00:00Production on King Solomon's Mines took place on location all over Africa in at least four
00:05countries, Uganda, Tanganyika, the Belgian Congo, and Kenya. That represented a radical decision by
00:11MGM. Films featuring extravagant locations were regularly shot on sound stages. MGM had previously
00:18shot on location nearly two decades earlier, the 1931 film Trader Horn. Now, Trader Horn became a
00:24hit, earning a nomination for Best Picture, but it was a difficult production and executives played
00:30it safe for a long time following that shoot. For King Solomon's Mines, approximately 60,000 pounds
00:37of gear was transported to Kenya along with the cast and crew. The finished product, like Trader Horn,
00:43earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. King Solomon's Mines won a couple of Oscars for
00:49Best Color Cinematography and Best Editing. The film also helped change how movies were made from
00:56that point on, prompting more African location shooting that captured unforgettable scenery in
01:01subsequent films, including The African Queen from 1951 and Out of Africa from 1985. The star of the
01:08film, Stuart Granger, made a lot of these romantic adventures. This one, Scaramouche, Green Fire,
01:14Prisoner of Zenda. But he always wanted to make more substantial films. In 1981, he told the Los
01:21Angeles Times that he had once said to Spencer Tracy, a close friend of his, I wish I'd made just
01:27one
01:27film, like Tracy's Inherit the Wind. Granger said Tracy replied using Granger's real first name.
01:35Jim, Tracy said, I'd love to have done Scaramouche. Coming up, Silent Sunday Night with the Professor
01:42Jacqueline Stewart. She'll have two documentaries about European cities, starting with Berlin,
01:48Symphony of a Great City, from 1927. That's next on Turner Classic Movies.
01:54Next on TCM, a Silent Sunday of city symphonies. Then, The Coward, and later, Charu Lata.
02:04No tariffs in TCM imports tonight.
