Solomon and Sheba (1959)

Director:

King Vidor

Writers:

Crane Wilbur (story)
Anthony Veiller (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 December 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Behold! The love story of the ages!

Plot:

Shortly before his death in ancient Israel King David has a vision from God telling him that his younger son Solomon should succeed him as king...

Plot Keywords:

King | Israel | Pharaoh | Tribe | Queen Of Sheba

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Yul Brynner	...	Solomon
Gina Lollobrigida	...	Sheba
George Sanders	...	Adonijah
Marisa Pavan	...	Abishag
David Farrar	...	Pharaoh
John Crawford	...	Joab
Finlay Currie	...	David
Harry Andrews	...	Baltor
José Nieto	...	Ahab (as Jose Nieto)
Maruchi Fresno	...	Bathsheba
William Devlin	...	Nathan
Jack Gwillim	...	Josiah
Jean Anderson	...	Takyan
Laurence Naismith	...	Hezrai (as Lawrence Naismith)
Julio Peña	...	Zadok (as Julio Pena)

Runtime:

139 min | 141 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (35 mm prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Certification:

UK:PG | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Madrid, Spain

Company:

Edward Small Productions

Trivia:

Co-producer/star Tyrone Power had completed shooting more than half of the film when he collapsed during a duelling scene with George Sanders and died a few minutes later. Power was replaced in the role of Solomon by Yul Brynner, who refilmed all of Power's scenes. Power, however, is still visible in the film in long shots.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: When we first see Sheba, she is feeding a macaw. They are native to Brazil, not Egypt.

Quotes:

Abishag: How interesting your encampment is. Are your people always so carefree and gay?
Sheba: We enjoy life and pleasure. Don't you?
Abishag: Oh yes, we do. But we are... an austere people. We tend to be more serious.
Sheba: And you king... is he also serious?
Abishag: King Solomon has a great responsibility.

Movie Connections:

Version of Haring Solomon at Reyna Sheba (1952)

" You worship only one God, we have many to choose from "

Back in the early history of Hollywood, during the 1950's, movie producers and gifted directors were often constricted and restricted in their efforts to produce memorable films. Take this one for instance. The film is called " Solomon (Yul Brynner) and Sheba (Gina Lollobrigida) " Some say they succeeded, others, especially modern critics used to a more tolerant set of guidelines, snicker at their censored efforts. The story is of the Bibical encounter between the wisest of all kings and the sultry queen from Sheba. Although many facts are distorted, the magnificence within the movie are surprisingly spectacular. Indeed, while viewing the gorgeous setting, elegant costumes and splendid scenery a plethora of questions arise. Things like, Solomon having a hundred wives, yet pursues Sheba like a lion after a kill. The Queen is given permission to have a pagan ritual to her God, however modern audiences view their exotic gyrating dance with yawing amusement. Still the cast of this film did a great job. George Sanders, David Farrar, John Crawford and Finlay Currie as David give this film it's legitimacy. Together they establish this colorful film as a movie original. ***