Solomon and Sheba (1959) on Netflix
King David names his poet son Solomon as heir, and furious elder brother Adonijah leaves the court vowing to rule. The Queen of Sheba agrees with Egypt's pharaoh to corrupt Solomon.
- Netflix1.9/5
- IMDb6.2/104,501 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes14%
Trailer
Plot summary
Israel is prosperous under King David, who favors his peace-loving son Solomon over his elder son Adonijah, a warrior. After a battle with Egypt, Adonijah declares himself king and insults the Queen of Sheba as her troops withdraw. When David learns of this, he names Solomon his successor, and Adonijah and his general Joab leave in anger. Solomon still offers his brother command of the army. The Queen of Sheba and the Egyptian pharaoh agree that she will seduce Solomon and bring Sheban worship into Jerusalem to weaken his rule. Other rulers fear that his monotheism threatens their kingdoms. Solomon is drawn to her, and the two live together as if forming an alliance between their lands.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Solomon and Sheba (1959)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Tyrone Power was originally cast as Solomon and shot the role for two months before dying of a heart attack during a duel scene with George Sanders. Yul Brynner, who had earlier turned the role down, was hastily cast in his place and much of the film was re-shot, though some of Power's large-scale battle footage remains.
- After Power died on set, a scarf was put around his neck to prop up his jaw so he could be "walked" out of the studio to a car, and producer Ted Richmond ordered that neither the press nor Power's wife be called.
- The production was insured for up to $3 million in case one of its six lead players died, and Lloyd's of London covered a $100,000 daily bill while filming was halted.
- Small offered the role of Solomon to Yul Brynner, a friend of Power, on 16 November. Accepting meant Brynner had to delay the lead in an adaptation of Howard Fast's 1951 novel Spartacus, which was canceled and instead made by Kirk Douglas as the 1960 film.
- The orgy scene cost about $100,000 and was choreographed by Jaroslav Berger, ballet chief of Switzerland's Berne State Theatre; Gina Lollobrigida rehearsed her dance for more than a month.
- Completed over ten weeks for an estimated $6 million, a sum felt to be cheap for its scale, the film helped make Spain an increasing base for Hollywood movies.
