Solomon and Sheba (1959)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

King Vidor

Writers:

Crane Wilbur (story)
Anthony Veiller (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

25 December 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Behold! The love story of the ages!

Plot:

Shortly before his death in ancient Israel King David has a vision from God telling him that his younger son Solomon should succeed him as king...

Plot Keywords:

King | Tribe | God | Love | King David

Cast

Yul Brynner	...	Solomon
Gina Lollobrigida	...	Sheba
George Sanders	...	Adonijah
Marisa Pavan	...	Abishag
David Farrar	...	Pharaoh
John Crawford	...	Joab
Finlay Currie	...	David
Harry Andrews	...	Baltor
José Nieto	...	Ahab (as Jose Nieto)
Maruchi Fresno	...	Bathsheba
William Devlin	...	Nathan
Jack Gwillim	...	Josiah
Jean Anderson	...	Takyan
Laurence Naismith	...	Hezrai (as Lawrence Naismith)
Julio Peña	...	Zadok (as Julio Pena)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Claude Dantes	...	Mother of Disputed Child (uncredited)
Félix de Pomés	...	Egyptian General (uncredited)
Tyrone Power	...	Solomon (visible in long shots) (uncredited)
Alejandro Rey	...	Sittar (uncredited)
Anne Scott	...	Girl (uncredited)
Virgilio Teixeira	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
King Vidor

Writing credits
Crane Wilbur		(story)
Anthony Veiller		(screenplay) and
Paul Dudley		(screenplay) and
George Bruce		(screenplay)

Produced by
Ted Richmond	....	producer
Tyrone Power	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Mario Nascimbene
Malcolm Arnold		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Freddie Young		(director of photography) (as Fred A. Young)

Film Editing by
Otto Ludwig

Art Direction by
Richard Day
Luis Pérez Espinosa		(as Luis Perez Espinosa)
Alfred Sweeney

Set Decoration by
Dario Simoni

Costume Design by
Ralph Jester

Makeup Department
Anne Box	....	hair stylist (as Ann Box)
John O'Gorman	....	makeup artist
Tom Smith	....	makeup artist
Thomas Tuttle	....	makeup artist (as Tom Tuttle)

Production Management
Eduardo García Maroto	....	production manager (as Eduardo G. Maroto)
Richard McWhorter	....	production manager (as Richard F. McWhorter)
Tadeo Villalba	....	unit production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Noël Howard	....	second unit director (as Noel Howard)
Joseph E. Kenney	....	assistant director (as Joseph Kenny)
José María Ochoa	....	assistant director (as Jose Mario Ochoa)
Bernard Vorhaus	....	assistant director (as Piero Mussetta)

Art Department
Robert Goodstein	....	property master
José María Alarcón	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
Ángel Arzuaga	....	assistant set decorator (uncredited)
Julián Martín	....	painter (uncredited)

Sound Department
David Hildyard	....	sound
Fred Hughesdon	....	additional sound (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Alex Weldon	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Léo L. Fuchs	....	still photographer (uncredited)
John von Kotze	....	photography: second unit (uncredited)
Paul Wilson	....	camera operator: second unit (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eric Seelig	....	wardrobe coordinator

Music Department
Franco Ferrara	....	conductor
Mario Nascimbene	....	music arranger

Other crew
Jeroslav Berger	....	choreographer
Jean Pierre Genet	....	choreographer
Kenneth Lee	....	wrangler (as Kenny Lee)
Harriet Medin	....	dialogue coach (as Harriet White Medin)
Elaine Schreyeck	....	script supervisor
Edward Small	....	presenter

Production Companies

• Edward Small Productions (as Theme Pictures)

Distributors

• United Artists (1959) (USA) (theatrical)
• ClassicLine (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Schuberth of Rome  Miss Lollobrigida's costumes executed by

Runtime:

139 min | 141 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (35 mm prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Certification:

UK:PG | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Madrid, Spain

Company:

Edward Small Productions

Trivia:

Co-producer/star 'Tyrone Power (I)' had completed shooting more than half of the film when he collapsed during a duelling scene with George Sanders and died a few minutes later. Power was replaced in the role of Solomon by Yul Brynner, who refilmed all of Power's scenes. Power, however, is still visible in the film in long shots.

