Valley Of The Kings (1954)

Valley Of The Kings - 1954

Coming up next is 1954's adventure/epic "Valley Of The Kings", starring Robert Taylor and Eleanor Parker.  The film follows the path of an archaeologist on the trail to learn of Egypt's Biblical past and what could be the greatest archaeological discovery.  Danger lurks everywhere, and no one can be trusted.

The film's supporting cast includes Carlos Thompson, Kurt Kasznar, Victor Jory, and Leon Askin.

In Luxor, Ann Mercedes looks up archaeologist Mark Brandon.  She needs help with an expedition she's heading.  She wants to find evidence of Biblical patriarch Joseph.

Before he died, Ann's father gave her a statue which came from the tomb of Pharaoh Ra-Hotep, the discovery of which will probably confirm the Bible's validity.  Mark is fascinated by the statue, and he agrees to help Ann.

The scour antiquity shops searching for anything else that might've come from Ra-Hotep's tomb.  A particular dealer tells Ann that he could probably give her some information for a price.  She agrees and tells him where to get in touch with her.  (By the way, I'd love to scour this shop from top to bottom.  If anyone knows where to find that black cat under glass in the bottom picture, please let me know.)

It seems that Ann and Mark aren't the only ones looking for information on Ra-Hotep.  Another man wants information, too, and will do anything to get it.

While visiting the pyramids and the Great Sphinx, Ann and Mark are joined by her husband Philip.  They are approached by a priest who tells of a monastery where Ann's father was looking for clues.  They agree to go with him and search for themselves.

At the monastery, Mark finds some stone tablets which were letters written to Ra-Hotep.  After he reads them, Mark determines that they point to the Valley of the Kings as the location for Ra-Hotep's tomb.

A search of the Valley of the Kings results in their coming up empty-handed.  Philip tries to put doubts in Ann's mind about Mark, but she trusts him implicitly.  Disappointed at not being able to find anything, Ann is reassured by Mark who tells her that the search is not over yet.

Back in Luxor, Ann is approached by the antiquities dealer she met with earlier.  He provides her with the name of the nomad who can lead them to some more clues.  She hurries to tell Mark and Philip about what she's learned.

After the antiquities dealer is killed by the man who is following Ann, we find that her husband Philip makes a double-crosses her and makes a deal with him to get to the treasure first.  They become business partners.

While wandering through the desert trying to find the nomad who can help them, a huge sandstorm arises, and Mark and Ann get separated from their guides, as well as from Philip.

They locate the tribe of nomads and find the one who can lead them to a clue, but first Mark must win a hand to hand combat challenge in order for them to be able to be trusted.

He wins the fight.  That night, Mark and Ann succumb to their feelings and embrace passionately.

The nomad leads them to the temples of Abu Simbel.  Almost right away, they are rewarded when they discover a box that contains the cartouche of Ra-Hotep.

All isn't what it seems, though.  Ann's husband Philip is already there and pulls a gun on Mark.  A fight ensues, which leads to Philip falling from one of the temples to his death.

As they sail back up the Nile River, Mark tries to comfort Ann, who is feeling a sense of loss and betrayal after Philip's death.  They also discover that there is a map to Ra-Hotep's tomb on the side of the box they found.  It's in the Valley of the Kings, just in a different spot from where they thought.

After digging for a while, they discover the entrance to the tomb.  After securing it, Ann and Mark descend into the tomb to see if they can find any evidence of Joseph.

Right away, it's noticeable that grave robbers had been in the tomb.  They find the place where the gold statue that Ann had would've gone.  They notice that the tomb has been stripped almost bare of any funerary treasures.

Mark manages to find a door that had been pried open by a grave robber.  The grave robber, whose bones were still on the floor, had been killed by falling debris.  Mark moves past him into another chamber, where a second door is discovered.

Once inside the door, Ann and Mark look around in awe at a vast chamber filled with treasures.  They find a green statue.  Mark reads the inscription and they find that it is Joseph, confirming the Bible and Ann's father's theories that Joseph was a contemporary of Ra-Hotep.

As they marvel at their find, Ann and Mark make plans to navigate their future together.

Cast rundown:

   Robert Taylor.....................................Mark Brandon

   Eleanor Parker...................................Ann Mercedes

   Carlos Thompson...............................Philip Mercedes

   Kurt Kasznar......................................Hamed Backhour

   Victor Jory........................................Tuareg Chief

   Leon Askin........................................Valentine Arko

And that's all for Valley Of The Kings.  It's one of those Hollywood adventure films that is sure to appeal to movie fans.  Eleanor Parker said the experience of filming the movie was not a good one.  "It was simply a dreadful nightmare," she said.  Apparently, there was no accommodations made available for the cast or crew on location in Egypt, and the director left everything up to the head cameraman in regards to directing the film.  One of the great things about the film is that it shows the temples of Abu Simbel as they existed for about 3,000 years, before they were moved to their present location due to the construction of the Aswan High Dam.

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