Movie Review: King Solomon's Mines (1950)

The film stars Stewart Granger, Deborah Kerr, Hugo Haas and Richard Carlson.

I recorded this movie with the intention of watching it several months ago. However, I just could never seem to find the time to do it. This is because I figured it was a movie my wife and daughters wouldn’t enjoy (it’s not a genre they will typically watch with me) and, in all honesty, I wasn’t sure if I would really like the movie all that much either.

However, mostly as a way of clearing up some space on my DVR, I finally got around to watching this movie over my past couple of lunch breaks. And, I have to admit, I ended up enjoying it much more than I was expecting to.

One of the main reasons for this was the way the movie took the time to give us a proper introduction to the characters, especially the main hero Allan Quatermain (Granger).  This was a bit ironic considering I’m not usually a big fan of movies that take a long time to actually get to the action. But, in this particular case, it really was necessary because it helped to paint a proper picture of Quatermain’s personality, which is basically a man who can be bought for the right price but still has a strong sense of morality.

Another thing I really liked about this movie was the fact it was actually filmed in Africa. This, in my opinion at least, set it apart a bit from other films in this era because it didn’t have to rely heavily on stock footage (something that is a big pet peeve of mine when it comes to many films) and the backdrop was absolutely breath-taking at times. Heck, if I would have seen this when it first came out at the theater, I probably would have wanted to travel to Africa myself.

Kerr’s performance as the wealthy Elizabeth Curtis was also pretty memorable. I loved the fact she was such a strong presence on the screen (something, again, isn’t always the case with movies from this time period) and, at times, proved to be Quatermain’s equal. This, I think, made the various conversations between the two much more memorable than they might otherwise be.

It took me a while to finally get around to watching this movie but, now that I have done just that, I can honestly say I should have seen it much sooner. It’s a film that is as good today as when it first came out at the theater in 1950.

My Grade: A