KING SOLOMON'S MINES: DVD

SYNOPSIS:
In 1897, Prim Englishwoman Elizabeth Curtis (Deborah Kerr) persuades big game hunt guide Allan Quatermain (Stewart Granger) to lead the search for her missing husband in deepest, darkest Africa - in a region from which no safari has ever returned.

Review by Andrew L. Urban:
Filmed "entirely in wildest Africa" was the claim made by MGM in 1951 when this film was released, and the animals were real. A spectacular adventure story with a smidgin of romance, King Solomon's Mines is exciting enough and adventurous enough and wholesome enough - for the whole family. Deborah Kerr, five years before she made The King and I, is radiant and effective in a role that would prepare her for Anna, all prim Englishness with a strong will and a big heart.

Stewart Granger is dashing as the tanned big game hunter, decent enough to have almost modern sensibilities about big game hunting and fellow humans. The animal stars are all awesome, from pet monkey to big cats and elephants, zebras and giraffes to crocodiles and giant spiders.

Africa is glorious and deadly, the action is thrilling and the climactic fight for the crown of a tribe - and the fate of the white searchers - spectacular. The film delivers everything it promises, justifying its many awards, including six Oscar nominations. (But this was one role for which Kerr did not receive a nomination; she had six nominations in the 50s and 60s, before receiving her Honorary Oscar in 1994.)

Published: March 6, 2008