‘King Solomon’s Mines’: Chasing a Legend Across Africa

An early film of the H. Rider Haggard’s novel, about a search for mysterious treasure in Africa, features the great voice and presence of Paul Robeson.

(L–R) Kathy O’Brien (Anna Lee), Allan Quartermain (Cedric Hardwicke), and Umbopa (Paul Robeson), in “King Solomon's Mines.” GJW+

NR | 1h 17m | Action, Adventure, Romance | 1937

Adventure films once carried the smell of dust and campfire smoke. The 1937 film of “King Solomon’s Mines,” the first sound-era adaptation of H. Rider Haggard’s novel of the same name, comes from that tradition. A map of Africa becomes a doorway to buried treasure and lost kings.