King Solomon's Mines (1950)

I don't recall exactly the first time I saw King Solomon's Mines, a nominee for Best Picture of 1950. I must have been a boy. However, I've seen it several times in my life and always enjoyed it. The beauty of Africa is captured so magnificently on film here. This is one of the most gloriously photographed movies of the last century and deservedly won the Oscar for Best Cinematography.

Stewart Granger plays Allan Quatermain, one of those Great White Hunter types in Africa during the latter part of the 19th century. He is enlisted by an Englishwoman, Elizabeth Curtis (played by Deborah Kerr), to search for her husband, who has gone in search of the legendary diamond mines of King Solomon. Along for the trip is her brother, John Goode, played by the always reliable Richard Carlson (one of the best things about The Creature from the Black Lagoon, just as an aside). There are also several African tribesmen who help (initially) in the journey into territory that has not yet been explored by whites. Quatermain takes the job because of the amount of money he's offered, but he also seems to want to bolster his ego by being the first white man to make his way through the middle part of the continent.

Along the way, the various travelers encounter a variety of animals: elephants and giraffes and lions and crocodiles and...well, you name it. I suspect many of the animals in the film are not actually native to the specific region of Africa in which the film is set, but no matter. It's a thrill to see them all and to watch Kerr's reaction to them. She seems to be a magnet for wild animals. The cheetah that strolls into camp late at night attacks only her tent. The giant snake (a constrictor?) also attacks only her. Even a giant spider finds only Kerr appealing enough to attach itself to her clothing. As the party makes it way through several of the different terrains of Africa, they keep encountering an ever-widening variety of animals.

There is, of course, a growing sexual tension between Quatermaine and Elizabeth as they get closer to finding out what happened to her husband (and deeper into the heart of Africa). What was it about traveling through Africa that made white people so horny in those days? I suppose it's about returning to a more allegedly primitive land, where people act more on instinct than intellect. Nevertheless, Granger and Kerr are a very appealing and attractive couple, and you'll see his interest in her long before she does.

There's a subplot involving an African prince who is returning to claim his throne from an usurping relative. He joins the party and leads them to his village. It's there that the film reaches its climactic moments, and we find out the fate of Mr. Curtis (you won't be that surprised, will you?) and we see how the battle for leadership of the tribe plays itself out. If I have any quibbles with the film, it would be the very short amount of time devoted to this portion of the plot. I do understand that overall this movie is more of a travelogue than an action adventure film (although it does offer lots of action and adventure), but I was curious to see more about how these African villagers lived.

Still, this remains one of my favorite movies from the 1950s. It's often forgotten, probably because we've had so many films set in Africa since then, but this was one of the first actually to be shot on location. There probably wasn't much chance of this film winning Best Picture of 1950--it was up against All about Eve and Sunset Boulevard, after all--but it certainly deserves its spot among the top five.