{"id":1199,"date":"2018-11-15T14:07:11","date_gmt":"2018-11-15T20:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/academics.winona.edu\/povwinona\/?p=1199"},"modified":"2018-11-19T11:57:13","modified_gmt":"2018-11-19T17:57:13","slug":"king-solomons-mines-influence-on-action-and-adventure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/academics.winona.edu\/povwinona\/king-solomons-mines-influence-on-action-and-adventure\/","title":{"rendered":"King Solomon’s Mines: Influence on Action and Adventure"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The\u00a0<\/span>Action and Adventure genre has blossomed into a list of sub genres that are currently taking cinema by storm with action juggernauts\u00a0<\/span>Avengers Infinity War<\/em><\/span>\u00a0(2018),\u00a0<\/span>Mission Impossible: Fallout\u00a0<\/em><\/span>(2018), and\u00a0<\/span>Aliens<\/em><\/span>\u00a0(1986). These hybrid films are growing in popularity through pop culture icons and references that set higher standards for the film’s narrative layers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most of these films would not have been produced, directed, or even written if it weren’t for the iconic style of the classic swashbuckler films produced during the golden age in Hollywood.<\/p>\n

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The stars of King Solomon’s Mines<\/p><\/div>\n


\n<\/span>King Solomon\u2019s Mines<\/em>,<\/span>\u00a0co-directed by Compton Bennett and Andrew\u00a0<\/span>Marton<\/span>\u00a0in 1950, upheld the genre\u2019s progression during early Hollywood and continues to influence later films within the Action and Adventure category, such as\u00a0<\/span>Raiders of the Lost Ark<\/span><\/em>\u00a0(1981) and the National Treasure\u00a0<\/em>franchise (2004, 2007). By using the narrative structure of men running around trying to find either an object or pl<\/span>ace and having to overcome many obstructions\u00a0<\/span>on their<\/span>\u00a0journey, the film displays astonishing special effects featuring dangerous animals along with dynamic characters that are comparable to other Action films .<\/span><\/p>\n

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The novel the film is based on, written by Henry Rider Haggard<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Before the 1950 adaptation of Kings Solomon\u2019s Mines<\/em>, there was a British version released in 1937 that was adapted from the same novel, by Henry Rider Haggard, to create a film adaptation. The series would continue with four more versions released in 1979, 1985,1986, and 2004. The film begins with the protagonist, Allan\u00a0<\/span>Quatermain<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>(Stewart Granger<\/span>),\u00a0<\/span>an experienced hunter and guide who<\/span>\u00a0reluctantly\u00a0<\/span>agrees<\/span>\u00a0to help Elizabeth Curtis (Deborah Kerr<\/span>) and her brother John Goode (Richard Carlson<\/span>) to search for her husband, who disappeared in the unexplored African interior while searching for the legendary titular mines. Using a copy of the map that Curtis used, the group begins their expedition. Despite Allan\u2019s attitude towards women in the jungle, he beings to become soft for Elizabeth and during the long and grueling journey, the two begin to fall in love.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Constant danger sets the mood for this film.\u00a0 The movie begins in 1897, Africa where Allan is living as a guide. The opening scene is Allan and his men attempting to take down a herd of elephants,\u00a0<\/span>while they are successful in killing an\u00a0<\/span>elephant<\/span>, they also lose one of their men in the process.<\/span>\u00a0The tone of the film immediately creates\u00a0<\/span>an<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>unsafe<\/span>\u00a0environment in which death is a prominent factor. The dangerous setting creates obstacles for the\u00a0 characters to face ranging from animals such as snakes, rhinos,\u00a0<\/span>crocodiles<\/span>, spiders, and even other tribes of people. The action genre is not meant to be safe<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0portrays the characters as\u00a0vulnerable, depicted in the scene below.<\/p>\n