King Solomon's Mines

I feel as strongly as the most ecstatic reviewers here that this is a fine adventure film. But at the same time I have to qualify that by noting that this is a classic adventure film and that many viewers are disappointed in it online. I think decades of Indiana Jones (for which this film was a kind of spiritual prototype) not to mention every other adventure, Sci-Fi and Young Adult Fiction film have trained audiences to expect the most spectacular and impossible events, bigger than life, aided by computer generated effects. In King Solomon's Mines the thrills and events are merely life-size, which on screen from the perspective of today, looks pretty small. But remember, it only takes one lion or even an angry dog to totally ruin your day.This film was its own spectacle when it first came out in 1950, unfortunately just before the advent of CinemaScope which is why it isn't even shown on television that often. It did have every other new element that the studios were jumping on to get people away from those pesky new televisions that were decimating the box office. It was in color. It was shot on location in Africa. All the nature and animal footage was shot for this film and became stock footage for other films for the next two decades. Great respect was shown to period detail. Actual Africans were hired to play Africans including the first tie the Watusi tribe ever allowed films to be made of them. This includes some authentic chanting and dances which I am happy to say are included in Amazon's streamed version of the film. In some TV, video and DVD versions these were cut.Top actors were hired for the principal cast including an up and coming Stuart Grainger and already established Deborah Kerr. Grainger was a replacement for Errol Flynn who said no when he heard he would have to stay on location in a tent but he was a great fit.The plot, of a woman and her brother looking for her husband who is missing after a trip to find a treasure in Africa is adequately exploredand I'm sure gone into in detail in other reviews here. The dangers from a charging rhino, a stampeding mass of savanna animals, a spider, a leopard, the desertion of the group by bearers and the appearance of a hostile tribe, were enough to kill anyone in 1897 when the film is set, and to keep viewers on the edge of their seats. But this is just where the problems come in. Younger viewers and even those not so young are going to say "Ho-hum" to all of this because they've seen such exaggerated adventures on giant screens today.Even the love interest is underplayed in retrospect and at the end of the film after a climactic battle, everyone just quietly walks away. It's nothing like the way films are made today, which would have required a smash-bang ending, but it's worthwhile all the same. It's a great movie if you give it a chance.

Everything in this movie is so carefully researched and presented. What a delight to see something so well done coming out of this period of movie making. Stewart Granger and Deborah Kerr do a fine acting job, but they are almost secondary to the incredible cinematography, native authenticity and script writing. I'm so glad we own this movie. I recommend it to anyone who likes a good adventure with a truthful backdrop.

Great old fashioned movie. It was even nominated for Academy Awards and won at least one. Arguably not PC in spots. But given its 1950 date pretty modern. Basically, woman searching for disappeared husband hires hunter to lead search into unknown territories in Africa. Various obstacles and adventures. Finally find dead husband and treasure but don't get to keep. Woman and hunter fall in love. Likely live happily ever after. Some good wildlife segements. In color back when many movies where in B&W. Anyone interested in movie history needs this movie.

H. Rider Haggard's original tale of African adventure and mystery was originally made into film form in 1950 [a remake of a 1937 version] and though there are many poor remakes, there is only one original Alan Quartermain, played masterfully by Stewart Granger.In the film, a woman wants to hire Alan for a an expedition to find her husband, who bought a cheap map from an Arab trader claiming there was a treasure at King Solomon's Mines. For all the talk of the Mines, there is really very little of that in the story. The story is really about a man who has lost all hope and is tired of being a hired hunter for rich boys from England.And it's a story about Elizabeth, the prim and proper English woman who wants to find her husband and feels a guilt, so strong, that she wants to find her husband. Neither care about diamonds and when they do find them, they have no desire to hoard them. Especially when they find true love in each others' arms - after much hate towards each other!The film starts dark! Alan takes a couple of guys hunting and is forced to kill an elephant which itself has stampeded one of his best native men. After that, he really doesn't want to deal with this hired hunter business. But the film is again all about the adventure. We have hostile natives shot in a beautiful African environment. The stampede of the animals near half-way the film is really amazing. There are times when the natives chicken out from the "great white hunter" and Alan is really on his own. I thought this strange since he had been doing this hunting business for eight years, yet the natives still don't trust him. Odd.They pick up a very tall tribesman along the way who is crucial to the ending. We have native civil wars and some hidden messages regarding animals and the environment. When Alan refuses to unnecessarily kill a rhino or a lion, Elizabeth gives him a hard time until she sees he only kills when necessary. Elizabeth is very slow on the uptake. Despite her bravado at the start of the film, she is wilting in the heat and is so exhausted that when hostile natives attack her party, she'd rather lay down on the earth than climb a tree to safety. Now that's tired!Deborah Kerr plays a great proper English girl, just like she did in "The King and I." But in that film she was strong-willed. In "King", she slowly builds up to that strength and it is at times annoying that it takes so long. When our intrepid crew is trapped in a cave-in, they discover the diamonds and jewels of the Mines, but no one even thinks of pocketing a handful before escaping. I mean, really now guys!Overall the best parts of the film are the interactions of the animals and the authentic language and actions of the natives. There are some scenes that are sad, some exciting and some major changes in human behavior and activity.This film has been compared to the later Indiana Jones films but that may be an unfair comparison. The Indiana Jones films were more about Indy and his enemies. In "King" it's about Alan Quartermain's relationship with Africa, with a strong-willed woman & her brother, and with a new adventure in native relations! The only "enemy" really is the jungle and his own personal demons.DVD: A very basic DVD, with trailer, language and scene selection and not much else!Highly Recommended!A Cast & Crew Worth Repeating:Directors:Compton Bennett, Andrew MartonWriters:Helen Deutsch (screenplay), H. Rider Haggard (novel)Stars:Deborah Kerr, Stewart Granger and Richard CarlsonOther Resources!Three Adventure Novels: She, King Solomon's Mines, Allan QuatermainKing Solomon's Treasure/ King Solomon's Mine (1937)