King Solomon's Mines (film)

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Original 1985 version movie poster

King Solomon's Mines refers to at least four film versions which tell the story of an adventurer who helps a woman look for her lost husband/father in Africa, loosely based on the novel King Solomon's Mines (1885) by H. Rider Haggard.

1 1937 film
2 1950 film and sequel
3 1985 film and sequel
4 2004 TV film
5 External links

[edit] 1937 film

King Solomon's Mines first received a film treatment in 1937, starring Paul Robeson, Cedric Hardwicke, Anna Lee and Roland Young. It was made by Gaumont British Picture Corporation, adapted by Charles Bennett (uncredited), Michael Hogan, Roland Pertwee A.R. Rawlinson (uncredited) and Ralph Spence (uncredited). It was directed by Robert Stevenson.

[edit] 1950 film and sequel

In 1950, MGM made a new version in Technicolor. It was adapted by Helen Deutsch from the novel. It stars Deborah Kerr, Stewart Granger and Richard Carlson. It was directed by Compton Bennett and Andrew Marton. It won Academy Awards for Best Cinematography, Color and Best Film Editing and was nominated for Best Picture. This adaptation was mostly serious in tone and quite faithful to the novel.

In 1959, a sequel, Watusi was made by the same studio.

[edit] 1985 film and sequel

It was remade 100 years after the novel's publication, in 1985, with Richard Chamberlain, Sharon Stone, Herbert Lom and John Rhys-Davies. It was adapted by Gene Quintano and James R. Silke and directed by J. Lee Thompson. This version of the story was a light, comedic take, deliberately referencing and parodying Indiana Jones.

It was followed by--what critics considered "a badly made sequel" for "bad-film enthusiasts"[1]—Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1987).

[edit] 2004 TV film

King Solomon's Mines was also remade as a TV mini series in 2004. It starred Patrick Swayze as Allan Quatermain and also starred Alison Doody. This version was kept in serious tone and remained mostly faithful to the novel.