Slomon and Sheba

In the original Bible stories only scant mention was made of the Queen of the mysterious land of Sheba and it revolved around a state visit she made to Israel. The producers have used that one mention to fashion an intriguing story of power, passion and rivalry in the Court of King Solomon. The story of "Solomon and Sheba", begins in the dying days of the life of King David (Finlay Currie) and the growing rivalry between his two sons, warlike Adonijah and studious Solomon . Always his father's choice to lead the 12 tribes of Israel, Solomon is elected King upon David's death which worsens relations between the two brothers. Solomon's great reputation for wisdom and fairness over bloodshed soon earns him the respect of the people but arouses the fears of his neighbours, in particular the Pharaoh of Egypt who fears what Solomon's real plans are, never understanding that a man can be by nature peace loving. To infiltrate Solomon's kingdon the Pharaoh sends his own ally the beautiful Queen of Sheba to spy on him and to achieve by her favours what no army would be able to do, ie, the destruction of everything Solomon stands for. Despite her well laid plans which involve getting Solomon to sacrifice everything he believes in for the pleasure of possessing her the Queen finds her own feelings changing as she begins to see the selfish plans of Pharaoh and the truly great character that Solomon possesses. His love for the foreign queen however inflames the leaders of the twelve tribes to opposition to his leadership as they see Solomon betraying their cause at the feet of a enemy queen and her Pagan Gods. The discontent also inflames the frustrations of Adonijah, long harbouring resentment towards Solomon for being passed over in the succession on their father's death. With support dwindling to almost nothing Solomon then faces the forces of Pharaoh who invades Israel only to be beaten by the much smaller armies of Israel who come together for the sake of the twelve tribes and destroy Pharaoh's armies by the ingenious method of reflecting sun off their brightly polished shields causing the Egyptians to fall into deep ravines on the battlefield. In the final confrontation after the mob attacks the Queen of Sheba with stones, Adonijah fights Solomon in the ruins of the famed temple and is killed, finally freeing Solomon from his heinous interference. In the final fadeout by a magical transformation the Queen is returned to life unmarked by her battering with stones and vows to return to her own land to try and introduce some of the wise policies and way of thinking possessed by Solomon.

Being the last directoral effort of veteran King Vidor and boasting a larger than usual budget the viewer is treated to a sumptuous production. The acting so often dismissed as hokey in these types of films is uniformily fine here with Yul Brynner excellent as the pacifist Solomon. He had great ability with handling "biblical dialogue" as was already seen in his commanding performance in De Mille's "The Ten Commandments". George Sanders, always excellent with villianous characters is also ideally cast as the ambitious Adonijah, who's life work is to steal Solomon's throne. Gina Lollobrigida makes a memorable Queen of Sheba and she is both majestic and seductive, in particular in the at times over the top orgy scene where she lures Solomon into the pleasures of the flesh. Production values are top rate with breathtaking on location photography in Spain passing for parts of the Holy Land. Special effects also play a prominent role in the stunning visuals of "Solomon and Sheba", from the outstanding battle scenes showing the destruction of the Egyptian army, to the destruction of the Temple by lighting.

"Solomon and Sheba", is a personal favourite of mine and has so much more of interest in it compared to alot of modern epics. It also still contains the eerie last minutes of Tyrone Power's life preserved in the climatic sword fight scene between Solomon and Adonijah where if you look closely enough some long shots of the actor are present. For all lovers of large scale epic productions "Solomon and Sheba", is unsurpassed entertainment.

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The film details the rivalry between Solomon (Yul Brynner) and his older brother, Adonijah (George Sands), the warrior. It was a rivalry that grew out of the fact that Adonijah was passed over for succession to their father David's throne upon his death. It was Solomon who was chosen to rule Israel. This was to cause a rift in their relationship that would be irreparable.

The film also details the love affair between the beautiful Queen of Sheba (Gina Lollobrigida) and Solomon, wise in all things except love. It shows how an affair that started out as a political maneuver on the part of the Queen of Sheba would turn into a selfless, passionate love of the heart. It was a love that would almost rend a nation asunder.

Yul Brenner, as the viewer has probably never seen him (with a head of hair), is excellent as the idealistic and tolerant ruler. Gina Lollobrigida turned out to be a much better actress than I had imagined. She is sensational as the beautiful, exotic, voluptuous Queen of Sheba. She also has a figure that must have been the envy of every woman at one time. It is a perfect hourglass figure that shows off her striking and seductive costumes to perfection.

George Sands is compelling as the envious Adonijah, who sought to take what was not his by any means, fair or foul. His desire for the throne would compromise the very existence of Israel and lead to a climactic finale. Moreover, his hatred for the Queen of Sheba was as great as that of his hatred for his brother. This wellspring of emotion was to have great repercussions for all.

Despite a pagan orgy scene that is so over the top as to be laughable, this is a spectacular biblical epic that will keep the viewer riveted to the screen.

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