King Solomon's Mines

Plot synopsis:
South Africa, the 1910s. Allan Quatermain (Richard Chamberlain) is a white big-game hunter and explorer who is hired by Jesse Huston (Sharon Stone) a young American who wants to help her find her father who was belived to be lost on an expedition to find the fabled King Solomon's Mines. Together with his African companion, the mysterious Umbopo (Ken Gampu), they penetrate unknown country, following a map believed to be genuine. It transpires that Professor Huston has been captured by a German military expedition on the same quest, led by Bockner (Herbert Lom), a stereotypical, single-minded, knackwurst-munching, bald-headed Colonel and a ruthless Turkish slave-trader and adventurer, Dogati (John Rhys-Davies). Huston is being forced to interpret another map, also believed to be genuine.The two rival expeditions shadow each other, clashing on several occasions, and finally enter the tribal lands of the Kukuana who capture them. The tribe is under the control of the evil priestess, Gagoola, who has Quatermain hung upside down over a pond full of crocodiles. Just when all seems lost, Umbopo arrives and after defeating Gagoola's warriors in combat, reveals his identity as an exiled tribal chief and the rightful ruler of the Kukuanas. As the tribesmen submit to him, Gagoola captures Jesse and flees into caves in the depths of the Breasts of Sheba, the twin mountain peaks where the mines are located. They are pursued by Bockner and Dogati, who attack the village in full force.The Germans follow Quatermain and Umbopo to the entrance to the mines, but are hampered by a moat of quicksand. Bockner orders his men forward into the moat, but they have trouble crossing it. Dogati then kills all of Bockner's soldiers, as well as most of his own men, and uses their bodies as stepping stones to cross the moat safely. As they approach the entrance, Bockner shoots Dogati and takes command of what little remains of the party.Inside the mines, Quatermain and Umbopo rescue Jesse and find the resting place of all the former tribal queens, including the Queen of Sheba herself, encased in crystal. Umbopo explains that Gagoola had attempted to sacrifice Jesse in order to keep her power as the Kukuanas' ruler because of Jessie's strong resemblance to the Queen of Sheba. Then Gagoola appears and taunts Umbopo, who pursues her through the caverns. As Bockner and his men arrive next, Quatermain and Jessie flee for safety, but end up in the cavern's treasure chamber, which is full of raw diamonds and other priceless treasures. As they gather some of the diamonds to take with them, Bockner hears their voices from outside the chamber, but before he can enter, Gagoola activates a hidden rock switch and seals Quatermain and Jessie inside the chamber. The switch also triggers a trap that causes the ceiling of the chamber, which is lined with stalactites to lower on them. Quatermain and Jessie manage to stop the ceiling trap, but then the chamber begins filling up with water. Just as the chamber fills completely, a lit stick of dynamite set by Bockner outside the chamber door explodes, sending them both spewing out of the chamber in the resulting flood to safety.Bockner enters the chamber and quickly lays claim to the treasure, only to be confronted by a wounded, but very much alive, Dogati, who was wearing a protective vest that shielded him from the bullets. He then forces Bockner to swallow some of the diamonds, intending to cut him open to retrieve them later on.Meanwhile, Umbopo finally corners Gagoola. But rather than face his judgment, she instead leaps down one of the volcano's shafts and is incinerated when she lands in the molten lava below. However, the reaction causes a series of eruptions throughout the mines. Dogati is partially buried when the treasure chamber's ceiling collapses, but Bockner is unharmed. He gloats to Dogati after claiming a few more diamonds for himself, then leaves the chamber. But not before firing his gun at the ruined ceiling, burying Dogati alive.Quatermain, Jessie and Umbopa quickly flee for their lives through the collapsing caverns. They cross over a small booby- trapped lake (which one of Bockner's men fell victim to earlier), only to be stopped by Bockner, who demands they surrender their diamonds to him. Quatermain places the diamonds on the central stepping stone that triggers the trap and tells Bockner to come take the diamonds himself if he wants them. Bockner does so and falls into the lake, only to be seized in the jaws of a Mokele-mbembe water creature and dragged beneath the water. The trap resets itself and the diamonds rise back to the surface, but Umbopo warns Quatermain and Jesse not to take them, saying they belong to the mountain.The trio continue their escape through the caverns, which becomes even more dangerous as the lava chamber they are in is full of fire and falling rocks. Quatermain tells Umbopo to take Jessie through to safety while he follows them. But before he can do so, he is struck down by Dogati, who survived the cave-in. A brutal fight between them ensues, but Quatermain gains the upper hand at the last instant, sending Dogati falling into the chamber's lava pit to his death. Quatermain manages to escape from the mines at the last minute, just as the volcano explodes, sealing the entrance forever.Returning to the village, Umbopo assumes his rightful place as the ruler of the Kukuanas and he and his people bid a fond farewell to Quatermain and Jesse. As they exit the village, they each reveal they had kept a diamond from the mines as a souvenir of their adventure and the movie ends with them kissing for the first (and only) time outside the village gates.

