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In ancient Israel, the sons of King David, Adonijah and
Solomon, successfully repel an Egyptian invasion. Although Solomon
believes in a peaceful future, Adonijah chafes at the restrictions decreed
by their father to only defend against attacks by Israel’s enemies.
David’s chancellor Hezrai finds the brothers to report that the elderly king
lies near death in Jerusalem.
While Solomon returns to the city, Adonijah, having learned
that soldiers from the small independent kingdom of Sheba were part of the
Egyptian forces, goes in search of them. Upon finding the Queen of
Sheba, Adonijah introduces himself as the king of Israel and proposes that
they join forces to destroy Egypt. Scornful of Adonijah’s arrogance
and presumption, Sheba refuses.
In Jerusalem, Solomon is welcomed by the daughter of devoted
tribal elder Ahab, Abishag, who has grown up in the palace. The ailing
king reveals that he has had a vision and calls for a meeting with the
tribal elders the next day. At the palace assembly, the king declares
his greatest accomplishment in his forty-year reign is the unification of
the twelve tribes that make up Israel. Adonijah then arrives at the
gathering, where David stuns his eldest son by announcing that God has
proclaimed Solomon as the next king. Furious, Adonijah accuses Solomon
of turning David against him but, when Hezrai reveals that Adonijah
pronounced himself king before Sheba, the elders and the king accuse him of
breaking the law and being unworthy. Adonijah insists he will never
give up his rightful claim and departs the court, shortly after which David
crowns Solomon king.
Later, on his deathbed, David requests that Solomon build a
great temple to honor God and house the covenant. After his father’s
death, Solomon prays for guidance and God assures him that as long as he
fulfills his pledge to David, Israel will flourish. Solomon orders
construction of the temple and, after several weeks, visits Adonijah to ask
him to return to Jerusalem and head Israel’s army. Although surprised,
Adonijah agrees.
The completion and consecration of the temple some years
later finds Israel thriving and peaceful. In the land of Sheba, the
Queen receives notification that the Egyptian Pharaoh has called a
conference of the Arab tribes out of concern over Israel’s growing army.
Baltor, Sheba’s advisor, explains that in addition to this practical
concern, the Pharaoh fears Solomon’s devotion to monotheism, which threatens
their own polytheistic beliefs. At the conference, when Pharaoh
demands to know what size army Sheba will supply, the queen declares she
will save employing the numerous forces by ruining Solomon personally.
Although hesitant, Pharaoh agrees to allow Sheba and her entourage to
proceed to Jerusalem alone. Solomon and his court welcome Sheba’s
visit, which she declares is a mission to learn from Solomon’s just and
effective reign. The Israelites are taken aback by the blatant display
of the visitors’ pagan idols, but Solomon treats the queen with great
diffidence.
When Adonijah visits Sheba to repeat his earlier proposal,
the queen again refuses to assist him. After several days, Sheba grows
frustrated at not being able to arrange time alone with Solomon, but is
impressed by his judicious rulings in dealing with the daily difficulties of
his people. Solomon gradually spends time with Sheba but, when the
queen invites him for a private dinner, he avoids the engagement.
Later that evening, however, Solomon challenges Sheba to
explain the real reason for her presence in Jerusalem. Solomon
dismisses Sheba’s claim to be spying for Pharaoh, so the queen confesses her
plan to ruin him because of his irreproachable reputation, but confesses
that she has fallen in love with him. Overcome by his long-denied
attraction to Sheba, Solomon embraces her.
Days later, Hezrai and a high priest visit Adonijah to
express their dismay over Sheba moving into the royal palace.
Meanwhile, Sheba summons Baltor to demand their immediate return to their
country. When the queen admits she has truly fallen in love with
Solomon, Baltor reminds her of her mission and duty to her people.
Sheba reluctantly agrees and describes her plan to gain Solomon’s approval
for a lavish religious celebration that will scandalize the elders and
Israelite people.
A few days later, Solomon proposes marriage to Sheba, but she
indicates their religious differences make that impossible and announces her
plan to return home. Stunned, Solomon demands an explanation and Sheba
explains that as Queen, she must oversee an annual religious tradition.
Their discussion is disrupted by an assassination attempt by two men, one of
whom Solomon discovers is Adonijah’s lieutenant, Joab. Outraged,
Solomon confronts Adonijah, who declares that the people are angered by
Solomon’s involvement with Sheba. The king angrily sends his brother
into exile.
