Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold  (1986)

Precious little time passed before Richard Chamberlain and Sharon Stone were off questing again for another mythical MacGuffin following their fun jaunt to King Solomon’s Mines. Filmed almost immediately after, Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold picks up right where the first film left off. However, the production saw a change in leadership; director J. Lee Thompson was replaced by Gary Nelson (The Black Hole).

As a fan of the original, I believe the negative reputation this series sometimes carries is primarily due to this second installment. Even though it was filmed back-to-back with the first movie, much of the “magic” seems to have evaporated. The production values took a noticeable hit, resulting in a sequel that feels significantly cheesier and more low-budget than its predecessor.

Chamberlain and Stone return, and to be completely honest, this is the biggest highlight of the film. Ken Gampu’s Umbopo is replaced by James Earl Jones as Umslopogaas, Quatermain’s companion from the novels. Robert Donner dons makeup as Swarma, another sidekick firmly aimed at comic relief. Henry Silva loses credibility as a preposterously evil moron called Agon. Thankfully, we also have Cassandra Peterson as Sorais, the more sinister of the two sisters, and the film is campy enough to keep her assets on display.

The film has two main acts. The first is the journey to the city of gold, fraught with danger and terrible special effects. Quatermain and his team are tasked with battling the dangers of Africa, some real, others entirely made up. You can see what they’re aiming for, however, the first film and previous Quatermain films have used up most of the better ideas, so Lost City of Gold has little to draw upon, and most importantly, too little money to make convincing threats. Sets feel wobbly, creatures look rubbery, and rear screen projection techniques look horribly dated.

The second act covers the exploits within the *spoiler alert* Lost City of Gold itself. Curiously, the Lost City of Gold turns out to be… stark white. It’s clear the production budget couldn’t stretch to cover the sets in gold leaf; besides, a shimmering gold city would have been a reflective nightmare for the cinematographer. Instead, the crew seemingly settled for buckets of whitewash and a river of melted caramel. Unfortunately, once the team reaches their destination, the movie’s momentum stalls, and the fun comes to a grinding halt.

Of course, the movie isn’t as ambitious as it sounds, sometimes when movies promise more than they can deliver you can forgive some things. That’s never been more evident than Lost City of Gold. I have quite affectionate memories of this film as I do love the original as one of my childhood favorites. Chamberlain and Stone keep things charming and witty. Other characters rely on absurdity or barely have an interesting moment throughout. Martin Rabbett as Quatermain’s brother and Aileen Marson as Sorais’ good sister are about as bland and unmemorable as they come.

It is kind of fun that this movie and its predecessor were released on the centenary of the original novels on which they were based. Also, there was a scene in the trailer that does not make it into the finished film, seeing Quatermain ride around in an elevated cable car with a whip freeing slaves. The climax feels a little lacking in action, and this scene would have helped heighten the excitement, however, as the similarities to Indiana Jones were perhaps just a little too much.

Allan Quatermain and the King Solomon’s Mines legend has been exploited many times over the years with varying results. Whilst the Cannon films might be revered by some, they are actually a cut above the rest in most cases and probably the most fun.

Cannon had planned a third film titled Allan Quatermain and the Jewel of the East with Chamberlain and, right up until his unfortunate passing, Chamberlain was interested in returning.

We have not heard the last of Quatermain’s adventures. H. Rider Haggard has written a wealth of exploits featuring the great white hunter and there always seems to be some rendition of the character in development somewhere. For now, I’m happy to watch David Hardware carry on making his enthusiastic fan films of the character.

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Most of the art is terrific an will resonate with kids in from the 80’s. Interesting the forth poster features the elevated cable car from the deleted sequence.

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