King Solomon's Mines (1950)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Directors:

Compton Bennett
Andrew Marton

Writers:

Helen Deutsch (screenplay)
H. Rider Haggard (novel)

Release Date:

24 November 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Romance | Action

Plot:

Guide Allan Quatermain helps a young lady (Beth) find her lost husband somewhere in Africa. It's a spectacular adventure story with romance...

Plot Keywords:

Guilt | Treasure | Africa | Widower | Fugitive

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Deborah Kerr	...	Elizabeth Curtis
Stewart Granger	...	Allan Quatermain
Richard Carlson	...	John Goode
Hugo Haas	...	Van Brun aka Smith
Lowell Gilmore	...	Eric Masters, District Commissioner
Kimursi	...	Khiva, Chief Bearer in Red Fez (as Kimursi of the Kipsigi Tribe)
Siriaque	...	Umbopa, Tall Prince-in-Exile
Sekaryongo	...	Chief Gagool, Witch-like Guide to Diamond Mines
Baziga	...	King Twala, Usurper (as Baziga of the Watussi Tribe)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

UK:PG (TV rating) | West Germany:12 | USA:Not Rated (video rating) | Belgium:Tous | France:U | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:15 | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #14499)

Filming Locations:

Biondo, Democratic Republic Of Congo

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The scene in which Deborah Kerr cuts her own hair and then cuts to her sunning with a perfectly quaffed hairstyle got such a big laugh at the initial screenings of the film that producers debated removing the scene. However, they couldn't figure out another way to explain Kerr's change of hairstyle, so they kept the improbable scenes intact.

Goofs:

Continuity: Early in the film, when Quartermain is walking along talking to the heroine's brother, the brim of Quartermain's hat is split and flapping in the breeze. Later it's seen in one piece again.

Quotes:

Allan Quatermain: ...in the end you begin to accept it all... you watch things hunting and being hunted, reproducing, killing and dying, it's all endless and pointless, except in the end one small pattern emerges from it all, the only certainty: one is born, one lives for a time then one dies, that is all...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Arrebato (1980)

Simply a great movie!

Aaron Copland believed great art goes hand in hand with simplicity. This movie is simple and great. I was browsing on the internet when I discovered some reviews of the R-1 DVD which heavily criticize the movie (and not just the DVD). I gave a quick look at IMDb to discover that, quite amazingly to me, the movie has only a 6.8 rating, that it has only been rated by less than a thousand viewers and that many viewer apparently found it boring. Let me just emphasize what should be obvious: this version of 'King Solomon's Mines' is not an action movie. It is probably best described as an invitation to Africa, combined with a reflexion on various aspects of what it means to be human. It many respects, it foreshadows and complements Clint Eastwood's 'White Hunter, Black Heart'.

Let me mention just one striking 'detail': what's going on on screen is SO fascinating that no music has been added to the various sounds emanating from the country or from the music instruments of the African people themselves. This was a daring move, especially at the time, but it enriched the movie enormously.

I will end this quick review with a piece of advice: Your mind should be as free as possible from everyday's life various troubles if you want to enjoy this movie. Pick up a night when you are already rather relaxed, and immerse yourself gently into the atmosphere created by the filmmakers. You won't regret it.