King Solomon's Mines (1937)

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

Directors:

Robert Stevenson, Geoffrey Barkas

Writers:

H. Rider Haggard (novel), Michael Hogan (screenplay)

Stars:

Paul Robeson, Cedric Hardwicke, Roland Young

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Paul Robeson	...	Umbopa
Cedric Hardwicke	...	Allan Quartermain
Roland Young	...	Commander Good
John Loder	...	Sir Henry Curtis
Anna Lee	...	Kathy O'Brien
Arthur Sinclair	...	O'Brien
Robert Adams	...	Twala
Arthur Goullet	...	Sylvestra (as Arthur Goullett)
Tony Wane	...	Infadoos (as Ecce Homo Toto)
Makubalo Hlubi	...	Kapse
Mjujwa	...	Scragga

Storyline

Fortune hunter Patrick O'Brien has left his daughter Kathy and guide Umbopa to trek across the desert in hopes of finding the fabled diamond mines of Solomon. Worried about her father, Kathy persuades hunter Allan Quartermain to lead a party to rescue him. After surviving the desert they are found by natives and brought to their chief, Twala. Umbopa reveals himself to be the true heir to the tribal throne, having been exiled years earlier by Twala and the tribal witch, Gagool. Quartermain's only hope to gain access to the mines and the possible rescue of O'Brien is to try to help Umbopa regain his rightful place as chief.

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Plot Keywords:

cigar | hunter | desert | rescue | africa | 

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Taglines:

H. Rider Haggard's Mighty Spectacle

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Musical | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 July 1937 (USA)

Also Known As:

As Minas de Salomão

Filming Locations:

Otto's Bluff, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gaumont British Picture Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (British Acoustic Film Full-Range Recording System at Shepherds Bush London)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Some exteriors were shot on location in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, using stand-ins for the lead actors. No cast members traveled to South Africa from England to work on the film.

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Goofs

As the party climbs the mountains, Umbopa appears to be wearing shoes in some shots.

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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!

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Connections

Referenced in That's Black Entertainment: Actors (2002)

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Soundtracks

Kukuwana
(uncredited)
Music by Mischa Spoliansky
Lyrics by Eric Maschwitz
Sung by Paul Robeson

User Reviews

Excellent first version of this story

I have just seen this adventure movie for the first time and found it very enjoyable.

A hunter and his guide set out across the desert to search for King Solomon's Mines so he can get hold of the treasure. A party, including his daughter who is worried about him follows him and after confronting a dust storm and running out of water, they reach there. Natives find them and after a battle for the throne, the mines are eventually reached and the young woman is reunited with her dad. A volcano erupts and they manage to escape and set off for home, accompanied by 100 natives for the journey across the desert as a thank you for helping the native leader get his throne back.

The movie features an excellent performance by Paul Robeson, whose songs help the movie along nicely. This also stars Cedric Hardwicke, Roland Young and Anna Lee. The special effects were good for their time, especially the cave scenes with the volcano.

This movie has since been remade several times and the best version is the 1950 one with Stuart Granger, which I also have in my movie collection.

This movie is worth checking out. Great fun.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.