King Solomon's diamonds
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | King Solomon's diamonds |
| Original title | King Solomon's Mines |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1950 |
| length | 98 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 6 |
| Rod | |
| Director |
Compton Bennett Andrew Marton |
| script | Helen German |
| production | Sam Zimbalist |
| camera | Robert Surtees |
| cut |
Ralph E. Winters Conrad A. Annoying |
| occupation | |
| |
King Solomon's Diamonds is the title of an American film shot in Technicolor from 1950. The literary model was the novel of the same name by H. Rider Haggard .
action
Towards the end of the 19th century: Allan Quatermain does not actually want to accept Mrs. Elizabeth Curtiz's request to look for her missing husband with her and her brother John Goode deep inside Africa. But the widowed man needs the money to give his son a good education in England. So he finally lets himself be persuaded, and they set off with colored carriers.
It is less love than her guilty conscience that drove Elisabeth into this dangerous undertaking. She brought a large fortune into the marriage and held it up to her husband often enough. He's been looking for King Solomon's fabulous treasure for a year now , and she hasn't heard from him.
The chemistry between Elizabeth and Allan is not right at first either, and John often has to play the mediator. But the more difficult the path through unexplored land, the more dangerous the environment and the wild animals threaten it, the more mutual respect grows. She admires his composure and security in critical situations; he is impressed by her perseverance and courage.
When they came to the territory of a wild tribe, one morning all the porters disappeared. You have to go on alone and lose Quatermain's Boy Khiva in an attack. There are only three of you now.
Then a strange-looking, tall native comes up to them and asks them to go with them. And again and again they have to survive dangers, so they only narrowly escape death by trampling by zebras and other hoofed animals fleeing from a bush fire and dying of thirst in an endless sandy desert. Elizabeth and Allan are beginning to feel more than sympathy for one another.
Eventually they come to a fertile area inhabited by people whose appearance resembles that of their companion. He greets some like old friends. It turns out her companion is Umbopa, the outcast king of this people who wants to reclaim his throne from his rival.
While Umbopa is preparing the political overthrow, the three whites are in danger again. Supporters of the hostile party lure them into a cave. There they come across the fabulous diamonds of King Solomon and the remains of Elizabeth's husband, but they can only get back outside at risk of death.
A fight ensues between Umbopa and the false king. Umbopa wins and is proclaimed the new ruler by the people. Elizabeth, Allan and John return home laden with presents.
background
- When you watch the film you will notice different color shots. Sequences with animal images, e.g. B. with the fleeing herd of animals are more imprecise and darker than those with the actors. Obviously, the animal images were cut into the film as canned food .
- The material was filmed six times: in 1937 with Cedric Hardwick, 1950 with Stewart Granger and Deborah Kerr , 1958 with George Montgomery , David Farrar and Tania Elg, 1978 with Patrick Macnee , 1985 with Richard Chamberlain and Sharon Stone (see Quatermain - In Search of the Treasure of the Kings ) and 2004 with Patrick Swayze (see Quatermain and the Treasure of King Solomon ).
Awards
- The film was nominated for an Oscar three times in 1950 , including best film. He received two Oscars for the camera (Robert Surtees) and the editing (Ralph E. Winters and Conrad A. Nervig).
- In addition, the camera work was awarded a Golden Globe in the category Best Cinematography - Color in 1951 .
criticism
"The not very original story is drowned in a fascinating painting of Africa with great nature and landscape shots from Tanganyika , Kenya , Uganda and Zaire ."
continuation
In 1958 MGM brought a sequel to the cinemas called Watusi . In this, George Montgomery played the now grown-up son of Allan Quatermain, who comes to Africa as a newcomer and still has a lot of experience, just through his father's stories. The film simply uses all the crucial scenes from the first part a second time. The plot is very similar in content to the first one.
Web links
- King Solomon's Mines in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Jann Matlock: King Solomon's Mines (1950): Context and Analysis on the pages of the project Colonial Film: Moving Images of the British Empire (2010).
Individual evidence
- ↑ King Solomon's Diamonds. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- The new film program, Mannheim