Solomon and Sheba
All actors and roles (10)
All team (47)
Short description
King David, nearing death, names his younger son Solomon as his successor rather than Adonijah, his older and more hot-tempered son. Adonijah refuses to accept the decision and leaves the court determined to claim the throne for himself. Solomon takes power and begins to establish his rule, but his growing influence unsettles neighbouring rulers, who fear that his beliefs and his style of government threaten their own authority. The pharaoh and the Queen of Sheba form an alliance aimed at weakening Solomon, with the queen sent to turn him from his duties, though her feelings for him complicate the plan.
Solomon and Sheba is a historical drama directed by King Vidor, released in 1959 as the eleventh film in the directing career listed here, following War and Peace. The screenplay is by Anthony Veiller and Crane Wilbur, and the picture was produced by Ted Richmond and Tyrone Power. Yul Brynner plays Solomon and Gina Lollobrigida plays the Queen of Sheba, with George Sanders as Adonijah, Marisa Pavan as Abishag, David Farrar as the pharaoh and John Crawford as Joab. The production cost 5 million dollars and returned 12 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.2 out of 10 from around 4,300 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.4 out of 10 from just over a hundred votes.
What's left behind the scenes
- Tyrone Power was originally cast as Solomon, but he died of a heart attack during the filming of the first scenes in Madrid.
- More than half of the film had already been shot when actor and producer Tyrone Power (1914-1958) suffered a heart attack. This happened during a fight scene between Solomon, initially played by Power, and a character played by George Sanders (1906-1972) on November 10, 1958, and Power passed away five days later. Yul Brynner (1920-1985) replaced him in the role of Solomon. He reshot all the scenes that had already been filmed with Power, although Power can still be seen on screen in some long shots.
- According to David Farrar, he initially rejected the offer to play the pharaoh, considering the role too insignificant for an actor of his stature (he simply referred to himself as a star). He eventually agreed to play the pharaoh – in exchange for a fee of $2,000 per shooting day (he was involved in filming for four days), as well as the words “guest star” next to his name in the credits.
- The film was the second, after "Sleeping Beauty," to use the widescreen "Super Technirama 70" technology.
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