O Vale dos Reis

Robert Taylor and Eleanor Parker make a handsome couple in this story about an archaeologist agreeing to search for holy relics in an Egyptian tomb, lured by the beautiful Parker. She's married to Carlos Thompson who goes along on the desert adventure and it's easy to guess what the outcome will be as the plot develops.

The story ingredients are promising, but the picture takes a long time to get to its most suspenseful moments, including a climactic fistfight between Taylor and Thompson at the top of ancient ruins that is artfully staged for maximum effect. Too bad more time wasn't spent developing the slow-paced script which hardly matches the effectiveness of the location photography in Egypt and the striking score by Miklos Rozsa.

Fans of Taylor and Parker will enjoy seeing them together, both at their physical peak and demonstrating some good chemistry as romantic leads. He's ruggedly convincing as the Alpha-male archaeologist but the story isn't up to the level of a similar yarn Metro did previously, "King Solomon's Mines." Summing up: A weak script is the real problem.