Tags: good versus evil, action

Review:
I think that many of those who are complaining that King Solomon's Mines is so bad are those who are too young to remember and appreciate these movies that came out in around that period or those who decided it's not "cool" to like cheesy movies.Of course you can't compare the effects to that of Raiders of the lost Ark. Raiders had a near unlimited budget for the day, how do you compete with something like that?
I enjoyed the storyline, the actors, the music by Jerry Goldsmith is very enchanting, the only thing i could say isnt that good in this film are the special effects but for the time being it will do.
Jesse Huston (Sharon Stone) is on a mission to find her lost father, she enlists the help of legendary explorer Allan Quatermain (Richard Chamberlain) and both of them set off on their perilous journey.Bland, routine and deserving of its reputation as an illegitimate sprog cash in of Indiana Jones.
And for the girls who like beards, well Richie Chamberlain sports a candidate for the world's tidiest beard throughout the adventure mockery; tho not quite as tidy as the frothy one worn by a big old fake spider.Don't believe those who say it's in the "so bad it's good" category, it's just terrible and you are strongly advised to seek out either the 1937 or 1950 version instead.
Sharon Stone's acting was just plain bad (she's gotten much better since this movie), but patient viewers are rewarded later in the movie by some nice views of her pretty legs as her costume gets mysteriously shorter and tighter as the story progresses.
Sharon Stone too does well, with what silly dialogue she is given, and the rest of the cast [ John Rhys Davies etc ] take things seriously, which helps the film.
Ok i shall start by saying i am a huge Indiana Jones fan and when i saw this recently i thought it was a ghastly copy, but i think as the film progresses it gets better and some of the scenes late in the movie are very impressive - particurly when john rhys-davies forces the german guy to eat the diamonds.
I liked most of the scenes with john ryhs-davies in but i was slightly disappointed to see him in rip-off of Indiana Jones as he was in Raiders of the Lost Ark. So overall this film isn't that bad to watch, its quite fun really but it is nothing compared to the mighty Indiana Jones..
But for most people who had already watched "Raiders of the Lost Ark" have definitely harbored discriminatory feelings and complements for this action film.As far as action, adventure and fantasy is concerned, it was a good raw effort by J.
However, the next sequel of this series i.e., "The Lost City of Gold" is indeed a hopeless effort to bewitch the audience who are used to viewing better films.Nevertheless, KSM is an interesting and reasonably well directed piece of motion picture..
This is the adventure of a lifetime starred by a fortune hunter called Allan Quatermain (one of the members of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) who teams up with a resourceful woman (Sharon Stone , according to her memoirs Kathleen Turner turned down the role of Jesse) to help her find her missing father lost in the wilds of 1900s Africa while being pursued by hostile tribes , a rival German explorer (Herbert Lom) and a slaver Arab named Dogati (John Rhys-Davies who along with Richard Chamberlain starred TV-series "Shogun") .
While a native (Ken Gampu) is reclaiming his rights over throne of an African tribe next to King Salomon's mines .This amusing spoof picture displays exciting action , thrills , humor with tongue-in-cheek , extraordinary adventures and outlandish cliffhanger situations abound .
