King Solomon's Mines

12/27/2022

H. Rider Haggard's story of jungle intrigue and treasure hunting is given the lavish Hollywood treatment in this colourful adaptation of the story. In this slightly different version, Stewart Granger ("Allan Quatermain") is hired by Deborah Kerr ("Elizabeth Curtis") to track down her brother lost whilst off in search of King Solomon's legendary treasure. Unlike the 1937 version; this becomes more of a romance - as you might expect given the leading performers; and as such it loses much of it's grittiness and the tension is much more tied to their relationship than to their exploits in hostile territory. The film looks great (Oscar for cinematography) but some stories are best left in their original B&W iteration.