Lack of good storyline.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Mystery, crime, history, adventure, romance, action, and heroism all neatly wrapped up in this 1954 film classic which in my opinion did not get the public credit it so justly deserves. Actor Robert Taylor played archaeologist and tomb hunter Mark Brandon, who "IS" the original Indiana Jones minus the great musical score penned by John Williams in Raiders of the Lost Ark. John Williams revolutionized the film industry by engaging his audiences in his films' even before the first words and/or scene(s) were even spoken and continued to capture his audiences as the films end credits continued to roll, but I digress. Back to the Valley of the Kings we have a film that also engages its audience with the entry of a beautiful Mrs. Ann Barclay Mercedes played by the lovely Eleanor Parker. Mrs. Ann Barclay Mercedes always seemed to be over dressed for travelling in the desert but she came to the Valley of the Kings to honor her deceased archaeologist father who believed there was still one Kings tomb that remained to be discovered. So Mrs. Ann Barclay Mercedes traveled with her husband Philip Mercedes played by Carlos Thompson to the Valley of the Kings to seek the assistance of the well known archaeologist Mark Brandon.It isn't long before we realize that Ann's husband Philip has nefarious intentions and thus he himself opens the door for Ann to be torn between her (new) love for tomb hunter and archaeologist Mark Brandon and her marriage commitment to her husband Philip. The scenes throughout the film were expansive which helped make the film feel as if we were on a real Valley of the Kings tomb expedition. Of course there were dozens of camel rides, sandstorms, a sword fight with a native and a significant treasure hunt for a King's tomb. I have watched this film three times and it never gets tiring. Eleanor Parker, Robert Taylor and Carlos Thompson as the villainous husband and cad were all scene stealers who kept the film going at a rapid and interesting pace. I rate the film a strong 8 out 10 and it is well worth watching (at least twice) if you have an adventurous spirit.

Although not a cult movie, Valley of the kings is a nice entertaining movie. For me it has a special flavor as I had left definitely Egypt 3 years before to settle with my parents in Paris.I saw the movie when it was released in Paris in 1954. I enjoyed it. It was the occasion to see those magnificent temples and especially Abu Simbel where is shot one of the main scenes. At that time the Assuan Dam had not provoked the disastrous effects we know today nor obliged to move the temple. The faces of Ramses II were not spoiled by the cuts visible today due to the move in several sections of this splendid masterpiece of art and architecture.It is worth seeing such a movie with a good cast and dream a little to what was the shock in those times for the lucky traveler able to reach them. Imagine what was the shock of Belzoni when he discovered the temple sunk into the sand!

Archaeologist Mark Brandon (Robert Taylor) is recruited by Ann Mercedes (Eleanor Parker) to help search for proof of the existence of the biblical Joseph in Egypt. Mark agrees, in part because he was a former student of Ann's father and in part because he finds her attractive. After they start their journey, however, they are joined by Ann's husband (Carlos Thompson). Anyone familiar with movies like this knows right away Ann's husband will turn out to be a villain. Why? Because Taylor and Parker are stars and Thompson is very much a nobody. So it was always inevitable that somehow the two stars would end up together at the end. The only way to make this palatable would be to make the husband a villain before killing him off. Which is what they do.Anyway it's a fairly dull adventure film. Taylor is supposed to be the exciting one but he's pretty stiff to me. The rest of the cast is unremarkable. The best thing about it is the nice Miklos Rosza score.

In 1900 Egypt, an American archaeologist (Taylor) has a race with a rival exploitive British adventurer-explorer (Thompson) to find the fabulous [fictional] lost tomb of King Rahotep, a Pharaoh who may have known the Israelite Joseph, in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. Matters are complicated by unscrupulous Egyptian Arab black market antiquities dealers (in fine performances by character actors Victor Jory, Kurt Kasznar, Leon Askin) and the romance of a beautiful British Egyptologist (Parker) who arrives on the scene. The plot and story are contrived and melodramatic, but the production values, locations, acting, dialog, music score by the master Miklos Rozsa, and visual effects are superb. In other words, it makes up in style what it loses in content. Filmed partly on location in Egypt, in Cairo, the Giza Pyramids, Sakkara, Karnak and Luxor (the Great Temple of Amenhotep III), and the Valley of the Kings. Of particular interest is a fight scene staged atop one of the four colossi of King Ramoses II the Great at the Temple of Abu Simbel: part of it was filmed on location; part of it was replicated in the MGM studio soundstages with clever matte photography and grandiose sets. Climactic scene is the discovery of the splendiferous tomb of King Rahotep – full of art objects replicated from the artifacts found in the actual tomb of King TutankhAmen – in the Valley of the Kings. [Special note: there actually was a Pharaoh named Rahotep, who lived during the 17th Dynasty of ancient Egypt, circa 1750 B.C. and could have known sephardic Israelites like Joseph, who most likely lived circa 1850 B.C.] The Technicolor is beautiful. Highly enjoyable action romance. Great fun for fans, Egyptologists, and film addicts who just want to enjoy a good old fashioned yarn.