After the huge box-office successes of Biblical-themed films like The Robe and The Ten Commandments, was it any wonder that studios were falling all over themselves to plumb the Good Book for more stories they could bring to the screen? Sadly, King Vidor’s Solomon and Sheba comes up a bit short. Though it’s a decent-sized epic and has a cast of well-known actors, the storytelling trudges through the famous story with some half-heartedly filmed battles scenes and the expected tight clenches between the two top-billed stars with rather rudimentary attention to detail. It’s not terrible so much as it’s all just so forgettable.
Studio: MGM
Distributed By: Twilight Time
Video Resolution and Encode: 1080P/AVC
Aspect Ratio: 2.20:1
Audio: English 2.0 DTS-HDMA
Subtitles: English SDH
Rating: Not Rated
Run Time: 2 Hr. 21 Min.
Package Includes: Blu-ray
keep caseDisc Type: BD50 (dual layer)
Region: All
Release Date: 03/10/2015
MSRP: $29.95
The Production Rating: 3/5
The movie had its share of troubles in the production stage, particularly when its original star Tyrone Power died from a heart attack halfway through shooting his scenes. All of his work had to be reshot with Yul Brynner contracted to take over the leading role driving the film's budget to $5 million. This was director King Vidor’s final film, and the battle scenes which begin and end it seem lethargic and half-hearted. Without an action star playing Adonijah, the two major battle scenes are shot mostly in close-ups with rather feebly staged combat scenes which are woefully unconvincing (when George Sanders and Yul Brynner face off at the climax, obvious stunt doubles are utilized in long shots since neither man was capable of strenuous action). Vidor does stage the shocking defeat of the Egyptians by the Israelites with more astuteness than the two earlier battles, but he really seems more at home in the domestic scenes as Solomon rules over his people and Sheba fumes childishly when all of her feminine wiles fail to lure the king into her bedchamber (the orgy scene which leads to Solomon’s downfall had to be circumspectly filmed due to the Production Code restrictions of the era, but even then, this one is very tame). The script by Anthony Veiller, Paul Dudley, and George Bruce covers the basics of the well-known Bible story in rather humdrum fashion while giving short shrift to the rivalry between Solomon and Adonijah (George Sanders is missing for large middle chunks of the movie).
This is one of the more subdued performances in the career of Yul Brynner. Quite the antithesis of his Pharaoh in The Ten Commandments, his Solomon is soft spoken and thoughtful, and yet when his lust for Sheba does consume him, he’s quite believable as a man who forgets his reservations and common sense in the throes of passion. Gina Lollobrigida is perfectly cast as the seductive Queen, voluptuous in a series of form fitting gowns and outfits which emphasize her cleavage and her tiny waist, even when the stilted lines of dialogue she’s been given to utter come out rather absurdly. As with Solomon, her character’s journey through the film runs the emotional gamut from brazen to pious, and she pulls it off even without a great script to guide her. George Sanders was obviously cast for his name value as the jealous, vengeful Adonijah, but frankly, John Crawford who plays Adonijah’s right hand man Joab would have been better casting as the rival brother with his brawnier physique and younger countenance. In smaller roles, Marisa Pavan is fetching as Solomon’s loving companion, Finlay Currie makes a stately David, and Harry Andrews as Balto makes an interesting counselor for Sheba. David Farrar is good as the calculating Pharaoh while Laurence Naismith and Julio Pena make the most of their moments as Solomon’s two advisors Hezrai and Zadok.
Video Rating: 4.5/5 3D Rating: NA
Audio Rating: 4/5
Special Features Rating: 2.5/5
Theatrical Trailers (4:01, 3:15, HD)
MGM 90th Anniversary Trailer (2:06, HD)
Six-Page Booklet: offers some excellent color stills, original poster art on the back cover, and film historian Julie Kirgo’s illuminating history and analysis of the production.
Overall Rating: 3/5
Reviewed By: Matt Hough
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