Valley of the Kings (1954)

**_High adventure in the Egyptian desert with Robert Taylor and Eleanor Parker_** An American woman (Parker) travels to Egypt and enlists a masculine archeologist (Taylor) to assist her in finding the tomb of Ra-Hotep and proof of the biblical account of Joseph. Her Euro-husband is also on hand (Carlos Thompson), but he seems to have a different agenda. "Valley of the Kings" (1954) was inspired by the success of King Solomon's Mines from four years earlier and would influence John Wayne’s "Legend of the Lost" a few years later, which is very similar. "The Mummy's Shroud" came out a decade later, just adding the supernatural element; “The Vengeance of She” is another example from 1968. In the early 80s, “Raiders of the Last Ark” upped the ante with loads of action and some goofiness. This one’s more low-key and realistic, like the contemporaneous "Secret of the Incas," but worth checking out. Eleanor called the shooting “a dreadful nightmare,” the most difficult experience she had in making a movie. The producer failed to provide accommodations for the cast & crew on location. They were in the desert with no dressing rooms and no sanitary facilities. She and Robert Taylor had to use the restrooms with the locals, hiding behind coats. It didn’t help that the director was in over his head and so had the head cameraman doing the job of directing. Then the crew threatened to strike due to lack of payment; of course, the money showed up. The film runs 1 hours, 26 minutes, and was shot in Egypt. GRADE: B-