Solomon King (film)

Solomon King is a 1974 independent blaxploitation film produced, written, co-directed, and starring Sal Watts, and featuring "Little Jamie" Watts, Claudia Russo, Felice Kinchelow, and Samaki Bennett, with baseball player Tito Fuentes as "Special Guest Star". The film was co-directed by Jack Bomay.

Solomon King
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJack Bomay
Sal Watts
Screenplay bySal Watts
Story byJim Alston
James "Bootsie" Parker[1]
Produced bySal Watts
Restoration: Dennis Bartok
StarringSal Watts
CinematographyChuck Colwell
Phil Caplan
Edited byChuck Colwell
Joe Holsen[1]
Music byJimmy Lewis
Carol L. King
Joyce Steiger
Production
companies
Sal/Wa Productions[1]
Stage Struck, Inc.
Omni Pictures Corp.
Distributed byEntertainment Pyramid Corp.
Release dates
  • September 14, 1974 (1974-09-14) (Oakland, CA)[2]
  • November 5, 1974 (1974-11-05) (LA)[2]
Running time
88 or 110 minutes[2]
Restored: 85 minutes[3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$140,000[2]

Plot

Maney King ("Little Jamie" Watts) is in a Middle Eastern country overseeing oil fields. When Prince Hassan (Richard Scarso) starts a coup to take over the country, Maney escapes with Princess Oneeba (Claudia Russo), his brother's girlfriend. They head to Oakland, California, where his brother – Solomon King (Sal Watts), a former special forces operative and CIA agent – is a rich and influential businessman. When the princess is killed, dying in Solomon's arms, he takes revenge, rounding up his former Green Beret pals to stage a counter-coup.[4]

Cast
  • Sal Watts as Solomon King
  • "Little Jamie" Watts as Maney King
  • Claudia Russo as Princess Oneeba
  • Felice Kinchelow as Albert
  • Samaki Bennett as Samaki Miller
  • Louis Zito as O'Malley
  • Bernard B. Burton as Abdulla
  • Richard Scarso as Hassan
  • Joyce T. Watts as Teresa
  • Belinda B. Burton as Jasmaine
  • Tiny Powell as Uncle John
  • Tito Fuentes as himself
  • C. B. Lyons as Preacher
  • Sources:[1][2]

Production

Sal Watts was a businessman in Oakland, California who raised $140,000 from within the African American community to make this film in response to "black complaints about 'blaxploitation movies'". The working title was "Black Agent Lucky King". Production for the film took place from late 1973 to early 1974, with location shooting taking place in Oakland and around the San Francisco Bay area. The entire process of financing and making the film took two years.[2]

The men's clothing for the film came from Watts' chain of clothing stores.[4]

When the film premiered in Oakland, it ran two hours. Watts then trimmed it to 88 minutes.[2]

As of the 2020s, the original negative and all other printing elements of the film were believed to have been lost. The UCLA Film and Television Archive owned a complete 35mm Eastman Kodak print, which was badly faded to pink and was damaged, and Watts' widow, Belinda Burton-Watts, had a 35mm sound track negative. From these Deaf Crocodile Films made a 4K restoration, which was released at the Fantastic Fest at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Austin, Texas in 2022. The restored film is 85 minutes long.[4][3]

Songs
  • "Theme From Solomon King," written by J. Steiger
  • "Ain't That Nothing," written by J. Steiger
  • "Changes," written by Carol L. King, sung by Helena Hollins
  • "Teach Me," written by Jimmy Lewis, sung by Jimmy Lewis
  • "The Lover Affair Is Over," written by Jimmy Lewis
  • "Sad Feeling," written by J. Steiger
  • Source:[2]

References
  1. Per film credits
  2. Solomon King at the American Film Institute Catalog
  3. "Solomon King" Alamo Drafthouse Fantastic Fest 2022
  4. Morazzini, Jim (September 27, 2022) "Solomon King (1974) Review" Voices from the Balcony
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