Upon learning that Solomon has approved of Sheba’s pagan
celebration, the high priests meet with the king, but he insists that he has
acted only out of love. Dismayed, the court prophet Nathan announces
that God will turn his hand against Israel for Solomon’s actions. The
next evening, Sheba and her people conduct a sensuous ceremony that
mesmerizes Solomon. Fearful of the prophecy, Abishag goes to the
temple and pleads with God to spare Solomon, offering her life in exchange
for his. At the height of the ceremony, a thunderstorm breaks out and
both the pagan idol and the temple are struck by bolts of lightning.
Stunned, Solomon later finds Abishag dead in the ruined temple and realizes
the depth of his offense to God. The king then publicly apologizes to
his priests and people, but the elders depart after declaring Israel’s unity
ruptured.
As foretold, the land soon returns to a desert. In
Egypt, Adonijah meets with Pharaoh and vows to lead the kingdom’s armies
against Solomon in exchange for Israel’s throne. Pharaoh agrees and
demands the death of Sheba for remaining in Jerusalem. Solomon soon learns
of the approaching Egyptian army and, mustering those who have remained
faithful to him, leads his soldiers into the desert to meet the attack.
The king is gratified when Ahab joins him, pledging his tribe’s support in
memory of Abishag. Adonijah’s superior forces quickly surround the
smaller Israelite army and, after a vicious battle, Solomon sounds the
retreat. Adonijah orders Solomon found, but his officers report the
Israelites have faded away. Impatient, Adonijah takes a small group
into Jerusalem, leaving his captain to finish off the Israelites.
Up in the hills, an officer reports to the weary Solomon that
the surviving Israelite troops have abandoned him. In Jerusalem,
Baltor tells Sheba of Solomon’s defeat but, learning that the king remains
alive, Sheba hastens to the temple ruins where she prays, vowing to return
to her country to build a great tabernacle to honor God if he spares
Solomon.
The following morning, Solomon is astonished when his
soldiers return to him and, abruptly inspired, he orders them to burnish
their shields. As day breaks, the Egyptian captain orders the army
into a final assault on the Israelites who wait on a distant hill. At
the height of the charge, the Israelite soldiers turn their mirrored shields
into the sun, blinding the approaching soldiers to a huge chasm lying just
below the hill. After the Egyptian army has been destroyed by riding
over the cliff, Solomon returns to Jerusalem in triumph.
Meanwhile, Adonijah has declared himself king and ordered
Sheba stoned. Infuriated by Solomon’s appearance, Adonijah attacks him
and Solomon kills him. The king then takes the unconscious Sheba to
the temple where she revives and praises God for sparing him and Jerusalem.
Repeating her vow, Sheba is gratified when God heals her injuries and
commends her love and loyalty to Solomon. Sheba then reveals to
Solomon that she is pregnant with his child, but insists she must fulfill
her promise to return to her country. Solomon agrees and gives thanks
to God for his forgiveness.
Notes
Solomon and Sheba was loosely based on the characterization of King
Solomon found in the Bible’s Old Testament books of 1 Kings and 2
Chronicles. The film accurately depicts King David’s selection of
Solomon over his older half-brother Adonijah (and nine other older brothers)
to rule Israel after his death. Solomon’s coronation conducted before
David’s death is also portrayed in the film as presented in the Bible, but
there is no indication in the film that this was likely brought about by
Solomon’s mother Bathsheba and the prophet Nathan in order to halt an
attempted take-over by Adonijah. Solomon’s dedication to building a
great temple to house the Ark of the Covenant (containing the Ten
Commandments) and early devotion to God are reflected in Solomon and
Sheba. The film does not mention that Solomon, like David before
him, was polygamous and among his many wives was the daughter of the Pharaoh
of Egypt, with whom Solomon eventually made an alliance. As depicted
in the film, Abishag lived in the palace under David’s care and is described
as a Shummanite. After David’s death, Adonijah petitioned Bathsheba to
ask Solomon for permission to marry Abishag and, outraged, Solomon slayed
Adonijah.
