This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
|
King Solomon's Mines | |
---|---|
Based on | King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard |
Written by | Steven H. Berman |
Directed by | Steve Boyum |
Starring | Patrick Swayze Alison Doody Roy Marsden John Standing |
Theme music composer | Mark Kilian |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of episodes | 2 |
Production | |
Producer | Russell D. Markowitz |
Cinematography | William Wages |
Editor | Craig Bassett |
Running time | 173 minutes |
Production companies | Enigma Pictures Hallmark Entertainment |
Original release | |
Network | Hallmark Channel |
Release | June 6, 2004 |
King Solomon's Mines is a 2004 American two-part television miniseries, the fifth film adaptation of the 1885 novel of the same name by Henry Rider Haggard. Starring Patrick Swayze as Allan Quatermain (it is spelled Allan Quartermain in the credits, unlike the book, which has Allan Quatermain) and Alison Doody as Elizabeth Maitland, the film was produced by Hallmark Entertainment, and originally aired June 6, 2004, on Hallmark Channel.
In Africa, wealthy businessman Mr. Bitter is on safari with his guides, Allan Quatermain and Bruce McNabb. He wishes to kill a family of elephants but Quatermain insists otherwise. McNabb betrays and subdues Quatermain while the others open fire. Later, the wounded mother elephant destroys their camp and kills Bitter, dying shortly after just as Quatermain prepares to euthanise it. He whispers "sorry, girl."
Samuel Maitland, a wealthy British explorer, writes a letter to his daughter Elizabeth, enclosing a map to the fabled mines of King Solomon. Shortly after sending the letter, he is captured by native KuaKuani tribesman. Their warlock, Twala, seeks more power and believes he can obtain it by finding the Stone of the Ancestors, an artifact hidden in Solomon's mines.
Quatermain returns to London wishing to spend time with his son, Harry. However, Harry's grandparents have filed for custody, declaring Quatermain an unfit parent. His lawyer tells him that, without a substantial amount of money, he cannot win the case so he goes to the bar. There, Elizabeth Maitland and Captain Good, her uncle and Bodyguard, find him and ask for his help. He refuses and they leave him her card, but once he realises who her father is he agrees to help. Quatermain finds Elizabeth being attacked by a Russian man, Sergei, whom he fends off. The pair return to Elizabeth's hotel room to find it ransacked. Only then Elizabeth reveals that she must travel to Africa to trade the map for her father's life.
Arriving in Africa, Quatermain enlists the help of his acquaintances, Ventvogel, Khiva, and, after a brief fight, his close friend Sir Henry Curtis. Meanwhile, three Russian men tasked with retrieving the map - Col. Ivan Fleekov, Petre and Sergei - enlist McNabb as their guide, telling him they may have to kill Quatermain to which he agrees.
Quatermain and Elizabeth come to respect one another as the journey progresses, especially after he saves her from a cheetah that invades her tent one morning. When the group reach the drop-off location, however, they find their contact dead and an imposter in his place. They are ambushed by the Russians and Quatermain must make a dangerous ride through a crossfire to save miss Maitland. McNabb has a shot on Quatermain but does not take it, resulting in Petre being shot in the abdomen.
After seeking the counsel of a witch doctor, the group realise they must cross the great Kalahari Desert. Quatermain talks to an African man who has been seen following them throughout the whole journey, and he introduces himself as Umbopa, saying he can be of help and has crossed the great desert before. They agree for him to travel with the group.
After McNabb fails to fall for a ruse involving multiple tracks, the Russians gain ground and the group apparently set up camp, but as the Russians close in on the camp it becomes apparent that it, too, is a trick and is empty. The Russians fall behind again. As they begin to catch up in the desert, Quatermain's group find a rock formation of a cobra, which leads them to a tomb containing the key to Solomon's mines. However, while Quatermain and the others retrieve the key, the Russians arrive, incapacitate Captain Good and kidnap miss Maitland.
Both groups press on through the desert making for an oasis. Petre succumbs to his injuries and dies, while both parties nearly die of thirst. After Quatermain's party reach the oasis first, they ambush the Russians leading to a tense standoff. Elizabeth creates a distraction and escapes leading to an exchange of fire in which Ventvogel is injured and the Russians seize the map and the key.
