Trivia / Solomon and Sheba

• Creator Backlash: Director King Vidor was dissatisfied with the final movie, in part due to Tyrone Power's death mid-production necessitating a last-minute recast. Vidor particularly singled out Power's replacement, Yul Brynner, as too "self-assured" compared to Power.
• Died During Production: Tyrone Power, the initial actor for Solomon, died of a heart attack two months into production. The role of Solomon was recast with Yul Brynner in the wake of this.
• The Other Marty: Production began with Tyrone Power in the title role, only for him to die of a massive heart attack two months in. As a result, Yul Brynner was cast as Power's replacement, with the film reshot from the ground-up to account for this.
• Troubled Production:
  • Plans for the movie began in 1953, with executive producer Edward Small preparing to work with writer Julius Epstein and frequent co-producers Clarence Greene and Russell Rouse. By 1956, Arthur Hornblow Jr. replaced the Greene-Rouse team as co-producer, United Artists signed up to distribute the film, and Gina Lollobrigida was cast the Queen of Sheba, also signing on as a financial partner and getting a share of the profits.
  • Finding a male lead proved somewhat difficult, as both Tyrone Power and Yul Brynner originally turned down the role of King Solomon before Power changed his mind following a rewrite, in the process becoming a co-producer with his Copa Productions company. Also during this time, Small and Hornblow, who had worked with Power on 1957's Witness for the Prosecution, decided to end their working relationship, though Hornblow retained a financial interest.
  • Shooting began in Spain on September 15, 1958 with a set goal of completion by mid-December, and the actual production went relatively well until tragedy struck two months in. On November 15, Power and close friend George Sanders (playing Adonijah, the brother of King Solomon who attempted to usurp the throne that Solomon was promised when King David died) were filming a sword fight when after several takes, Power dropped his sword and said he couldn't continue due to pain in his left arm. Power was helped to his dressing room and given brandy, only to die of a massive heart attack.^note The exact details are unclear; one report suggests he died either in the hospital or while Gina Lollobrigida was driving him there, while another suggests that Power died in the dressing room and that the people around him hid it at first by putting a scarf on him and "walking" him to the car, since Power's wife, Deborah Minardos, was in her hotel and unaware of the tragedy. This forced production to be halted, as the romantic scenes had yet to be filmed and would require a replacement if the existing script was used^note the battle scenes were easier to work around, as those could be retained without any close-ups of Power's replacement. The crew also explored reframing Power's scenes as footage of a younger Solomon to make casting a replacement easier, while others felt it would be best to cancel the film altogether, as it was insured for up to $3 million in case one of the six lead actors died. Complicating matters further was the fact that Small, Lollobrigida and Copa Productions (whose head, Ted Richmond, wanted to pull out) each had full approval of the script, star and director.
  • The day after Power's death, Small offered the role to Yul Brynner, who accepted even though this meant he had to delay (and ultimately give up) a planned United Artists adaptation of the novel "Spartacus" where he would play the lead role; United Artists had not been informed of Brynner's casting. As for the Spartacus adaptation, Universal would eventually release their own with Kirk Douglas in the lead role.
  • While the film was a success, grossing $12.2 million, it released to mixed-to-negative reviews, with reception only growing harsher as the years went on, exemplified by its inclusion in the 1978 book The Fifty Worst Films of All Time (and How They Got That Way). These sentiments extended to the film's director, King Vidor, who found Brynner's portrayal of King Solomon too "self-assured" compared to Power's rendition.

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