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IMDbPro

Solomon and Sheba

  • 19591959
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 2h 21m
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
3.5K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,765
11,320
Solomon and Sheba (1959)
After becoming king of ancient Israel, Solomon faces threats coming from his jealous dispossessed brother Adonijah, the Egyptian Pharaoh and the scheming Queen of Sheba.
Play trailer1:53
1 Video
70 Photos
DramaHistoryRomance
After becoming king of ancient Israel, Solomon faces threats coming from his jealous dispossessed brother Adonijah, the Egyptian Pharaoh and the scheming Queen of Sheba.After becoming king of ancient Israel, Solomon faces threats coming from his jealous dispossessed brother Adonijah, the Egyptian Pharaoh and the scheming Queen of Sheba.After becoming king of ancient Israel, Solomon faces threats coming from his jealous dispossessed brother Adonijah, the Egyptian Pharaoh and the scheming Queen of Sheba.
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
3.5K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,765
11,320
    • King Vidor
  • Writers
    • Crane Wilbur(story)
    • Anthony Veiller(screenplay)
    • Paul Dudley(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Yul Brynner
    • Gina Lollobrigida
    • George Sanders
    • King Vidor
  • Writers
    • Crane Wilbur(story)
    • Anthony Veiller(screenplay)
    • Paul Dudley(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Yul Brynner
    • Gina Lollobrigida
    • George Sanders
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 46User reviews
    • 19Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:53
    Watch Official Trailer

    Photos70

    Gina Lollobrigida in Solomon and Sheba (1959)
    Yul Brynner in Solomon and Sheba (1959)
    George Sanders and John Crawford in Solomon and Sheba (1959)
    Yul Brynner and Gina Lollobrigida in Solomon and Sheba (1959)
    Yul Brynner and Gina Lollobrigida in Solomon and Sheba (1959)
    Gina Lollobrigida in Solomon and Sheba (1959)
    George Sanders and Gina Lollobrigida in Solomon and Sheba (1959)
    George Sanders, Félix de Pomés, and John Crawford in Solomon and Sheba (1959)
    Yul Brynner, William Devlin, Laurence Naismith, and Marisa Pavan in Solomon and Sheba (1959)
    Gina Lollobrigida in Solomon and Sheba (1959)
    Yul Brynner and Gina Lollobrigida in Solomon and Sheba (1959)
    Yul Brynner and Marisa Pavan in Solomon and Sheba (1959)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Yul Brynner
    Yul Brynner
    • Solomon
    Gina Lollobrigida
    Gina Lollobrigida
    • Sheba
    George Sanders
    George Sanders
    • Adonijah
    Marisa Pavan
    Marisa Pavan
    • Abishag
    David Farrar
    David Farrar
    • Pharaoh
    John Crawford
    John Crawford
    • Joab
    Finlay Currie
    Finlay Currie
    • David
    Harry Andrews
    Harry Andrews
    • Baltor
    José Nieto
    José Nieto
    • Ahab
    • (as Jose Nieto)
    Maruchi Fresno
    Maruchi Fresno
    • Bathsheba
    William Devlin
    • Nathan
    Jack Gwillim
    Jack Gwillim
    • Josiah
    Jean Anderson
    Jean Anderson
    • Takyan
    Laurence Naismith
    Laurence Naismith
    • Hezrai
    • (as Lawrence Naismith)
    Julio Peña
    Julio Peña
    • Zadok
    • (as Julio Pena)
    Claude Dantes
    Claude Dantes
    • Mother of Disputed Child
    • (uncredited)
    Félix de Pomés
    Félix de Pomés
    • Egyptian General
    • (uncredited)
    Tyrone Power
    Tyrone Power
    • Solomon
    • (uncredited)
      • King Vidor
    • Writers
      • Crane Wilbur(story)
      • Anthony Veiller(screenplay)
      • Paul Dudley(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      Star and co-producer Tyrone Power had shot more than half of the film when he collapsed from a massive heart attack during a dueling scene with George Sanders on 10 November 1958, and died five days later. Yul Brynner replaced Power as Solomon, and re-shot all of Power's scenes. Power is still visible in some long shots.
    • Goofs
      The Ark of the Covenant is shown without the poles to carry it. "The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be removed from it".-Exodus 25:15
    • Quotes

      Abishag: How interesting your encampment is. Are your people always so carefree and gay?

      Sheba: We enjoy life and pleasure. Don't you?

      Abishag: Yes, we do. But we are an austere people. We tend to be more serious.

      Sheba: And your king, is he also serious?

      Abishag: King Solomon has a great responsibility. He must maintain the unity of our twelve tribes.

      Sheba: It is very important, this unity?

      Abishag: Oh, yes. Without it, there would be no Israel.

