Inn of the Sixth Happiness
Short description
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness tells the story of Gladys Aylward, a young Englishwoman who is determined to serve as a missionary in China but lacks the qualifications for an official posting. She works as a domestic servant in England to pay her own way, eventually reaching a remote village in the north of the country, where she helps run an inn. Over time she earns the trust of the local people, takes on the role of inspecting the feet of young girls to enforce the ban on binding, and gains the respect of the region's Mandarin. She also forms a close bond with Captain Lin Nan, an officer of mixed heritage. When Japanese forces invade, she leads a group of children on a long and dangerous journey through the mountains toward safety.
The film is directed by Mark Robson, the eighth of the thirteen features he made, following Peyton Place and preceding The Prize. Isobel Lennart wrote the screenplay, and Buddy Adler produced. Ingrid Bergman plays Gladys, with Curd Jürgens as Lin Nan, Robert Donat as the Mandarin, Burt Kwouk, Tsai Chin and Richard Wattis in supporting roles. Made by 20th Century Fox on a budget of about four million dollars, it returned roughly nine million worldwide. On IMDb it holds a 7.2 rating from some 5,800 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.8 from a much smaller sample of 87. A critics' rating of 6.9 from six reviews places it broadly in line with audience opinion.
What's left behind the scenes
- Gladys Aylward (1902-1970) was born in London. Once an ordinary maid, she became involved in missionary work in China and is most famous for her work with local children. She received Chinese citizenship in 1936. Four years later, while she herself was ill, during the Sino-Japanese War, Aylward led over a hundred Chinese children through the mountains to safety. In 1958, the year the film was released, she founded an orphanage in Taiwan, which she managed until her death.
- Almost all outdoor scenes were filmed in North Wales, with studio filming taking place in England, so the entire film was shot in the West – using Chinese people as extras. Chinese children in the film were played by Chinese children from Liverpool, which is home to one of the oldest Chinese diasporas in Europe.
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