King Solomon's Mines (film)
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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.
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[edit] 1937 film
[edit] 1950 film
[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 two-part mini series for TV in 2004. It starred Patrick Swayze as Allan Quartermain and also starred Alison Doody as a made up character called Elizabeth Maitland. This version was kept in a serious tone. However, new characters and radically changed story elements were created for this so it's not faithful to the book at all. For instance, Elizabeth Maitland hires Allan Quartermain to find her father Sam Maitland who has been kidnapped by the Kaukauna’s as he had drawn a map to the mines. The Russian Tsar was funding Sam's efforts to locate the mines which in turn introduced four more additional characters, a tracker called McNabb who is an old acquaintance of Quartermain's and three Russians sent by the Tsar. Gagool is young instead of the wizen old woman in the book, she is not evil and she does not betray Quartermain at the end and does not die. There is no great battle where Henry kills Twala played in a duel to the death, instead Quartermain defeats Twala's warrior to allow Umbopa/Ignosi to claim is throne and the tribe kills Twala after he kills Sir Henry. The three would be main characters bear some resemblance to their namesakes, but very little. Captain Good is almost unrecognizable.
Cast
Allan Quartermain played by Patrick Swayze
Elizabeth Maitland played by Alison Doody
Captain Good played by Roy Marsden
Sam Maitland played by John Standing
McNabb played by Gavin Hood
Umbopa played by Sidede Onyulo
Sir Henry played by Ian Roberts
Ivan played by Nick Boraine
Twala played by Hakeem Kae-Kazim
Gagool played by Lesedi Mogoathle
