Umbopa leaves with his supporters to raise a rebellion, while Allan, Elizabeth and John travel to a tense meeting with Twala at his kraal.

The king's advisor, Gagool, communicates that they have seen Curtis and leads them to a cave that contains a trove of jewels and his skeletal remains.

In the earlier film, Paul Robeson received top billing for the role, whereas in this version, Umbopa's importance is greatly reduced.

[14] Filming in Africa took place at Murchison Falls in Uganda; Astrida, "the land of giant Watusis"; Volcano Country and Stanleyville in the Belgian Congo; Tanganyika; and Rumuruti and Machakos in Kenya.

[15][16][17] The film marked the beginning of Eva Monley's career as a Hollywood location scout and producer, specializing in Africa.

[16] Monley received her first film job as a script supervisor and assistant during production of King Solomon's Mines.

In February 1950, after five months of location filming in Africa, Andrew Marton replaced Compton Bennett as director.

[18] Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote that "there is more than a trace of outright hokum in this thriller ... but there is also an ample abundance of scenic novelty and beauty to compensate.

"[19] Variety called it a "striking adventure film" with "high excitement in meetings with wild savages and beasts and a number of excellently staged fights-to-the-death.

"[20] Harrison's Reports called it "a highly spectacular romantic adventure melodrama that has the rare quality of holding an audience captivated from start to finish.

"[21] John McCarten of The New Yorker wrote, "'King Solomon's Mines' undertakes to show what a safari through Africa might have been up against fifty years ago.

"[22] The Monthly Film Bulletin called it "a somewhat stilted epic, strangely lacking in excitement", with Kerr seeming "miscast and out of place.