It was fairly clear to me that Elizabeth Curtis (Deborah Kerr) had no real intention of finding her husband once the expedition started. The only thing we needed to learn was why and it was answered about mid-way through - she didn't love him and treated him badly, so it was guilt all along that provided her motivation. The story would have been helped out if all those tentative glances between Quatermain (Stewart Granger) and Ms. Curtis were acted upon more deliberately, but the chemistry between the two actors never did seem to gel for me, even though they reportedly did carry on an affair for a time.
Considering all the misery endured by the trio of adventurers during their trek, I would have expected the reveal of King Solomon's fortune to be a bit more lavish. What was that - a crate of colored glass? One was led to believe that there would be an entire cave filled with gems to make the expedition worthwhile, even if the original explorer was never found. Man, I had a chuckle over that one.
I don't know, it's not often my summary line can also be used to characterize a movie but I think it fits. Notwithstanding the excellent cinematography, the film just didn't seem to offer a spark for this viewer. The Watusi actually had a name for it - 'yeer saba'. It describes a pointless, endless game. Whadda you know?
Considering all the misery endured by the trio of adventurers during their trek, I would have expected the reveal of King Solomon's fortune to be a bit more lavish. What was that - a crate of colored glass? One was led to believe that there would be an entire cave filled with gems to make the expedition worthwhile, even if the original explorer was never found. Man, I had a chuckle over that one.
I don't know, it's not often my summary line can also be used to characterize a movie but I think it fits. Notwithstanding the excellent cinematography, the film just didn't seem to offer a spark for this viewer. The Watusi actually had a name for it - 'yeer saba'. It describes a pointless, endless game. Whadda you know?