A cache of priceless Egyptian treasures

VALLEY OF THE KINGS (1954)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

For stunning Egyptian locations and sheer beauty, "Valley of the Kings" is a luscious visual treat. For action and spirited adventure in a style that foreshadows Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones pictures, it comes up short but it is still minor fun for pulpy action-adventure completists and closer in spirit to "King Solomon's Mines."

Set in the 1900's, Robert Taylor is Mark Brandon (not the most memorable name), a two-fisted, macho archaeologist who is as good in a fight as he is in excavating Egyptian tombs. Eleanor Parker is Ann Mercedes, a dedicated Egyptologist and daughter of a deceased archaeologist who believed that there was proof of the Biblical Joseph's travels in Egypt, specifically regarding the tomb of the Pharaoh, King Ra-hotep. The story goes that King Ra-hotep may have been acquainted with the Israelite Joseph in the dusty Valley of the Kings. This possible historic union faces more complication in the modern era with black market antiquities dealers; greedy, pistol-packing and sword-carrying looters; Egyptian belly-dancers; tribal duels; out-of-control carriages and secret doors and compartments inside vast rooms of unimagined treasures and relics. As my readers are aware, I love this sort of stuff and "Valley of the Kings" is essentially a gallery of Egyptian treasures and artifacts. I don't think there is any other pulp adventure movie of the 50's that has the same authenticity in Egyptian period detail as this one does.

Director Robert Pirosh certainly stages many of the expected action scenes with aplomb and finesse. A brutal sandstorm is handled with a horrific beauty, especially when you consider they really filmed all this in Egypt. Fistfights and carriage chases are all expertly directed, and the hypnotic musical score by Miklos Rozsa adds inmeasurably to the overall stylishness of it.

The story is, unfortunately, a bit lacking in scope and the ending is a bit anticlimactic (the prize discovery at the end is not as glorious as I would have liked and leads to a plugged-in happy ending). And Robert Taylor is not the most memorable hero on screen nor does he have much to do with the role except express some passion and magnetism when he kisses Eleanor Parker's Mercedes, or throws a few punches on the edge of an enormous pharaoh statue. However, Carlos Thompson as Mercedes' husband, Philip, is extraordinary in displaying malice and a suave nature, and Kurt Kaznar is a joy as Philip's sinister ally (he later appeared in "Legend of the Lost" and "The Perils of Pauline").

"Valley of the Kings" is a Technicolor 1950's treat that is fun and luxurious in its beauty. I wouldn't say it is close to Charlton Heston's own exciting and equally machoistic adventure yarns of the same era, such as "Secret of the Incas" or "The Naked Jungle" (the latter starred Eleanor Parker and is set in the same time frame), but it can stand on its own as a legitimate yarn in the genre nonetheless. A more charismatic hero would've been nice.