Solomon and Sheba (1959)

Directed by King Vidor. Starring Yul Brynner, Gina Lollobrigida, George Sanders, Marisa Pavan, Harry Andrews, Finlay Currie, David Farrar, John Crawford, Laurence Naismith.

Lumbering, ludicrous biblical epic—released about a month after Ben-Hur, so talk about bad timing—recounting the fictionalized story of how the Queen of Sheba (Lollobrigida) brought wanton pagan lust to the halls of the King of Israel (Brynner). More of a showcase of bronzed bodies and slightly above-average large-scale production values than an involving or moralistic narrative; the acting is too poor to get away with such a talky script, and the storytelling and dialogue are too labored to forgive so many pointless liberties. Lollobrigida was clearly selected more for her voluptuous appearance than her acting abilities, and Brynner (in a wig!) is stoic to the point of boredom in a case of poor re-casting—the original actor, Tyrone Power, had to be replaced more than halfway through filming after he suddenly and quite unexpectedly passed away (re-shoots also required Noel Purcell to be replaced by Finlay Currie as Solomon’s father, King David).

38/100