mts43

By 1950, Hollywood studios were already suffering from the advent of television and the Supreme Court ruling that no longer allowed studios to own movie theaters. At long last MGM had booted the unimaginative tyrant Louis B. Mayer as the studio boss. If he'd still been in control, he would have never approved of filming "King Solomon's Mines", which was one of the earlier big budget movies filmed on location -- in this case, Africa. The location shooting is one of the primary reasons that it was the highest grossing film of 1950. It was an exciting adventure film with scenes of African wildlife that would be impossible to replicate now. It also featured authentic Africans, including the impressive Watusi. It was a favorite film of mine when I was a kid, and I still enjoy it even now.

During Hollywood's "Golden Years" MGM may have had the most glamorous reputation, but Warner Brothers consistently made the best films and had the best actors under contract. Their Studio excellence also included directors like Michael Curtiz, who directed this film, and the best Music department, led by the legendary Max Steiner, who scored this film. After many years at MGM, Joan Crawford had been released, and this was her first film for Warner Brothers. I was never a Crawford fan, but she was perfect for this role, and I can't imagine anyone else in it. Ann Blyth was only 16 when she made this film, but her performance as a totally self-absorbed manipulative and evil character resulted in a well deserved nomination for Best Supporting Actress. My daughter and I both use the code name "Veda" whenever we encounter a spoiled young female who cares only about herself. Jack Carson also deserved a nomination for his portrayal of the amoral Heel Wally Fay.

I took my two grandchildren, ages 11 and 9, to see the movie when it came out. We all enjoyed it, especially because it is a true story and, despite the death of one of the three whales, has a happy ending. However, my rating is one point lower than it would have been without the needless and silly "Hollywood" tweaking of the truth those people too often seem to think is necessary. Why, for example, did they change the actual names of the whales to Fred, Wilma, and Bam Bam? Yes, we know that Fred and Wilma were the Flintstones, but even here the writers stretched the silliness further because in the TV series, Bam Bam was the offspring of Barney and Betty Rubble -- the Flintstones baby was a girl named Pebbles. But absolutely the worst was when the writers created a conversation where Reagan called Gorbachev and began by saying, "Gorby, this is Ronnie". The only word for that is ludicrous and totally unnecessary.