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.

Director:

King Vidor

Writers:

Crane Wilbur (story), Anthony Veiller (screenplay)

Stars:

Yul Brynner, Gina Lollobrigida, George Sanders

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited 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)

Storyline

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. His other son Adonijah is unhappy and vows to attain the throne. Meanwhile the Egyptian Pharoah agrees to cede a Red Sea port to the Queen of Sheba if she can find a way to destroy Solomon, whose wisdom and benevolent rule is seen as a threat to more tyrannical monarchs in the region. Sheba, Pharoah, Adonijah, the leaders of the Twelve Tribes and his own God make life difficult for Solomon who is tempted by Sheba to stray.

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Plot Keywords:

king | queen | queen of sheba | pharaoh | israel | 

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Taglines:

Behold! The love story of the ages!

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Genres:

Drama | History | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 December 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

Salomon und die Königin von Saba

Filming Locations:

Castillo de Manzanares El Real, Madrid, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$12,200,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Edward Small Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

141 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35 mm prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Star and co-producer Tyrone Power had shot more than half of the film when he collapsed during a dueling scene with George Sanders and died a few minutes later. Yul Brynner replaced Power as Solomon, and reshot all of Power's scenes. Power is still visible in some long shots.

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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

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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.

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Connections

Featured in Death Scenes 2 (1992)

User Reviews

Expensively mounted Biblical production with all star-cast and spectacularly filmed in Spain

Breathtaking story set in Biblical times with emphasis in lavish costumes and crowds . Justly before his death in ancient Israel King David (Finlay Currie) has a vision from God saying him that his younger son Solomon (Yul Brynner) should succeed him as king . His other son Adonijah (George Sanders) is mean and promises to achieve the kingdom by whatever way . King David names his younger son, Solomon his heir , facing his older son Adonijah. King Solomon acts with wisdom and benevolent and his government is seen as a threat to more tyrannical monarchs in the region . Meanwhile the Egyptian Pharoah agrees to give up a Red Sea port to the Queen of Sheba (Gina Lollobrigida) if she can encounter a manner to overthrow Solomon . Sheba, Pharoah, Adonijah, the leaders of the Twelve Tribes and his own God make life dangerous for Solomon . Meantime the Queen of Sheba arrives in Jerusalem, supposedly for a friendly meeting , Solomon slowly falls in love with her. In fact, the Queen is in covenant with the Pharaoh of Egypt (David Farrar) and her aim is to destroy the twelve tribes of Israel and he utilizes the ambitious Prince Adonijah in her schemes .

An overblown all-star treatment of the stories in the Old Testament dealing with David , Salomon , Sheba and Adonijah . Lavish spectacle about Solomon and his lover Sheba based on hokey historical events. Brynner and Lollobrigida play a sultriest couple , including some sexy scenes very erotic for the 50s . Tyrone Power died during the shooting in Spain and some shots still show him , he was replaced by Brynner who remade his early scenes .There's so much visual padding full of armours , weapons, carriages , feathers and crowd scenes . Director Vidor gives this film the feel of a Cecil B. De Mille spectacle , but there is little human touch to any of the deeds. Very good photography in super Technirama 70 by the classic cameraman Freddie Young filmed in Madrid, Valdespartera, Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain . Evocative and impressive musical score by Mario Nascimbene . King Vidor's last movie that is recently restored to 139 minutes . Vidor realized an excellent career plenty of classics as ¨Bird of paradise , Champ , Our daily bread , The citadel , Duel in the sun ; also directed another super-production as ¨War and Peace¨ . Rating : 6 , passable and acceptable.