This film arrive in theaters in 1985, the year of the 100th anniversary of the first appearance of Allan Quatermain in the novel King Solomon's Mines in 1885.
Normally I'm not much of a bad film-lover, because they just make irritated instead of entertained, but King Solomon's mines was an exception (as well as the sequel "Allan Quatermain and the Lost City Of Gold").This Indiana Jones-wannabe becomes more and more awful as it goes along, but fortunately all the bad elements keep you entertained.
King Solomon's Mines is one of the most relentlessly action packed campy films I've ever seen...and I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in all my life.
Granted Indiana Jones has some classic lines and Harrison Ford pulls it off most excellently, there are still some great jokes in the movie.
And that is what makes this movie good - james bond and indiana jones action exaggerated so it seems funny..
If the similarity of scenes in Cairo in the latter and the jungle-border city (whose name I forget) isn't a dead giveaway, the presence of John Rhys-Davies in both films, playing roughly similar rôles, should be (in the former he's a bad guy, in the latter a good guy).I have no quarrel with parodying both "Mines" and "Ark"  which have enough similarity of plot to allow that  and one can certainly enjoy the film on its own.
Here he plays a fair-sized minor role  Sharon Stone's father Professor Huston.Side note: this film and Haggard's book make the common error of locating King Solomon's mines in Africa.
H. Rider Haggard's "King Solomon's Mines" has been filmed a number of times, but this is the only version I have ever seen.
Neither Foulata nor Good appears in the film, and Quatermain's love-interest is supplied by the white Jessie, played by a young Sharon Stone.
This same old cartoon cliché comes up in the 1950s movie "Gentleman Marry Brunettes", but at least there its offensiveness is somewhat mitigated by its being presented in the context of a stage show; in "King Solomon's Mines", by contrast, the film actually appears to be suggesting that this is how real Africans behave.
The only thing that surprises me is that the film-makers evidently thought highly enough of the film to follow it with a sequel "Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold" It is sad to think that the director J.
I think for that time the special effects were excellent for an action/adventure treasure hunter film.
Comparisons to Indiana Jones are out of place; a much better movie to measure it against is "Romancing the Stone", and it loses every single point.
A comedy needs actors and a director with good timing; it doesn't get funnier with bad acting but boring.This would really only get 1/10 from me if it weren't for Sharon Stone's legs which get more and more exposed throughout the story.
Okay, so somebody at Cannon decided it would be a good idea to make an Indiana Jones rip-off, utilising a 19th century boy's own adventure novel that hadn't been adapted for the screen for around forty years.
John Rhys-Davies seems to be reprising his role from the Indiana Jones films, while the only performance I enjoyed was Herbert Lom as a comic-book German colonel.Experienced action director J.
King Solomon's Mines (1985) is the best action and adventure movie I have ever seen.
This film was at best a good Idea that went sour very quickly, and turned out a mediocre product.I remember first seeing this movie when I was nine, and thought it was great.
And that's all I can say, it's great for a nine year old Indiana Jones Fan. There are discrepancies, masses of poor dialogue, and very heavy handed (and I mean beating you over the head) moments of Plot summary, Love scenes, and...cannibals.
I mean, it has Sallah (john rhys davies), a pulling behind the moving vehicle stunt, and other tidbits stolen from the Indiana Jones Films that have been worked into a butchered version of H.
Released in mid-1985,KING SOLOMON'S MINES was an attempt of producers Yoram Globus and Menaham Golan's angle eventually to cash in on the success of the Indiana Jones films of the early-1980's.
The remake of KING SOLOMON'S MINES was a movie upon its theatrical release in 1985,was clobbered by the film critics,but despite to the audiences liking it,it was well-received at the box office despite making it one of the worst films of that year.
Sharon Stone,before Basic Instinct and other role is casted as the damsel in distress who basically ends up being rescued by Chamberlain from the clutches of a rogue of villains.The only saving grace here is film composer Jerry Goldsmith's rousing score which is the only thing that kept this from falling apart.