Unclear from either Biblical or Islamic
traditions is the depth of the relationship between Solomon and Makeda, the
Queen of Sheba. The kingdom of Sheba, the ancient name for Abyssinia,
was, as shown in Solomon and Sheba, safe for many years because of
its remote location and good relationship with Egypt. The Biblical
account and various Islamic myths agree that Makeda visited Jerusalem in
order to confirm Solomon’s reputation for having great wisdom. More
elaborate legends indicate the Queen devised a number of riddles to confound
the King and was impressed by his quick, intellectual responses. Both
the Biblical books of Kings and Chronicles state that the Queen presented
Solomon with lavish and rare gifts from her native land before returning to
her country. Ethiopian tradition indicates that Makeda returned to
Sheba and bore Solomon’s son Menelik, who later became the first emperor of
Ethiopia.
Solomon and Sheba portrays the Queen as
using idolatry to bring the downfall of Solomon. Historical accounts
note that Solomon’s great wealth and polygamy contributed to his gradual
drift from Judaic law and his ultimate demise. Solomon died after a
forty-year rule and Israel split into two kingdoms, Israel and Judah.
According to a June 1954 DV news item, a
project on the legendary romance between ancient Israel’s King Solomon and
the Queen of Sheba was slated to be written by Julius Epstein for Small
Productions. Epstein’s contribution, if any, to the final script has
not been confirmed. In November 1955, HR announced that Arthur
Hornblow had been set to produce for Small. In July 1957, DV
noted that the film would have a five million dollar budget and would likely
be shot using TODD-AO cameras on location in Israel, Spain and Italy.
The following March, DV reported that the script would go contrary to
the Biblical story of Solomon and Sheba, with the queen bearing a child.
In July 1958, Var indicated that Hornblow was withdrawing from the
project due to its lengthy pre-production. Ted Richmond was announced
as Hornblow’s replacement and a new budget was projected at $3.5 million.
By August 1958,
Tyrone Power and
Gina Lollobrigida had been cast in the title roles. In September,
Var revealed that the film’s shooting was to be done entirely in
Spain, as Israel did not have the numerous horses required for the
production.
Principal photography began in mid-September
1958. On November 15, during the filming of a sword fight between
Power and George Sanders, Power complained of feeling ill and was rushed to
a Madrid hospital where he was pronounced dead of a heart attack.
Power was 45 years old. In 1931, Power’s father, stage and film actor
Tyrone Power, Sr. also had died of a heart attack shortly after work on a
film. Power’s last completed film was the 1957 United Artists release
Witness for the Prosecution. Two days after Power’s death, DV
stated that
Yul Brynner had been selected to assume the role of Solomon and shooting
in Spain would continue around the character. LAT reported the
next day, however, that two of the film’s three producers had not been
consulted before Edward Small announced Brynner’s casting, which was thus in
doubt.
A November 20, 1958 LA Mirror-News
reported from Madrid that after three days of discussion Brynner would
indeed replace Power, and that all the footage containing Power would be
re-shot. The article also noted that producer Richmond, who was
partners with Power in Copa Productions and a close friend of the actor,
might withdraw from the film due to emotional exhaustion. HR
reported on November 21, 1958 that Ben Goetz would go to Madrid to assume
production control of the film, but it would not affect Richmond’s or
director King Vidor’s status. DV reported the same day that
Peter Viertel was to rewrite the script especially for Brynner, but there is
no further information on any contribution by Viertel. Although all
the preceding items indicated that the film would be entirely re-shot,
apparently footage with Power was kept with the hope of using as much as
possible in the final film. A June 24, 1959 Var article quoted
Vidor as admitting that despite intending to match both long and close shots
of Power with Brynner, it was not possible because of the very different
physical approach each actor took to the role.
HR news items add Noel Purcell and Graham
Summers to the cast, but their appearance in the released film has not been
confirmed. Another HR item noted that actors Lawrence Naismith
and William Devlin switched roles as “Nathan” and “Hezrai” because Naismith
had been delayed working on another production in London. An early
November 1958 HR article indicated that Vidor had secured government
permission for the use of Madrid’s Monasterio de San Lorenzo del Escorial,
built by King Philip in 1577.
The opening and closing cast credits differ in
order. The onscreen widescreen process is listed only as Technirama,
but reviews list it as Super Technirama 70. Reviews list film editor
Otto Ludwig as John K. Ludwig. Choreographer Jaroslav Berger’s first
name is misspelled onscreen as Jeroslav.
Another film inspired by the story of Solomon
and Sheba was the 1921 Fox film The Queen of Sheba , directed by J.
Gordon Edwards, and starring Betty Blythe and Fritz Leiber. |
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