    • Connections
      Featured in It's Showtime (1976)

    User reviews46

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    6/10
    Epic Movie about Wisdom and Desire
    King Vidor, one of the most famous figures in movie history, the director of Tolstoy's classic on screen (WAR AND PEACE), was not known for making biblical epics. Nobody associates him with this genre that much as we do Cecil B DeMille or D.W.Griffith, for instance. Yet, his last film, SOLOMON AND SHEBA, has a straight reference to the Bible. Nevertheless, the movie can hardly be seen as a biblical epic due to one important factor, its content.

    Solomon...what can we say about him from the Bible?...a famous third king of Israel (after Saul and David), a man known for exceptional wisdom, a builder of the splendid first temple of Jerusalem... there is indeed much about him in the Old Testament. But Sheba? All we know is that she, as a queen of a distant land (today's Yemen), paid a visit to Jerusalem in order to see the splendor of the city and of the entire kingdom as well as to admire the wisdom of its king. However, what we find in the movie deals primarily with Solomon-Sheba relations: first a conspiracy, evil intentions, then weakness, desire, treason, finally sacrificial love and mercy. And now we would have to ask ourselves "is it a historical movie or a fairy tale with some historically accurate background?"

    I think that in order to understand the director's intentions, we have to look deeper at the cinema of that time and King Vidor himself. SOLOMON AND SHEBA with its title refers to a 1951 Henry King's movie, "David and Bathsheba." Making films at that time was much like this: the producers picked up some aspect from history or the Bible and created a movie out of this containing lavish costumes, great cast, campy spectacle but barely any historical accuracy - all for entertainment. And this is clearly noticeable in SOLOMON AND SHEBA. Besides, there is one more factor that helps get the idea of this film...the content of SOLOMON AND SHEBA was partly inspired by a long ago forgotten movie, one of the most gigantic spectacles of all time, still presumed lost, THE QUEEN OF SHEBA (1921) with Betty Blythe and Fritz Leiber. A love affair of the wise Israeli king and an exotic lustful queen was something particularly entertaining for 20th century viewers. Therefore, we cannot treat Vidor's film as a biblical epic, it's only INSPIRED by the Bible. However, while many people concentrate on the film's weak points: inaccuracy, unnatural battle scenes, etc, I rather feel compelled to focus on some of its strong points.

    It is, indeed, a lavish spectacle. There are many scenes that reveal the spirit of grandeur. Here, it seems necessary to mention the two consecutive moments: Solomon enters the temple of luxury devoted to the only God (he says his famous prayer) and the next moment in the Land of Sheba where its queen is surrounded by the luxurious sets, a dedicated servant and a parrot. This contrast has its roots in one major factor Israel differed from other kingdoms and nations: the Israeli king was a servant of God while other rulers were masters of their own. That was the genius and righteousness of the Israel of that time! Another moment worth seeing is the Israel-Egypt battle and the shields shining in the sun. Quite an interesting idea...

    The performances are worth consideration. Yul Brynner is different than in his other films (primarily due to hair on his head) but does a nice job as Solomon. He expresses the pride, power, wisdom but also desire that he is driven by. The best scene played by Yul in this movie is, I think, when Solomon is tempted to take part at Ragon celebration. Although virtuous Abishaq (Marisa Pavan) tries to discourage him from joining the orgy, he is not able to listen to her. Consider his face and the whole performance... masterpiece! Gina Lollobrigida plays well but she holds one disadvantage. Most people (particularly men) focus on her sex appeal forgetting that she has one primary task as an actress: to act and feel the role. The similar problem is, nowadays, with Monica Bellucci (also Italian). Men cannot be objective in the evaluation of her performance because the sex appeal steps in and makes them blind to possible shortcomings in acting. I liked Gina Lollobrigida in the role not only because of her beauty but also because of her good acting, sometimes exposed to difficulties! The moment Solomon is making love to Sheba in a cave at the pagan celebration dedicated to god Ragon is quite freely treated for the 1950s... The supporting cast also give memorable performances including George Sanders as Adonija and Harry Andrews as Baltor, the queen's second.

    I also liked the whole atmosphere. Although there are historical inaccuracies in the reconstruction of Jerusalem, the film has a charm and historical mood. It is definitely not the perfect one but I could not evaluate this as a movie without any entertainment. If it weren't for the ridiculous ending (Sheba miraculously healed and speaking with God Jehova???), the film would be equal to such epics as DEMETRIUS AND THE GLADIATORS (1954), SAMSON AND DELILAH (1948) and THE CRUSADES (1935). It's not that great but, in its inaccuracy, it definitely cannot be compared to Bruce Beresford's movie (1985) since we do not expect the biblical story from SOLOMON AND SHEBA that much as we do from a movie entirely described as a biopic of king David.

    Not a bad film and worth seeing particularly for epic movie fans. Moreover, it is one of the rare films that shows one down to earth fact: wisdom does not mean that desire is conquered... 6/10
    helpful•17
    4
    • marcin_kukuczka
    • Jul 23, 2006

    Details

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    • Release date
      • December 25, 1959 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Madrid, Spain
    • Production company
      • Edward Small Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    Technical specs

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    • 2 hours 21 minutes

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