Movies - Miss Suwanna of Siam

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	Movies - Miss Suwanna of Siam

Miss Suwanna of Siam, or Nong Sao Suwan, was a 1923 romance film written and directed by Henry MacRae, set in Thailand (then Siam) and starring Thai actors. It was the first feature film to be made in Thailand, and though it was a Hollywood co-production, it is regarded as the first Thai film.

Unfortunately, nothing of the film exists today except for some promotional materials and other ephemera held at the Thailand National Film Archive.

Plot

The film is a romance about a young woman named Suwanna who is the object of affection for many men. In her search for true love, she has many adventures and mishaps, including overcoming her father's disapproval, before finally finding her soulmate.

Cast

Sa-ngaim Naveesatien as Suwanna
Ram Projtasart

Crew

Director - Henry MacRae
Assistant director - Robert Kerr (He returned to Siam in 1928 to direct his own film, The White Rose. It was shown in Bangkok in September 1928.)
Cinematographer - Dal Clawson

Alternate titles

Despite the Royal Thai General System of Transcription for transliteration of Thai into English, there are different ways to state the title of Miss Suwanna of Siam, with the title character's name being alternately spelled Suwann, Suwan, Suwarn, Suvarn, Suwarna or Suvarna. The Thai title is Nang Sao Suwan or Nangsao Suwan, with alternate English titles The Gold of Siam or Kingdom of Heaven

Production

Premiere

Suwanna of Siam was an 8-mm, 8-reel silent film. It premiered on June 22, 1923 at the Nakornsrithamarat Theatre, and then opened the next day at the Phathanakorn Cinematograph, the Hong Kong Cinema Hall and the Victoria Theater.

A newspaper account of the opening reads:

:"On Saturday night last, there were record attendances to witness the film 'Suvarna of Siam' and incidentally to aid in support of the Siam Red Cross, the management having most generously undertaken to give all the takings to that most excellent institution. H.R.H. Admiral the Prince of Nagor Rajasima was present at the Phathanakorn, where a most excellent programme was provided. Naturally an immense amount of interest centered upon 'Suvarna of Siam' the local drama-film upon which Mr. Henry Macrae, Mr. Robert Kerr and Mr. Dal Clawson have been at work for some time past. The film is of special interest as it is the first big thing of the kind ever made in this country and it has been so constructed as to afford the greatest collection possible of scenic backgrounds, thus affording a sort of panorama of the country with the story of Suvarna running through it all, like the leit motif of an opera. The story itself has all the necessary features of melodrama, love, hate, revenge, injured innocence, false accusation, man-slaughter, etc., etc., and it all ends up nicely and pleasantly with the long-lost heir coming to his own and the lovers wandering off hand in hand into the bright future. And all this wanders through a lot of real life scenes, from Their Royal Highnesses the Princes Damrong and Purachatra sitting "at the receipt of custom" to "elephants a pilin' teak," golf at Hua Hin, the Raek Na ceremony, a Bangkok fire, and views upon views of palaces and wats, incidentally proving a really first-class advertisement to the State Railways and various other of Siam's modernities. The film is certainly well worth seeing, from the scenic standpoint alone and all concerned in its production merit all credit for good work well done. It will be shown to-night again at the Phathanakorn and Hong Kong cinemas and we certainly advise all who have not seen it to do so." ::- Bangkok Daily Mail, Monday, 25 June 1923

Preproduction

Production started in 1922, but before he could begin filming, MacRae had to first ask permission of the Siamese Royal Court.

"Today Mr Henry A. MacRae came to see me. I assured him of two things: first, traveling; second, finding a place for film processing and screening. Above these, he has to take care of himself. For our benefit, he has to give a copy of the film to the State Railway in return...", an excerpt from the writings of Prince Kumbaengbejr reads, in reaction to a visit by MacRae, who wanted to "take picture of Bangkok and the Beauties of Siam, including the King and the Palace Buildings."

"I felt that His Majesty, King Rama VI, would be interested in moving pictures," McRae wrote in The Film Year Book (1924). "And after considerable maneuvering I finally secured an audience which resulted in securing the entire Company's assistance together with the free use of the King's 52 automobiles, His Majesty's 600 race horses, the free use of the navy, the Royal Palaces, the railways, the rice mills, thousands of miles of rice fields, cocoanut groves, klongs and Elephants, and white elephants at that."

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Miss Suwanna of Siam ]

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