Edgar Allan Pooh . . . did not start in the 21st Century. KING SOLOMON'S MINES, a 1950 flick, documents that the Watusi Clique was resolving such disputes at least as early as the 1800s through their gyrations on the dance floor. While the two contestants making up the final pairing here may be wielding some sort of flimsy ceremonial "spears" not unlike the artifacts used during the Olympic "sport" of rhythmic gymnastics, the only implied scoring move apparently came out so lame in every "take" that it was cut from the final print of this film for being too trivial of a detail to include. Overall, the choreography of KING SOLOMON'S MINES leaves a lot of room for improvement. Featuring repetitious drumming, drab and hot-looking bulky costumes, as well as stiff almost geriatric "moves," these period movers and shakers would not make it out of the preliminary round of any present-day competition. However, since KING SOLOMON'S MINES also features the very real-looking extermination of many of Today's endangered or extinct critters of Africa (where this flick was shot), it's liable to hold a lot of historical interest for Wildlife lovers.

classicsoncall It was fairly clear to me that Elizabeth Curtis (Deborah Kerr) had no real intention of finding her husband once the expedition started. The only thing we needed to learn was why and it was answered about mid-way through - she didn't love him and treated him badly, so it was guilt all along that provided her motivation. The story would have been helped out if all those tentative glances between Quatermain (Stewart Granger) and Ms. Curtis were acted upon more deliberately, but the chemistry between the two actors never did seem to gel for me, even though they reportedly did carry on an affair for a time.Considering all the misery endured by the trio of adventurers during their trek, I would have expected the reveal of King Solomon's fortune to be a bit more lavish. What was that - a crate of colored glass? One was led to believe that there would be an entire cave filled with gems to make the expedition worthwhile, even if the original explorer was never found. Man, I had a chuckle over that one.I don't know, it's not often my summary line can also be used to characterize a movie but I think it fits. Notwithstanding the excellent cinematography, the film just didn't seem to offer a spark for this viewer. The Watusi actually had a name for it - 'yeer saba'. It describes a pointless, endless game. Whadda you know?

romanorum1 The setting: East Africa, 1897. Macho safari guide and hunter Alan Quatermain (Stewart Granger), offered a generous down payment of five thousand pounds, reluctantly decides to assist Elizabeth Curtis (Deborah Kerr) in finding her missing husband. But Quatermain is not confident that a woman can undertake what will be a perilous journey into the interior. Mr. Curtis had left his home several years earlier in order to find King Solomon's diamond mines in darkest (uncharted) Africa. Why Mrs. Curtis wants to find him is that she takes on some responsibility because of her less-than-decent treatment of him. She tells Quatermain that she is independently wealthy, unlike her husband, and that she still loves him (!). She even has a hand-drawn map of Curtis' trek. Yet these types of movies, where the wife is trying to find her long-lost beau, send a signal that you just know the missing dude isn't going to be worth it. So the movie develops into a love story between the two leads. Accompanying the two is Mrs. Curtis' loyal brother John (Richard Carlson). A key player is seven-foot tall and lean Umbopa (Siriaque) of the Watusi tribe. After fifty minutes of the movie have passed, he joins the expedition out of nowhere. Unassuming for most of the film's remainder, he has a significant moment at the end. By the way, the indigenous cultures are treated with deference, and the natives get significant screen time.We see many wonderful wild animals, including elephants, rhinos, lions, and leopards. But the expedition is fraught with all kinds of difficult situations: dangerous snakes (black Mamba, cobra, and others), an unfriendly native tribe, and a massive stampede of zebras, giraffes and gazelles. Then there are unpredictable bearers who later desert, stealing much of the supplies. Despite the setting of the story, it is nice to see that our hero Quatermain shuns the indiscriminate shooting of animals. Africa is a beautiful place, but one has to be tough to live there. After learning about the fate of Curtis, our heroes are trapped in a cave-mine without food. At the denouement there is an exciting three-minute duel between two men: a usurper of the tribal throne and the legitimate king. This clash really is not much different than that of a USA western setting with two dudes fighting it out, one good and one bad. If the bad guy wins, then it will be an undesirable ending for the few survivors of the expedition.This movie is an enjoyable adventure story with tense situations, and is nicely edited and acted throughout. Although Deborah Kerr is often frightened and has nightmares, remember that she is supposed to be proper and unsuspecting of a safari's hardships. The photography is magnificent! On-location shooting is always a plus, even if supplemented by such places as California and New Mexico. But there is no stock footage in this feature! Yes, Africa is the real star. In its day the film must have been a real eye-opener.

dougandwin This has all the trappings of a Travelogue through Africa while selling a very interesting version of Rider Haggard's novel. Sure they have changed so much from the Book, that to compare the two is a bit of a waste of time, for example no woman in the novel to one playing a major part in the Movie - so what? The story takes a long time to develop while I am sure just about every kind of African animal is shown along the way, but all the time there is great interest in what is happening. The cast is very good with Granger and Kerr leading, and Richard Carlson is a welcome addition, but in my opinion the stars of the film (other that the animals) are the leading African tribesmen, and the Watussi scenes are very memorable. This film is well worth seeing, and ignore the obvious impossibilities in the script and enjoy the grandeur of such a fascinating country.