King Solomon's Mines (1950)

Adventurer Allan Quartermain leads an expedition into uncharted African territory in an attempt to locate an explorer who went missing during his search for the fabled diamond mines of King Solomon.

Directors:

Compton Bennett, Andrew Marton

Writers:

Helen Deutsch (screenplay), H. Rider Haggard (novel)

Stars:

Deborah Kerr, Stewart Granger, Richard Carlson

Won 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Deborah Kerr	...	Elizabeth Curtis
Stewart Granger	...	Allan Quatermain
Richard Carlson	...	John Goode
Hugo Haas	...	Van Brun aka Smith
Lowell Gilmore	...	Eric Masters
Kimursi	...	Khiva (as Kimursi of the Kipsigi Tribe)
Siriaque	...	Umbopa (as Siriaque of the Watussi Tribe)
Sekaryongo	...	Chief Gagool (as Sekaryongo of the Watussi Tribe)
Baziga	...	King Twala (as Baziga of the Watussi Tribe)

Storyline

Guide Allan Quatermain helps a young lady (Beth) find her lost husband somewhere in Africa. It's a spectacular adventure story with romance, because while they fight with wild animals and cannibals, they fall in love. Will they find the lost husband and finish the nice connection?

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Plot Keywords:

diamond mine | africa | guilt | adventurer | treasure | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Romance | Action

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 November 1950 (USA)

Also Known As:

König Salomons Diamanten

Filming Locations:

Biondo, Democratic Republic Of Congo

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60-minute radio adaptation of the movie on December 1, 1952 with Deborah Kerr and Stewart Granger reprising their film roles.

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Goofs

During the stampede scene, at first Quatarmain is firing his rifle to attempt to turn the terrified animals. When he exhausts the rifle's ammunition, he puts it down and pulls out his revolver. The next couple of shots, he's holding the rifle again. Then, he again has the revolver; after that, the shots switch between him holding each weapon several times.

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Quotes

Allan Quatermain: ...in the end you begin to accept it all... you watch things hunting and being hunted, reproducing, killing and dying, it's all endless and pointless, except in the end one small pattern emerges from it all, the only certainty: one is born, one lives for a time then one dies, that is all...

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Connections

Featured in Classified X (1998)

User Reviews

King Solomon's Mines and two others that are classics.

There are three classic movies about early colonial Africa. 'Trader Horn'; starring Harry Cary; 'King Solomons Mines'; Granger - Kerr and 'Out of Africa'; Redford - Streyp. In the first two, old Africa was available, in the last it was not. The Technicolour and acting of the 'Mines' was fantastic!, although many don't realize that the scenes of the cavernous mines were filmed in Carlsbad Nat'l. Park and the trek into the great desert before the Kalahari region was actually White Sands New Mexico. The romantic wonderment of Granger washing Kerr's hair at Murchison Falls was copied quite nicely by Redford and Streyp. The green hills of the Watusi highlands were copied nicely in Karen Blixens Nygong Hills estate. It will be some time before another film comes out to match the beauty and majesty of colonial Africa like the 'Mines' and 'Out of Africa'. Until then, these two stand alone.