King Solomon's Mines (1950)

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:

Treasure | Africa | Guilt | Diamond Mine | Skeleton

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 movie has no music score whatever. The only thing at all musical in the film is some African chanting and drums.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the stampede scene, at first Quartarmain is firing his rifle to attempt to turn the terrified animals. When he exhausts the rifle's ammunition, he puts it down and pulls out his revolver. The next couple of shots, he's holding the rifle again. Then, he again has the revolver; after that, the shots switch between him holding each weapon several times.

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:

Featured in Trader Horn (1973)

A terrific adventure story

The 1950 version of King Solomon's Mines shows what's missing from today's action/adventure movies: characters who interest you *as people* and not simply because they are being shot at, chased, suspended from great heights, etc. The two main characters here, Allan Quartermain (Stewart Granger) and Elizabeth Curtis (Deborah Kerr), develop during the course of the movie from romance-novel stereotypes into three-dimensional characters you believe in and care about. Sure, this isn't Shakespeare, but it's miles ahead of the soulless roller-coaster rides we seem to get so frequently today.

Granger and Kerr are both perfect -- he as the world-weary yet principled guide & hunter, she as the imperious lady who insists on hiring him to find her lost husband. The supporting cast is also very good, especially the African actors who have small but often crucial roles in the film.

Visually, the film is gorgeous. It is packed with great shots of the African country and wildlife. It also captures (or recreates) indigenous music and rituals that I would imagine have completely vanished in the subsequent 50 years. Viewers should be aware that, during the first few minutes of the film, two elephants are shot & killed on screen. I found that a bit shocking, since no one actually kills animals in movies anymore.

A great movie, one where the human element is just as interesting as the adventure the characters are embarked upon.