King Solomon's Mines (1937)

Director:

Robert Stevenson

Writers:

H. Rider Haggard (novel)
Michael Hogan (writer)

Release Date:

26 July 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Musical | Romance | Thriller

Plot:

White hunter Allan Quartermain and his enigmatic guide help a young Irish woman locate her missing father in unexplored Darkest Africa.

Plot Keywords:

Hunter | Desert | Rescue | Diamond Mine | Africa

Cast

Paul Robeson	...	Umbopa
Cedric Hardwicke	...	Allan Quatermain
Roland Young	...	Cmdr. John Good
Anna Lee	...	Kathleen 'Kathy' O'Brien
John Loder	...	Sir Henry Curtis
Arthur Sinclair	...	Patrick 'Patsy' O'Brien
Robert Adams	...	Twala
Arthur Goullet	...	Sylvestra Getto (as Arthur Goullett)
Ecce Homo Toto	...	Infadoos
Makubalo Hlubi	...	Kapse
Mjujwa	...	Scragga
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ben Kubela

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:G (Ontario) | USA:PG-13 (video rating) | UK:U (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Africa

Company:

Gaumont British Picture Corporation

Quotes:

Allan Quartermaine: Who are you?
Umbopa: I'm a man who looks for diamonds and hangs about your camp. That's what YOU said!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in High Adventure (2001)

Soundtrack:

Walk! Walk!

Occasionally Brilliant

Respectable early entry in the King Solomon's Mines sweepstakes. (No need to recap the plot.) Except for a few scenic shots of the overland trek, the movie doesn't really come alive until the last half-hour, but from then on it's near-brilliant. The sweeping shots of warrior armies advancing across the veldt, the close-in shots of the defenders with their magnificent shields, the pageantry and tomfoolery of the royal court, but most of all, the ghastly assassination squad led by the whims of a hump-back hag who moves like a creeping disease. I've seen nothing like her (Sydney Fairbrother) before or since, but her crab-like crawl over the gateway rock may make you rethink the pace of evolution. Also, the white-hot caldera with the clinging ledge above amounts to a spine-tingling effect for any movie period. I'm not even sure Technicolor could have improved on the staging of these remarkable scenes.

Now, there are no seams that I can spot during this stellar last half-hour. I couldn't tell whether the scenes were done on location in Africa or maybe even Great Britain. However the earlier scenes of the trek are marred by obvious inter-cutting between long-shot locations and close-in exterior sets poorly done. For me, this breaks the spell and indicates a curious lapse in an otherwise well produced adventure film. Lee and Robeson are spirited and commanding as central figures. However, I agree with a reviewer's observation that Loder would have made a more convincing Quartermain than the stiff-backed Hardwicke. Also, Hardwicke and Young behave more like they belong in a gentleman's smoking club than footloose in the wilds of Africa, while Young's wry asides are strictly a matter of taste and, in my view, a lame attempt at comic relief.

Nonetheless, this 1937 production is definitely worth catching up with, especially for those who have never seen or heard the great Paul Robeson.