''King Solomon's Mines'' is a 1950
Technicolor
Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades.
Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...
adventure film
The adventure film is a broad genre of film. Some early genre studies found it no different than the Western film or argued that adventure could encompass all Hollywood genres. Commonality was found among historians Brian Taves and Ian Cameron in ...
, and the second film adaptation of the 1885
novel of the same name by
Henry Rider Haggard. It stars
Deborah Kerr,
Stewart Granger and
Richard Carlson. It was adapted by
Helen Deutsch, directed by
Compton Bennett and
Andrew Marton
Andrew Marton (born Endre Marton; 26 January 1904 – 7 January 1992) was a Hungarian-American film director. In his career, he directed 39 films and television programs, and worked on 16 as a second unit director, including the chariot race in ...
and released by
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
.
Plot
In "
British East Africa" (
Kenya Colony
The Colony and Protectorate of Kenya, commonly known as British Kenya or British East Africa, was part of the British Empire in Africa from 1920 until 1963. It was established when the former East Africa Protectorate was transformed into a Brit ...
) in 1897, experienced British safari guide
Allan Quatermain is persuaded by Elizabeth Curtis to find her husband, who disappeared in the unexplored African interior while searching for the legendary King Solomon’s mines. She has a copy of the map he used. Elizabeth and her brother John Goode join the adventure. Allan has no use for women on a
safari
A safari (; originally ) is an overland journey to observe wildlife, wild animals, especially in East Africa. The so-called big five game, "Big Five" game animals of Africa – lion, African leopard, leopard, rhinoceros, African elephant, elep ...
, but during the long and grueling journey he and Elizabeth begin to fall in love.
The party encounters Van Brun, a lone white man living with a tribe. They learn that he met Curtis. However, when Allan recognizes him as a fugitive who cannot afford to let them go, they take him hostage to leave the village safely. Van Brun tries to shoot Allan, killing his faithful right-hand man Khiva instead. Allan dispatches Van Brun, and the party flees from the angry villagers.
They meet a tall mysterious native, Umbopa, who joins them. When they finally reach the region where the mines are believed to be, they are met by people who resemble him. They discover that their companion is royalty; he has returned to attempt to dethrone the evil usurper King Twala. Umbopa leaves with his supporters to raise a rebellion, while Allan, Elizabeth and John travel to a tense meeting with Twala at his
kraal. With his last rifle bullet, John kills a would-be attacker, temporarily quelling the natives.
The king's advisor, Gagool, communicates that they have seen Curtis and leads them to a cave that contains a trove of jewels and his skeletal remains. While they are distracted by this grisly discovery, Gagool triggers a booby trap that seals the adventurers inside. They find a way out through an underground river and return to Twala's compound just as Umbopa and his followers arrive.
Umbopa's people decide a disputed kingship by having the two claimants duel to the death. Despite cheating by one of Twala's men, Umbopa wins. Afterwards, he provides an escort for his friends' return trip.
Cast
*
Deborah Kerr as Elizabeth Curtis
*
Stewart Granger as Allan Quatermain
*
Richard Carlson as John Goode
*
Hugo Haas as Van Brun ("Smith")
*
Lowell Gilmore as Eric Masters
* Kimursi as Khiva (credited as Kimursi of the Kipsigi Tribe)
* Siriaque as Umbopa
* Sekaryongo as Chief Gagool
* Baziga as King Twala (credited as Baziga of the Watussi Tribe)
Production
In November 1946, MGM announced it had purchased film rights to the novel from
Gaumont British, which had made the 1937 adaptation.
Sam Zimbalist was assigned the job of producing.
In October 1948, Helen Deutsch was assigned to write the script.
MGM typically made one or two big "overseas" spectacles a year around this time. When ''
Quo Vadis'' was postponed, it was decided to film ''King Solomon's Mines'' on location in Africa. Production equipment was trucked in, with a convoy of
Dodge
Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence, Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...
trucks traveling a total distance of over .
