KING SOLOMON'S TREASURE

Macnee, Colicos, McCallum 

KING SOLOMON'S TREASURE (1979). Director: Alvin Rakoff. 

Allan Quatermaine (John Colicos), Henry Curtis (David McCallum), and Captain Good (Patrick Macnee) travel through Africa to try and find King Solomon's lost treasure. Along the way they pick up a portly French chef, Alphonse (Yvon Dufour), and a handsome, noble African named Umpslopogas (Ken Gampu). They also encounter -- oddly enough -- a variety of dinosaurs, but don't seem all that befuddled by their presence. Finally they come upon the lost kingdom of Zuvenda ruled over by -- you guessed it -- a beautiful blond queen (Britt Ekland). Then there's warfare and an erupting volcano for good measure.

Britt Ekland

If ever there were a picture made strictly for tax loss purposes, King Solomon's Treasure is it. It is chockful of absurdities. Things seem headed in the right direction when African natives are actually played by African natives  -- this was filmed in Swaziland as well as in Montreal -- but when Britt Ekland shows up you know you're back in fantasy land. The presence of dinosaurs -- all of which look pretty terrible and are mock-ups of limited movement -- doesn't make any sense at all. There are a couple of giant crabs as well. McCallum and Macnee -- both of whom had starred in successful TV series in the sixties (The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and The Avengers, respectively) must have thought this was the absolute nadir of their careers. Macnee dispenses his usual suavity and charm, and McCallum portrays the comic relief until he starts necking with Ekland. Any similarity to H. Rider Haggard is strictly coincidental.

Verdict: Terrible. Just terrible! *.