After Umbopo leads them through the valleys on the other side of the desert and they gain ground on the Russians, the group sets a trap to retrieve the map. The trap initially succeeds, and McNabb is forced at gunpoint to drop the bag containing the map and key, as he and the Russians are driven off by gunfire. Khiva makes a run for the bag but is shot by both Sergei and Fleekov. Quatermain rescues the badly wounded Khiva while Henry and Ventvogel fatally shoot Sergei. As the firefight continues, Elizabeth tries to retrieve the map as McNabb prepares to kill her. However, Quatermain disarms McNabb and shoots him in the shoulder, then wounds the colonel. Khiva dies from his injuries and the others mourn him.
Quatermain's group continues toward the Kuakuani village, followed by Fleekov and McNabb, who survived their injuries. After being ambushed by warriors, Umbopa reveals his true name to be Ignosi, the rightful king. The warriors escort the group, as well as McNabb and Fleekov who were also captured, to their village where Ignosi challenges Twala to Nomolos; a fight to the death, for the throne. Elizabeth is reunited with her father who has survived his captivity. It is revealed that Ignosi and Twala do not fight each other personally, but rather select a representative. Ignosi has chosen Quatermain.
On the morning of the fight, McNabb and Fleekov escape their bindings and search for the key as the Nomolos begins. Initially it is evenly matched but Twala's warrior gains the upper hand and almost kills Quatermain. Quatermain manages to turn the fight around and prepares to make the killing blow, but instead he slams the axe into the ground near the warriors head as a show of mercy. Ignosi congratulates him on winning, but Twala attempts to kill him by throwing a spear. Henry sees the danger and intervenes, saving Quatermain by taking the spear himself. Quatermain tries to help but Henry dies, saying "Take good care of that lass." Enraged, Quatermain prepares to kill Twala but Ignosi intervenes. To their surprise, the warriors all close in and kill Twala without orders.
Fleekov and McNabb find the key but are discovered by Gagool, the Kuakuani witch doctor. She kills Fleekov with magic, entrancing him and forcing him to asphyxiate, but lets McNabb go, telling him he may find what he seeks, but he will never possess it. Gagool approaches Ignosi and is allowed to remain witch doctor of the tribe after Samuel vouches for her. She presents Ignosi with the key to the mines, which he gives to Quatermain. He explains that whilstever there is interest in the mines his people will not be safe, and asks Quatermain and Elizabeth to destroy the stone of the ancestors.
The pair travel to the mines where McNabb ambushes them and engages Quatermain in a fight. He is killed after Quatermain throws him down a flight of stairs onto one of many spring loaded spears that protrude from the floor when triggered. Quatermain and Elizabeth find the stone but when they touch it the cavern seals them in. Awaiting death, Quatermain proposes to Elizabeth to which she says yes, and suddenly they remember a shaft of sunlight lancing into the mine indicating a way out. They take a ring off a statue, triggering the start of an avalanche, and begin to climb out of the mine, throwing the stone back in behind them. They barely escape as the entire mine collapses. Months later Quatermain and Elizabeth are married and live in a cottage on the savanna, with Harry living with them.
Sir Henry Rider Haggard was an English writer of adventure fiction romances set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a pioneer of the lost world literary genre. He was also involved in land reform throughout the British Empire. His stories, situated at the lighter end of Victorian literature and including the eighteen Allan Quatermain stories beginning with King Solomon's Mines, continue to be popular and influential.
King Solomon's Mines is an 1885 popular novel by the English Victorian adventure writer and fabulist Sir H. Rider Haggard. It tells of an expedition through an unexplored region of Africa by a group of adventurers led by Allan Quatermain, searching for the missing brother of one of the party. It is one of the first English adventure novels set in Africa and is considered to be the genesis of the lost world literary genre. It is the first of fourteen novels and four short stories by Haggard about Allan Quatermain. Haggard dedicated this book to his childhood idol Sir Humphry Davy.
Allan Quatermain is the protagonist of H. Rider Haggard's 1885 novel King Solomon's Mines, its one sequel Allan Quatermain (1887), twelve prequel novels and four prequel short stories, totalling eighteen works. An English professional big game hunter and adventurer, in film and television he has been portrayed by Richard Chamberlain, Sean Connery, Cedric Hardwicke, Patrick Swayze and Stewart Granger among others.
Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold is a 1986 American adventure comedy film directed by Gary Nelson and released in West Germany on December 18, 1986, and in the United States on January 30, 1987. It is loosely based on the 1887 novel Allan Quatermain by H. Rider Haggard. It is the sequel to the 1985 film King Solomon's Mines.
Sir Henry Curtis is a fictional character in a series of adventure novels by H. Rider Haggard. His Zulu name is Incubu, which means "Elephant". He is the constant companion and fellow traveller of Allan Quatermain.