King Solomon's Mines had the potential to be just as good and Indiana Jones.
Another review appearing on this site stated that it "just isn't possible that 'King Solomon's Mines' rips-off ' 'Indiana Jones' - the book was written first and is considered a classic." Yes, the book was written first, and is considered a pop literature classic - but this dreadful film bares only the most superficial resemblance to the book, and is quite clearly a rip-off of "Raiders".
I personally lost count at 20 direct references IN THE FIRST TEN MINUTES!!!!!I am a huge "Indiana Jones" fan, and enjoy films like "The Mummy" which, while not coming close to true "Indy" quality, have fun with the same conventions.
Even John Rhys-Davies backs up from his decent work in "Raiders" (playing the latest in his long line of typecast swarthy mid-Easterners), but after seeing his performance in this film, it's obvious why his career slipped to the lost world of video game cut-scenes.Suitable only for non-discriminating viewers, or if you want to pick it to bits and laugh at it; if the latter, you'll be kept busy, believe me..
To the uninitiated Golan/Globus are Cousin's Menahem Golan & Yorham Globus who were prolific producers of trash throughout the 80's making such 'classics' as Death Wish 2,3 & 4 & Missing In Action 1,2 & 3 (basically keeping Charles Bronson & Chuck Norris in work) among seemingly endless amounts of other less than fantastic fare released through their Cannon Film Studio.So if you come into King Solomon's Mines knowing what to expect (In essence a low budget B-Movie, done with some of the worse dialogue imaginable,terrible visual effects and non-intentional hilarious scenes) you should be able to sit back leave your Brain at the door and enjoy.While I realise this was made to capitalise on the success of Indiana Jones - Nobody watching this should compare the two, If anything this is a Indy spoofRichard Chamberlain stars as Allan Quatermain who teams up with a young woman (a Pre-stardom Sharon Stone) to locate her Professor Father who's gone missing in Africa.
This has action in bucket loads, plenty of Comedy (some of it intentional - some of it not), The Acting is very hammy - baddies Herbert Lom is hilarious as is John Rhys DaviesDirected by J.Lee Thompson (The original Cape Fear & The guns of Navarone) A great Director who sadly ended up making trash mostly starring Bronson for Golan/Globus.Filmed entirely in Zimbabwe - obviously back in that particular Country's good old days - Not Unsurprisingly it bombed taking just $238,000 on a $12,500,000 BudgetIt's not great film making, It'll never win any awards (apart from the Razzies) but as B-Movie fun it's good stuff.Surprisingly followed by a sequel (Yes!
there's more) Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold was Filmed at the same time and released a year later.*** out of *****.
Jesse Huston (Sharon Stone) hires adventurer Allan Quatermain (Richard Chamberlain) to find her father who has been captured by German Colonel Bockner (Herbert Lom) and ruthless slave trader Dogati (John Rhys-Davies).
The only thing good about it was that it reminded me that this is the film "The Big Indiana Jones People-Cooking-Pot" came from..
I just managed to stay for half before I was overcome with disgust at this travesty of a great story from one of literature's finest adventure writers.But, if you like spoofs - and poorly done spoofs - then by all means, waste your time.If you like Haggard's adventure stories, however, don't see this film: it has nothing to do with the original story.The acting is atrocious; the story is like a carbon copy of Indiana Jones on drugs; the pacing is frenetically stupid; the dialog was vacuous.This type of trash is a laughing stock.If I could give this one a big fat zero, I would.
I think it has obvious similarities to Raiders of the Lost ark, but certainly not a "rip off" and i am a fan of Indiana Jones to the extreme...but thats another story..
if you like low budget adventure mixed with good old 80's cheesiness, this movie is perfect for you.
Movie makes the mistake of not just being inspired by Indiana Jones, but copying many of the scenes and character - which makes it look even weaker than it is by the comparison.Richard Chamberlain could have pulled it off, had he got better lines and an up-to-it director.
