Basic story is an adaptation from H. Rider Haggard, in which Elizabeth Curtis comes to Africa in search of her lost husband and eventually uses a large sum of money to recruit Allan Quatermain against his better judgment to lead the search. Naturally the two people even thought chaperoned have to resist nature taking its course.

Eventually picking up a stranger (Umbopa) going their way they run into danger from animals, natives, and unscrupulous people. The title gives away the reason that the husband (Curtis) was in Africa to begin with.

Will Curtis be found and what effect will it have on Allan and Elizabeth?


The Great White Hunter meets the Lady with the Flaming Hair   February 23, 2005
 26 out of 36 found this review helpful

I have not read H. Rider Haggard's novel from which the film King Solomon's Mines (1950) is based on (I'm woefully under read), but an informed source tells me the story presented here has little to do with the original work, save for the title, the main character of Alan Quartermain, and some minor details (heck, I think they even changed the main character's name, from Quatermain to Quartermain). This seems on par for Hollywood, taking a classic story, hacking it to pieces, keeping what they deem suitable, and then filling in the rest however they see fit...sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but it generally always serves to annoy someone who has read and enjoyed the original material, eliciting harsh criticisms and condemnations, but in terms of an action/adventure movie, I though it was pretty good...is it a classic? Well, if it's not, it's only a few frames shy of being so...the film lists two directors in Compton Bennett (Man-Eater) and Andrew Marton (Seven Wonders of the World). Given the large amount of secondary unit stuff presented in the film (those scenes not featuring the main actors, but scenes shot on location of the animals, native peoples and such), I couldn't help wonder if maybe one of these two was the second unit director who was given a full directing credit...the film stars the very attractive Deborah Kerr (From Here to Eternity, The King and I) and Stewart Granger (Scaramouche, The Prisoner of Zenda). Also appearing is Richard Carlson (Creature from the Black Lagoon, It Came from Outer Space) along with a cast of thousands...well, more like hundreds, in the form of true African native tribes..

The story is set in the year 1897 and takes place in the deep heart of darkest, equatorial Africa. The film begins with a bang, literally, as we see Allan Quartermain (Granger) leading a hunting expedition whose prey is elephants (if you don't want to see a couple of pachyderms taken down, then fast forward or skip this film altogether...I was put off by it at first, but managed to get past it). Seems Quartermain is feeling his years (apparently he's been leading these types of expeditions much longer than anyone else), and also seems to be feeling dissatisfaction for the work itself. As he contemplates retiring, an opportunity to make a heaping wad of cash comes in the form of wealthy Englishwoman Elizabeth Curtis (Kerr), along with her brother John Goode (Carlson) to lead an expedition to search for Elizabeth's husband, who is lost in the jungles as he searched for the fabled King Solomon's mines. Quartermain is hesitant at first (a woman on an expedition?! Surely you must jest! And don't call me Shirley!), but soon relents as it's a really huge wad of cash. The group is soon off, traipsing into the interior, a place where few have dared venture, and none have returned. If this sounds ominous, it's meant to as the dangers come fast and furious in the forms of hostile natives, bitey animals, treacherous terrain, and more...

I did enjoy this film a lot, despite a few perceived flaws on my part. The biggest being the first half of the film tended to get bogged down with showing as many different creatures as possible. You name it, we saw it...I guess I can understand if you're a studio, mounting a huge production in the wilds of Africa, you're going to make damn sure you get the most of it by showing as much of the location as possible, but it became tedious after awhile. I liked seeing the animals, but it seemed more often than not these scenes were filler rather than part of the story. There were some scenes were the animals were incorporated (like the wild stampede scene), but this wasn't the norm...perhaps this was more intriguing to 1950's audiences, who may not have ever seen actual footage of this relatively unknown continent. Regardless, once we get past this, the story picks up the pace, and things begin to move along. Granger is wonderful as the virile Great White Hunter, respectful of his place within wilds, surefooted and ever vigilant of the dangers present. I wouldn't have thought it possible given the nature of the character, but Granger infuses an underlying level of suaveness I found worked extremely well. One aspect I really liked was they had him speak some of the native tongues, rather than having the natives speak broken English, adding credibility to the film. Kerr is certainly beautiful, and presents a strong, yet feminine character, determined to find her lost husband for reasons all her own. I thought the romance subplot between the characters of Quartermain and Mrs. Curtis was unnecessary and clunky, but it was minor and generally stayed out of the way. I thought Carlson's character a bit weak, but I suppose I'm used to seeing him in starring roles in science fiction films and such, and not used to him being relegated to a rather insignificant role such as here. His main role seemed to be to provide a linkage between Elizabeth and Allan, forwarding their characters, but not his own. You could have removed his character from the film and ended up with about the same results. The use of real African natives and displaying their colorful garb and rituals was a real treat, as they're not shown to be ignorant third world hold outs but intelligent, rich with culture peoples in their natural environment.