Watusi is a 1959 American adventure film, It is the sequel to the 1950 film King Solomon's Mines. The film was directed by Kurt Neumann and starring George Montgomery, Taina Elg, David Farrar and Rex Ingram. It was produced by Al Zimbalist and Donald Zimbalist. The screenplay was by James Clavell loosely based on the 1885 novel King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard.
The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines is a 2006 American made-for-television fantasy-adventure film and the second in The Librarian franchise of movies starring Noah Wyle as a librarian who protects a secret collection of artifacts. The television film was released on American cable channel TNT on December 3, 2006. Gabrielle Anwar, Bob Newhart, Jane Curtin and Olympia Dukakis co-star. It is a sequel to 2004's The Librarian: Quest for the Spear. The third film in the trilogy, The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice, was released in 2008.
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. A film adaptation 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. Of all the novel's adaptations, this film is considered to be the most faithful to the book.
King Solomon's Mines is a 1950 Technicolor adventure film, and the second film adaptation of the 1885 novel of the same name by Henry Rider Haggard. It stars Deborah Kerr, Stewart Granger and Richard Carlson. It was adapted by Helen Deutsch, directed by Compton Bennett and Andrew Marton and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
She and Allan is a novel by H. Rider Haggard, first published in 1921. It brought together his two most popular characters, Ayesha from his 1887 novel She, and Allan Quatermain from his 1885 novel King Solomon's Mines. Umslopogaas from Nada the Lily (1892) also appears in the novel as a major character. Along with the other three novels in the Ayesha series, She and Allan was adapted into the 1935 film She. She and Allan is the third story in the Ayesha series and the fifteenth in the Quatermain series.
King Solomon's Mines is a 1985 action adventure film, and a film adaptation of the 1885 novel of the same name by H. Rider Haggard. It stars Richard Chamberlain, Sharon Stone, Herbert Lom, and John Rhys-Davies. It was produced by Cannon Films. It was adapted by Gene Quintano and James R. Silke and directed by J. Lee Thompson. This version of the story was a light, comedic take, deliberately referring to, and parodying, the Indiana Jones film series. It was filmed outside Harare in Zimbabwe. The film was made and released exactly 100 years after the release of the novel on which the film is based.
Allan's Wife and Other Tales is a collection of Allan Quatermain stories by H. Rider Haggard, first published in London by Spencer Blackett in December 1889. The title story was new, with its first publication intended for the collection, but two unauthorized editions appeared earlier in New York, based on pirated galley proofs. The other three stories first appeared in an anthology and periodicals in 1885, 1887, and 1886.
Conan and the Treasure of Python is a fantasy novel by American writer John Maddox Roberts, featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in trade paperback by Tor Books in November 1993; a regular paperback edition followed from the same publisher in August 1994.
Marie is a 1912 novel by H. Rider Haggard featuring Allan Quatermain. The plot concerns Quatermain as a young man and involves his first marriage, to the Boer farm girl, Marie Marais. Their romance is opposed by Marie's anti-English father, and her villainous cousin Hernan Pereira, who desires Marie. They are Voortrekkers who take part in the Great Trek whom Quatermain has to rescue. Marie is the fifth novel, and the eighth story overall, in the Allan Quatermain series.
The Holy Flower is a 1915 novel by H. Rider Haggard featuring Allan Quatermain. It was serialised in The Windsor Magazine from issue 228 to 239, illustrated by Maurice Greiffenhagen, and in New Story Magazine from December 1913 through June 1914. The plot involves Quatermain going on a trek into Africa to find a mysterious flower. It is the seventh Quatermain novel, and the eleventh Quatermain story overall.
Allan and the Ice-Gods is a novel by H. Rider Haggard featuring his recurring character Allan Quatermain, based on an idea given to Haggard by Rudyard Kipling. The story details Quatermain's past life regression to a Stone Age ancestor and the various adventures involved.
The Treasure of the Lake is one of the two posthumously published novels by H. Rider Haggard featuring Allan Quatermain. In publication order it is the seventeenth of the eighteen Allan Quatermain stories.
Allan Quatermain is an 1887 novel by H. Rider Haggard. It is the sequel to Haggard's 1885 novel King Solomon's Mines. Allan Quatermain is the second novel and fourth overall story in the eighteen-part series of the same name, though chronologically it is the final entry.
Death Valley Gunfighter is a 1949 American Western film directed by R. G. Springsteen and written by Robert Creighton Williams. The film stars Allan Lane, Eddy Waller, James Nolan, Gail Davis, William "Bill" Henry, Harry Harvey, Sr. and Mauritz Hugo. The film was released on March 29, 1949, by Republic Pictures.