King Solomon's Mines | |
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Film poster
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Directed by |
Robert Stevenson (lead) Geoffrey Barkas (African exteriors) |
Written by | H. Rider Haggard (novel) |
Screenplay by |
Michael Hogan Roland Pertwee (dialogue) Charles Bennett (uncredited) A. R. Rawlinson (uncredited) Ralph Spence (uncredited) |
Based on | King Solomon's Mines (1885) |
Starring |
Cedric Hardwicke Anna Lee Paul Robeson Roland Young |
Music by | Mischa Spoliansky |
Cinematography | Glen MacWilliams |
Edited by | Michael Gordon |
Production
company |
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Distributed by | General Film Distributors |
Release date
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17 June 1937 (UK) 26 July 1937 (US) |
Running time
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80 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
King Solomon's Mines is a 1937 British adventure film directed by Robert Stevenson and starring Paul Robeson, Cedric Hardwicke, Anna Lee, John Loder and Roland Young. The first of five film adaptations of the 1885 novel of the same name by Henry Rider Haggard, the film was produced by the Gaumont British Picture Corporation at Lime Grove Studios in Shepherd's Bush. Sets were designed by art director Alfred Junge. Although versions of King Solomon's Mines were released in 1950 and 1985, this film offering is considered to be the most faithful to the book.
In 1882, Irish dream chaser Patrick "Patsy" O'Brien (Arthur Sinclair) and his daughter Kathy (Anna Lee) have failed to strike it rich in the diamond mines of Kimberley, South Africa. They persuade a reluctant Allan Quartermain (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) to give them a lift to the coast in his wagon.
Along the way, they encounter another wagon carrying two men in bad shape. Umbopa (Paul Robeson) recovers, but Silvestra (Arthur Goullet) dies after boasting to Quartermain that he has found the way to the fabled mines of Solomon. Patsy finds the dead man's map. He sneaks off during the night, unwilling to risk his daughter's life. Kathy is unable to persuade Quatermain to follow him. Instead, they rendezvous with Quartermain's new clients, Sir Henry Curtis (John Loder) and retired navy Commander Good (Roland Young), out for a bit of big game hunting.