King Solomon's Mines (1985)

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King Solomon's Mines

Cinema poster

Country	United States
Directed by	J. Lee Thompson
Release Date	1985
Language	English
Studio	Golan-Globus Productions
Distributor	The Cannon Group Paramount Pictures

Main Cast
Character	Actor
Allan Quatermain	Richard Chamberlain
Jesse Huston	Sharon Stone
Colonel Bockner	Herbert Lom
Dogati	John Rhys-Davies

King Solomon's Mines is the 1985 feature film adaptation of the popular 1885 adventure novel written by H. Rider Haggard. Richard Chamberlain stars as the big game hunter and trader Allan Quatermain and Sharon Stone as Jesse Huston. The plot revolves around the duo in their search for Miss Huston's father and the legendary (and lost) King Solomon's Mines. The film was directed by J. Lee Thompson and produced by the low budget Cannon Films studio and for budgetary reasons, made back-to-back with the 1987 sequel Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold.

The following weapons were used in the film King Solomon's Mines (1985):

Webley Mk VI

Allan Quatermain (Richard Chamberlain) and several other characters carries the Webley Mk VI.

Webley Mk VI - .455 Webley

Quatermain (Richard Chamberlain) being polite with Kassam (Shaike Ophir)

A closeup of Quatermains gun after he drops it

Dogati (John Rhys-Davies) fires his Webley.

Colonel Bockner (Herbert Lom) wielding his Webley in an awkward angle.

Dogati points his own Webley gun at Quatermain.

Double-barreled sawed off shotgun

Quatermain carries a trademark sawed off shotgun of unknown type.

Sawed off side by side shotgun with exposed hammers - 12 gauge

Quatermain's sawed off shotgun, seconds before he fires it.

Luger P08

A German sergeant carries the Luger P08.

Luger P08 - 9x19mm from 1917

The German Sergeant Dorfman (Mick Lesley in his only acting role) with his Luger

FN MAG (WW1-era machine gun mockup)

The German soldiers and African rebels use a FN MAG machine gun heavily modifed to look like machine guns of World War 1.

M240D vehicle and aircraft-mount version with spade grips - 7.62x51mm NATO.

An original German Maxim 08 MG.

African Rebel machine gun. Note the charging handle which neither the German or British contemporary machine guns did not have. The barrel is also at the center of the "water jacket" which is incorrect. A real German Maxim 08 or British Vickers respective barrels were at the bottom of the water jacket. Also note the FN MAG carrying handle sticking out on the right side.

Another example of a mockup FN MAG. Note the centralised gun-barrel in relation to the water jacket which is incorrect for a historical WW1 era machine gun.

FN FAL (Mocked up as a Lewis Gun)

The main villain Dogati (John Rhys-Davies) uses a FN FAL mocked up to look like a World War 1 Lewis light machine gun. Dogati fires the weapon in full auto. This movie was filmed in Zimbabwe, which was formally the (British armed) country of Rhodesia so there was probably not a lack of FN FAL derivatives due to its popularity in that country and that continent in general.

Genuine Lewis Gun.

FN FAL with wooden stock. Used as a template for the mockup shown in the movie

Dogati firing the fake Lewis Gun. Note the magazine inserted at the bottom which is a dead give-away the gun is not a genuine Lewis Gun. The movie armourers also fitted a Lewis style rear sight.

Second shot of the fake Lewis Gun. FN FAL carrying handle visible.

Lee-Enfield No. 4 Mk I

The German soldiers and African rebels carries the British anachronistic world war 2 era Lee-Enfield No. 4 Mk I. In reality, since this movie takes place during World War 1, neither the Germans nor the African rebels would have used a rifle that was not introduced into the general public until 1939. It is doubly unlikely that the Germans at that time would have used any other rifle than the German Mauser.