Adaptation
Like virtually all film versions, this also changes Haggard's plot to include a female lead. But it strays even further from the novel than the 1937 British adaptation ''
King Solomon's Mines''. There are several African characters in the book, particularly Umbopa, a king in disguise. In the earlier film,
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for h ...
received
top billing for the role, whereas in this version, Umbopa's importance is greatly reduced.
Casting
Deborah Kerr was announced as the female lead in July 1949. MGM wanted
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian and American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Oliv ...
to co-star. The same month Compton Bennett was signed to direct; he had just finished ''
That Forsyte Woman'' for MGM with Flynn.
Flynn eventually chose instead to star in ''
Kim''. Stewart Granger was signed to play the role in August 1949. Richard Carlson was cast in September.
Shooting
Filming in Africa took place at
Murchison Falls in
Uganda
Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
;
Astrida, "the land of giant
Watusis"; Volcano Country and
Stanleyville in the
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...
;
Tanganyika; and
Rumuruti and
Machakos in
Kenya
Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
.
The film marked the beginning of
Eva Monley's career as a Hollywood
location scout and producer, specializing in Africa.
[ Monley received her first film job as a script supervisor and assistant during production of ''King Solomon's Mines''.][ Additionally, the cave scene was filmed in the Slaughter Canyon Cave in Carlsbad Caverns National Park and other scenes at nearby Sitting Bull Falls in Lincoln National Forest, both in the state of ]New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
, in the Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...
.
In February 1950, after five months of location filming in Africa, Andrew Marton replaced Compton Bennett as director. The official reason given was Bennett fell ill but there were rumours that Bennett had a falling out with some of the cast.
Reception
Critical
Bosley Crowther of ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' wrote that "there is more than a trace of outright hokum in this thriller ... but there is also an ample abundance of scenic novelty and beauty to compensate." '' Variety'' called it a "striking adventure film" with "high excitement in meetings with wild savages and beasts and a number of excellently staged fights-to-the-death." '' Harrison's Reports'' called it "a highly spectacular romantic adventure melodrama that has the rare quality of holding an audience captivated from start to finish." John McCarten of ''The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' wrote, "'King Solomon's Mines' undertakes to show what a safari through Africa might have been up against fifty years ago. In this, I think, the picture, which was shot in the African highlands, succeeds admirably." '' The Monthly Film Bulletin'' called it "a somewhat stilted epic, strangely lacking in excitement", with Kerr seeming "miscast and out of place."
Box-office
According to MGM records, the film earned $5,047,000 in the US and Canada. It made $4,908,000 elsewhere. After production and other associated costs were deducted, the movie made a profit of $4,049,000, which made it MGM's most successful film of 1950, and the second highest-grossing film of that year in the United States.
The film was the third most popular film at the British box-office in 1951. It was also a big hit in France, with admissions of 4,108,770.[Box office information for Stewart Granger films in France](_blank)
at Box Office Story
Awards and nominations
Robert L. Surtees won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Color, while Ralph E. Winters and Conrad A. Nervig won for Best Film Editing. The film was nominated for Best Picture.
Radio adaptation
''King Solomon's Mines'' was presented on '' Lux Radio Theatre'' on December 1, 1952. The one-hour adaptation featured Kerr and Granger in their screen roles.[ ]
References
External links
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''King Solomon's Mines''
on Lux Radio Theater: December 1, 1952
Zone Troopers: Website about the different Allan Quatermain and King Solomon's Mine films
{{Authority control
1950 films
1950 adventure films
American adventure films
American romantic drama films
1950s English-language films
Films based on King Solomon's Mines
Films directed by Andrew Marton
Films directed by Compton Bennett
Films set in the 1890s
Films shot in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Films shot in Kenya
Films shot in Tanzania
Films shot in the United States
Films shot in Uganda
Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography Academy Award
Films whose editor won the Best Film Editing Academy Award
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
Films about treasure hunting
1950s American films
English-language adventure films