Classic Film Guide

King Solomon's Mines (1950)

Great action adventure through Africa, starring Stewart Granger and Deborah Kerr, as they try to find the legendary titled location. It won Oscars for Color Cinematography & Editing and was also nominated for Best Picture by the Academy. I was so captivated by this story when I watched it in my youth, that I couldn't turn off the small B&W TV on which I was watching it, and tolerated all the commercials & call-in contests from which I was besieged. All these years later, I can honestly say that this film (and the fact that Star Wars (1977) was released in the same time-frame) was the seed from which my love for movies grew. It was directed by Compton Bennett and Andrew Marton; H. Rider Haggard's novel was adapted by Helen Deutsch. Richard Carlson (among others) also appears.

BTW, they say you can't go home again, and now I know why. I watched this film again recently and was struck by what a chauvinistic (even mildly racist) point of view it had, though it is still entertaining. The "special effects" are lacking by today's standards, though probably weren't at that time.

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