Goofs:

Continuity: Sheba's wounds change to dramatically worse just before her miraculous healing.

Quotes:

Solomon: Nothing must come between us.
Sheba: Not even our gods? I knew this moment would come, for the things we believe in are not the same.
Solomon: I had hoped that in time you would come to accept Jehovah.
Sheba: As King of Israel, would you abandon the god of your people for mine?
Solomon: Still, I dared hope.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Secret Life of Brian (2007) (TV)

A Biblical Stew of a Film

Solomon and Sheba has come down in Hollywood lore not for the quality of the film, but for the fact that Tyrone Power died while making it. I was in the 5th grade and well remember the huge news for days when that tragedy happened. I didn't know who Tyrone Power was then, but I learned and learned to appreciate the body of his work.

I often wonder if Ty had a sense about this film and what a dud it proved. He was the unnamed producer of this as well. Maybe he just didn't want to face the critics. Good thing Power actually went out with Witness for the Prosecution although you can see him in long shots if you look close.

What we have here is a biblical stew that probably would baffle the great Solomon himself. Several incidents described in the Bible that the Bible treats separately are woven together into one plot with a few additions tossed in by Hollywood.

The actual story about the Queen of Sheba is that she went on a trade mission to the Kingdom of Israel, chatted Solomon up a bit, came back with a lot of trade goods and that was that. The story of a romance between her and Solomon is of legend. The ancient kingdom of Sheba is about where Yemen is now and her people purportedly moved to the African continent which is how Ethiopia was founded.

The Queen never witnessed Solomon's famous case involving the two women with separate claims for a baby, nor was she involved with the building of the First Temple. Nor was she around for the destruction of same. For that matter neither was Solomon.

And she was not involved in the dispute over the succession when Solomon's brother Adonijah put in a counterclaim. That is the heart of this film. Adonijah upon hearing the news that King David is dying declares himself king. Of course David rallies temporarily and says that God came to him and said Solomon should succeed him. When David hears about what Adonijah did, he says that's what got God all bent out of shape, Adonijah being greedy. After that Adonijah gets to plotting.

Things seem to come full circle in that Ty Power collapsed on the set while dueling with George Sanders as Adonijah. Sanders and Power were rivals in many films, most particularly in Lloyds of London which was Power's breakthrough role. If Sanders is not quite the jaded sophisticate he was in Samson and Delilah, he's still Sanders the biblical cad.

When Power died Yul Brynner was brought in to play Solomon and given a wig so that existing footage of Power in long shot could be salvaged. Brynner invests the dialog with the proper dignity, but I think he probably regretted doing the pinch hitting.

Gina Lollobrigida is the Queen of Sheba and she is alluring as a biblical temptress in the Cecil B. DeMille tradition. She seems not to have any real conviction and my guess is she was shocked at Power's sudden demise and having to do it all over again. Marisa Pavan as Abishag may give the best performance in the film.

The real story with Adonijah is not as elaborate as this film. He disputed with Solomon for the succession and gathered around a group of some of King David's court as supporters. Solomon pardoned them once and then Adonijah asked for Abishag in marriage. Abishag in the Bible and here was an adopted daughter of King David in his old age. When Solomon hears that, he decides Adonijah is getting greedy again and has him killed. The Bible mentions someone named Berniah who was going around basically doing contract hits on Adonijah's supporters.

What we have in the film is a spectacular climax involving a miracle that I searched for and couldn't find. It came from the fertile imagination of director King Vidor who ended a long and distinguished career on a sour note. It was a question of Vidor trying to out do Cecil B. DeMille in biblical spectacle.

He didn't make it.