It's like someone took the script of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' that had been translated from English to German to Spanish to Chinese to Portugese to Nordic then back to English again and said "Hey, maybe we can cash in on the Indiana Jones craze, but this time use mainly b-list actors (well, Henry Silva is more of a d-list), a poor script and shallow acting...what a recipe for success!...even a better idea...we know this movie will be such a huge hit we'll make a sequel at the same time (see Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold)."  Both movies bombed worse than 'Ghosts Can't Do It' on a slow day.Then the reviewer chimed in with "Fantastic!" to close their review.
Rider Haggard's novel, King Solomon's stars Richard Chamberlain as adventurer Allan Quatermain, who is enlisted by blonde babe Jesse Huston (Sharon Stone) to help find her father, who has gone missing while searching for the fables mines of King Solomon.
Herbert Lom plays Nazi Colonel Bockner, who, with the help of wicked Turk Dogati (John Rhys Davis, sending up his own role in Raiders of the Lost Ark), also hopes to locate the legendary treasure.When I first saw this film (back in the '80s at my local Cannon flea-pit), I thought it was abominable, a shoddy Indiana Jones clone thrown together in a hurry to make a quick buck.
I then learned that he also wrote King Solomon's Mines and that in actuality the Alan Quatermain character was the inspiration for Indiana Jones.
In the 1980's two movies came out that were very similar, Raiders of the Lost Arc, and King Solomon's Mines.
You decide which one was the imitator.Anyway, in King Solomon's Mines our hero, Alan Quartermain must find Sharon Stone's father.
This movie did not seem fun and fair like Indy...There were some racially offensive things about this film.
While not exactly an Indiana Jones adventure, it still is a pretty fast moving action movie..
The story follows Allan Quartermane and this girl who I don't recall her name played by Sharon Stone as they go on a quest for the lost diamond mines of King Solomon.
King Solomon's Mines is a really terrible film, but beware: there's a sequel and it's even worse!
R. Haggard's novel "King Solomon's Mines," he probably gave no thought to how his co-star, the young Sharon Stone, would look on screen.Bad move, Richard.
Of course it's not near Indiana Jones and the special effects are very bad, but there are a few good scenes.
Everything in this movie is so weird and off the wall that it turns a low budget Indiana Jones rip-off into a great adventure movie.
Richard Chamberlain does a good job as Allan Quatermain being heroic and saving the damsel in distress played by a young (and very pretty) Sharon Stone.
The bad guys are played by two fun actors (Herbert Lom as a german general and John Rhys-Davies as an evil turkish man) who are in over-acting mode.The story is totally different from the book the movie is based on.
They changed it to a more Indiana Jones-esque story in which Allan Quatermain great hunter/adventurer must help a girl find her father and stop the "eeeevil" german soldiers from getting to the King Solomon's Mines.
A competent actor should make better choices over which roles to take.The script is nearly a carbon copy of an Indiana Jones film, and bears no relation to the novel or even earlier versions of the film (which, over time, has deviated further and further from the plot of the book).
King Solomon's Mines is the third film adaptation of H.Rider Haggard's novel of the same title.It stars Richard Chamberlain as Allan Quatermain together with Sharon Stone,Herbert Lom and John Rhys-Davies.It takes a light and comedic approach of the novel and it parodies Indiana Jones,one of the most popular movies that was released during the decade this film was shown in theaters.In the screenplay,Allan Quatermain was hired by a woman to locate his archaeologist father who apparently has discovered the location of a vast treasure.Despite the fact that it was panned by critics and gaining two Razzie nominations for Worst Supporting Actor for Lom and Worst Musical Score,the movie was entertaining enough as long as one does not intend to take it seriously.Also,the viewer should also not compare with the 1937 and 1950 version for it was made for laughs and an Indiana Jones parody instead of being a critically acclaimed film.
Aside from lots of laughter that it presents,it is not short on action and explosive scenes.Overall,try to enjoy and be entertained this movie which should have been titled,"King Solomon's Mines Lite.".
Allan Quatermain (Richard Chamberlain), renowned adventurer, agrees to take a young woman (Sharon Stone) across Africa in search of her father.