Valley of the Kings
Valley of the Kings
| 23 July 1954 (USA)
Valley of the Kings Trailers

Hard-boiled archeologist Mark Brandon is searching for ancient tombs in Egypt when he is approached by beautiful Ann Mercedes, who convinces him to help her fulfill her deceased father's life's ambition - to provide solid proof of the biblical Joseph's travels in ancient Egypt. As an ex-pupil of Ann's father, Mark accepts and the two embark on a search for the tomb of the Pharoah Ra Hotep, said to have had some connection with Joseph. The trail to the tomb is fraught with intrigue, betrayal, murder, and the possibility that the tomb itself has been emptied of all its artifacts by ancient looters.

Reviews
Redwarmin This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place
Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.
Usamah Harvey The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
Skyler Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.
LeonLouisRicci Dullard and Right Wing Tattle Tale Robert Taylor Dutifully Goes On Location to Egypt Along with a Great Cinematographer and Former Real Life Flame Eleanor Parker. Always an MGM Workhorse with a Small Amount of Talent, Good Looks, and a Distinctive Voice, He Never Managed to Bring Anything Special to His Movies.Competent and Willing was Robert Taylor. In this "Travelogue" it is Egypt's Tourist Locations that Highlight, Always in the Background and are a Sight to Behold. Today's Audiences are Jaded by All the High Definition Documentaries on Multiple Channels, there is Never a Shortage of Footage from All of Those Monuments that the 1,000 Year Civilization Left Standing. So This May Not be that much of a Draw.The Movie is Rather Lackluster in the Foreground and is Talky but Doesn't Say a Whole Lot that is Interesting. The Script is Standard Junk and is Almost Blasphemous in Front of those Gigantic Wonders. The Movie Making Crew Just Seems Way Out of Their Element and are Intimidated by the Splendor and the Film Comes Off as Just Workmanlike.Overall, it is Worth a Watch but for the Most Part it is Creaky in Pace and Scholarly Only in the Most Elementary. It's Eye Candy at Best and an Opportunity Completely Wasted at Worst.
edwagreen Eleanor Parker, a wonderful actress, just didn't seem right for this part. You needed someone more gritty, say a Susan Hayward, Rita Hayworth, or just someone else. Her costume, most reflective of the period, made me think that any minute she would burst out as Deborah Kerr did in "The King and I." Why not? We could get Marnie Nixon singing for Parker here as she did for Kerr in the latter film.At the beginning of the film, she shows co-star Robert Taylor a statue. It looked more like the coveted Oscar she lost 3 times and Taylor never even being nominated for in his lengthy career.This biblical epic is scored by Miklos Rosza, who had such a talent for fine melodic biblical dramas. This film is no exception.A tale of looking to prove the story of Joseph was a correct one from the bible, falls short because the writing is so very obvious. Parker's husband in the film has his own agenda and of course we know what will become of him so that Taylor and Parker can ensue romance.There is a nice sandstorm here; however, "Lawrence of Arabia," it's not.
Robert J. Maxwell Robert Taylor is the hard-boiled, pragmatic American archaeologist in turn-of-the-century Egypt. I don't know if the character was meant to be but he struck me as a little coarse too. Who else would insult a woman as beautiful as Eleanor Parker with so little reason. The reason is that she's an idealist, trying to prove her father's theory that the Biblical Joseph visited Egypt during the reign of Ra Hotep. Taylor is interested more in the material side of things and less in the spiritual.Parker and her husband, Carlos Thompson, hire Taylor to guide them from one tourist spot to another, covering some dangerous territory in between. We know as soon as we meet Carlos Thompson that he's not quite kosher. Something is wrong with this guy, polite though he may be. For one thing, he speaks with a foreign accent and has a tenor voice. That's strike one right there. For another, he's a little too smooth for our tastes. Those foreigners all have something up there sleeves, don't they? For another, the simple and direct Robert Taylor tells him right away, "I don't like you much." For another, he's married to Eleanor Parker, meaning that he stands in the way of the inevitable clinch between Taylor and Parker. You can see why he's got to die.If there's a desert-linked adventure that was missed in this movie, I must have nodded out. There is, for instance, a dissolve to Eleanor Parker asleep in the tent, still in full make up. We watch her toss a bit and turn in her sleep. Now, if this were a jungle movie, a leopard or hyena would make its way into the tent and she'd begin shrieking. But this is a desert movie and I expected a cobra -- only to be disappointed. It was a deadly scorpion. The scene wasn't without suspense. It was just predictable. So was the sand storm, the sword fight, the capture by a hostile tribe of nomads, Parker fainting from exhaustion, the hidden burial vault, the mano a mano combat between Taylor and Thompson, the finding of shelter in a pile of stones, the discovery of the two colossal legs of a long-dead ruler named Ozymandias. Well, I just made that last up but it would have fit the narrative. The plot itself reminded me a little of John Wayne's "Legend of the Lost." The location shooting is just fine. It's convincingly Egyptian. And the production design and set dressing are impressive. Nice job in setting the stage. And what goes on, on the stage, isn't unexciting, though much of it can be anticipated. Robert Taylor seems more animated than usual. I wish he weren't so unlikable. When the poor guy tries to smile, there is an agonizing creak, as of wood about to crack. I'm not sure how convincing he is as a scholar who can read runic and hieroglyphics and whatnot. He always seems on the edge of anger.
Dejael In 1900 Egypt, an American archaeologist (Taylor) has a race with a rival exploitive British adventurer-explorer (Thompson) to find the fabulous [fictional] lost tomb of King Rahotep, a Pharaoh who may have known the Israelite Joseph, in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. Matters are complicated by unscrupulous Egyptian Arab black market antiquities dealers (in fine performances by character actors Victor Jory, Kurt Kasznar, Leon Askin) and the romance of a beautiful British Egyptologist (Parker) who arrives on the scene. The plot and story are contrived and melodramatic, but the production values, locations, acting, dialog, music score by the master Miklos Rozsa, and visual effects are superb. In other words, it makes up in style what it loses in content. Filmed partly on location in Egypt, in Cairo, the Giza Pyramids, Sakkara, Karnak and Luxor (the Great Temple of Amenhotep III), and the Valley of the Kings. Of particular interest is a fight scene staged atop one of the four colossi of King Ramoses II the Great at the Temple of Abu Simbel: part of it was filmed on location; part of it was replicated in the MGM studio soundstages with clever matte photography and grandiose sets. Climactic scene is the discovery of the splendiferous tomb of King Rahotep – full of art objects replicated from the artifacts found in the actual tomb of King TutankhAmen – in the Valley of the Kings. [Special note: there actually was a Pharaoh named Rahotep, who lived during the 17th Dynasty of ancient Egypt, circa 1750 B.C. and could have known sephardic Israelites like Joseph, who most likely lived circa 1850 B.C.] The Technicolor is beautiful. Highly enjoyable action romance. Great fun for fans, Egyptologists, and film addicts who just want to enjoy a good old fashioned yarn.