Solomon and Sheba

Right this moment I am watching this movie on TV here in Tokyo. Beautiful scenery, beautiful sets of biblical proportions, beautiful costumes, beautiful color, beautiful Gina. Great climactic scene when God destroys the Sheban idol and a lot more with de Millean thunderbolts at the moment when Yul and Gina are about to consummate their love. Yul does a halfway decent job of delivering his lines, though he sounds a lot like Yul delivering his lines as Ramses or Taras Bulba. George Sanders sounds like George Sanders playing George Sanders. Given the limited range of acting she is asked to display in this role, Gina does a good job, though by the time the movie ends, she is completely converted into a demure remorseful lass and looks likes she might be playing in a biography of Mother Teresa. I guess thunderbolts will do that to you, but it is almost breathtaking how quickly she jettisons her own beliefs for her new religion. The supporting players are mostly awful, lacking credible emotion and timing. The usual big battle scenes, what passed for lascivious dances in 1959, and an orchestra blasting out plenty of trumpet calls behind a huge chorus singing lots of "Ah's", but none of it quite of topnotch Hollywood quality. The final swordfight between Brynner and Sanders is at the laughingly low skill level of a junior high school play. The film is one big piece of eye candy but not much more.

Also Englishmen with awful brown face makeup playing Sheba's soldiers. This would have been even more obvious on a huge movie screen than your TV. Siberian Russian Yul Brynner is more believable as Solomon, and his accent helps, plus his playing an Egyptian before in Ten Commandments. But why did they give him a brown toupee? Lollabridgada as Sheba is attractive, but an Italian can't pass for the Ethiopian or Yemeni Sheba. And Sheba was her people, not her name. The story is slow. Except for the surprisingly raunchy orgy scenes. So that's why they hired Gina.... I'm pretty sure the devout woudn't be recommending this film for Sunday school.