Solomon and Sheba

Solomon and Sheba is a 1959 American Biblical epic historical drama film directed by King Vidor, shot in Technirama (color by Technicolor), and distributed by United Artists. The film dramatizes events described in the tenth chapter of First Kings and the ninth chapter of Second Chronicles. It centers on the relationship between King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, played by Yul Brynner and Gina Lollobrigida, respectively. The cast also features George Sanders, Marisa Pavan, David Farrar and Harry Andrews.

The film differs substantially from Biblical sources and is highly fictionalized, most notably in representing the Queen of Sheba as an ally of ancient Egypt in opposition to King Solomon of Israel, and in her having a love affair with Solomon.

Tyrone Power was originally cast as Solomon and filmed the role for two months, before dying of an on-set heart attack. The role was hastily recast with Yul Brynner, who had previously turned it down, and large swaths of footage were re-shot to accommodate the change, though some footage of Power in the large-scale battle scenes remains in the final film.

The film premiered in London on October 27, 1959 before being released in the United States on Christmas Day of that year. It received a lukewarm critical reception and proved King Vidor’s final feature film before his death in 1982. In February 2020, the film was shown at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival, as part of a retrospective dedicated to Vidor's career.

Under the rule of King David, Israel is united and prosperous, although surrounded by enemies, including Egypt and its allies, such as Sheba. The aging King favours the peace-loving Solomon to succeed him, but his elder brother Adonijah, a warrior, declares himself King, after a battle with Egypt where he encounters and insults the Queen of Sheba, as she and her troops retreat. When David learns of this, he publicly announces Solomon to be his successor. Adonijah and Joab, his general, withdraw in rage, but Solomon later offers his brother the command of the army, though knowing that Adonijah may use it against him.

Israel continues to prosper under Solomon's rule. The Queen of Sheba conspires with the Egyptian Pharaoh to undermine Solomon's rule by seducing him and introducing Sheban pagan worship into Jerusalem. Solomon is indeed bewitched by her, and the two begin living together under the pretense of forming an alliance between their two kingdoms. The king's reputation is damaged, but at the same time Sheba—who sees the king's wisdom in the Judgment of Solomon—begins to truly fall in love with him and regret her plotting; she even helps save his life when Adonijah sends Joab to assassinate Solomon.

Things come to a head when Solomon recklessly allows a Sheban "love festival" (in fact a virtual orgy in celebration of a pagan god Rah-gon) to be held within Israel, and even visits the festival, embracing the Queen. In an act of divine retribution, lightning from heaven destroys the Sheban altar and damages the newly built Temple in Jerusalem, and also kills David's handmaiden, the virtuous Abishag, who loved Solomon and went to the Temple to ask God to punish her instead of Solomon; and the land is beset with a deadly famine. Solomon is publicly rebuked by the people; Zadok the High Priest and Nathan the Prophet disown him.

Meanwhile, Adonijah, banished by his brother after the assassination attempt, goes and strikes a bargain with Pharaoh; given an army, he will conquer Israel for Egypt, in exchange for being placed on the throne as a kind of viceroy. The tiny army mustered by Solomon (who has been abandoned by his allied states) is quickly routed, and Adonijah presses on to Jerusalem and makes himself king. Meanwhile, Sheba, now a believer in the power of the God of Israel, prays for Solomon to be redeemed and restored to power as Nathan overhears.