I'm unsure if anything was done in terms of restoration, but the first half of the film has a light gray tinge to it, which I found a bit depressing (hence 3 stars instead of 4). It clears around halfway through, thankfully. The print used does show wear, but it's decent enough, and is presented in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The audio seems very clean and clear. The only special feature included is a extremely worn trailer. All in all, a great film but lackluster DVD release.

Cookieman108



One of the greatest Adventures of alltime!   March 9, 2005
 17 out of 19 found this review helpful

King Solomon's Mines features breathtaking photography of African wild life with the main stars in the actual locales. The stampede scene with Kerr and Granger left to their own devices along with the directors, is unbelievable in every sense.Nothing like it until the Buffalo stampede in the otherwise dismal How The West Was Won."
Kerr and Granger are great actors;they invest their roles with great faith in what they are doing,entirely missing in current films of the same genre.

The gorgeous Technicolor, the Watusi dances, later inspiring Bob Fosse, and the great Andrew Marton at the healm, directing with flair and wit and uncommon daring. No computer driven action scenes here.

I love the cynicism of the film, Quatermain's idea of life summed up for him in the games the natives play. And Deborah Kerr, stepping into every dangerous hole and crevice where terrible creatures lurk..excellent in every way.

Buy this and be amazed.


Oh my stars! ACTUAL AFRICANS   September 10, 2005
 14 out of 18 found this review helpful

The 1950 version of "King Solomon's Mines" deserves a full 5 stars if only for one reason--it is one of the few movies even to this day which is set in Africa, filmed in Africa, and features actual Africans portraying Africans. In particular, the dance scene near the end almost has the quality of an ethnographic film, and is worth watching in itself because the lead dancer is one of the finest you will ever see.

While it is true that this movie is barely the same story as the H. Rider Haggard novel, that can only be a good thing, as the book is racist and unbelievably sexist even by 19th century standards. The plot is indeed full of adventure, but there were several points where the descriptions of game hunting (without even taking the trophies! for literally no reason!) made me nauseous. By all means, read it and get a taste of 19th century British attitudes toward their colonies. It ain't pretty, by today's standards.

Whether you love or hate the plot of the movie, this film is, in its way, a little piece of history. It's true the African actors aren't the main stars of the movie (though some of them are so charismatic they steal their scenes). But lest we forget, in 1932, only 18 years before, Edward G. Robinson and Loretta Young, and Boris Karloff and Myrna Loy all played Chinese people (in "The Hatchet Man" and "The Mask of Fu Manchu" respectively) because God forbid Hollywood would actually cast Chinese actors. It would be a long time before an African or African-American actor would be considered a big enough star to draw mainly white audiences, but "KSM" was a step in the right direction and it's a lot more engrossing movie because of it.


A (qualified) glorious movie!   April 29, 2005
 13 out of 20 found this review helpful

As I sit here typing this review, on the wall before me is an actual 1950s poster from this movie--poster # 595. Before the days of wide release, a few posters traveled with the movies and were used again and again. The screaming ad copy says it all--MGM's ROMANTIC ADVENTURE! Filmed Entirely in the Wilds of Africa In Color by TECHNICOLOR--THOUSANDS OF THUNDERING AFRICAN JUNGLE BEASTS IN THE WILDEST STAMPEDE EVER FILMED!--H.RIDER HAGGARD'S AMAZING WORLD FAMOUS NOVEL BROUGHT TO THE SCREEN FOR THE FIRST TIME! (That last claim is either a fib or a blooper of a mistake by an ad department with collective short-term memory loss . . . I wonder what the movie of the same title starring Paul Robeson and Sir Cedric Hardwick released in 1937 was supposed to be . . . chopped liver?) Any way, this film is grand and glorious. Sure it deviates rather remarkably from the 1885 novel, hey! but these things happen. The end result is a classic . . . except for that qualification I placed in my title. Back in the days when this was filmed, killing game wasn't given a second thought. (Lots of people still don't give it a thought!) Hey! An elk! A rabbit! A full-grown mother elephant! What's a few dead animals? The first five or ten minutes of this movie are unwatchable because of the needless death of an elephant that is portrayed big as life on the screen. I have no doubt that the beast was in fact shot dead for the needs of the movie . . . but this was a different era . . . and the rest of the movie is true to all of the poster's blazing claims.