Solid version of the classic adventure novel, a lot more faithful and, to my eyes at least, better than the 1950 MGM version. Sir Cedric Hardwicke’s Quatermain is much closer to Haggard’s inception of the character, being small, old and wizened. Spunk-rat duties are taken by John Loder, who plays Sir Henry Curtis, and comic relief comes from Roland Young as Good – both good facsimiles for the description in the novel. There’s also Paul Robeson on hand as Umbopa, and he’s terrific – charismatic, strong and brave. A wise savage to be sure, but it’s a lot better than the one he plays in Sanders of the River; the white men here are his allies, but not his superiors – he’s the boss. He sings a few songs, naturally.
The story has been jazzed up and unnecessarily complicated. Instead of simply looking for Curtis’ brother, they add Anna Lee and her father as some Irish fortune hunters; the dad finds the map and heaps off, and Lee eventually persuades Quatermain and the others (who are on a hunting expedition) to follow. Unlike the MGM version - and like the book - the trek doesn't take up that much time, about half; the rest of it consists of adventures around the mines, helping Umbopa get his kingdom back and discovering the diamonds. It's a solid version rather than spectacular (it does lack star charisma aside from Robeson and the Irish accents are irritating), but very enjoyable.
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