IMDb > King Solomon's Mines (1937)

King Solomon's Mines (1937) More at IMDbPro »

Overview

User Rating:
6.6/10   338 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 19% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Robert Stevenson
Writers:
H. Rider Haggard (novel)
Michael Hogan (writer)
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Contact:
View company contact information for King Solomon's Mines on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
26 July 1937 (USA) more
Genre:
Action | Adventure | Drama | Musical | Romance | Thriller more
Plot:
White hunter Allan Quartermain and his enigmatic guide help a young Irish woman locate her missing father in unexplored Darkest Africa. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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User Comments:
Occasionally Brilliant more (6 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited 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
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parents
Runtime:
80 min
Country:
UK
Language:
English
Color:
Black and White
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Canada:G (Ontario) | USA:PG-13 (video rating) | UK:U (video rating)
Filming Locations:
Africa more
Company:
Gaumont British Picture Corporation more

Fun Stuff

Quotes:
Allan Quartermaine: Then it is agreed we leave tonight?
Sir Henry Curtis: Yes!
Umbopa: It is not agreed - you must stay!
Allan Quartermaine: I'm in charge here! I told you that before!
Umbopa: That was in your country. You are now in mine!
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in High Adventure (2001) more
Soundtrack:
Climbin' Up more

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
Occasionally Brilliant, 7 May 2009
7/10
Author: dougdoepke from Claremont, USA

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.

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