I took a chance with this reputedly middling but still most popular adaptation of probably the most famous H. Rider Haggard novel. IMDb commentators all seem to love the adventure or find it boring. I figured that if nothing else, I'd get a cultural history lesson.
It is pretty dated. There's something to be said for the challenge and authenticity of filming in Africa with lots of native animals and humans, and I have yet to uncover any wrong information having been dispensed about them, but my sources are sure that someone shot an elephant for real on screen. Ironically, protagonist Allan Quatermain (careful not to use more than one R) was progressive for 1897, forbidding his comrades from killing more wantonly. If you keep the dates in perspective, the adventure gets more appreciable.
No doubt the biggest liberty taken with the source material was the addition of Elizabeth Curtis, a woman who, along with her brother, pays Quatermain to help find her long-lost husband, who went looking for the titular treasure. Oddly enough, Curtis is played by the one involved person whose name you're likely to remember: Deborah Kerr. Since there are no other women in the entire movie, it's pretty meager progress, but she does get about as much focus as Quatermain. She had the least preparation for the trek and relies heavily on the men for support. That could be sexist, but at least it's credible enough as it goes.
My previous exposure to Quatermain was limited to the first issue of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which also has inspired me in part to watch The Invisible Man and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. As with the characters from those stories, Alan Moore didn't make him much more wretched than before. Quatermain has bleak views on humanity, the natural world, and his own life; his motives are purely mercenary. But as soon as Curtis expressed disgust at him, I knew that she would gradually fall in love with him, which would necessitate heartache one way or another at the end of their quest. (Guess.)
Enough about gender relations; what about race? Well, Quatermain has gone native enough to learn a few languages, make a few semi-friends, and convey his respect to those who die by his side and their relatives. (Most of the human deaths are of natives, but to be fair, they do make up the majority of the supporting cast, and they have nothing on the body count of an old Tarzan movie.) He gets a bit surly when one native asserts a lack of subservience, but Curtis likes the guy for that reason. Indeed, he goes on to be the most admirable native we encounter, giving Quatermain reason to lose the attitude. The behavior of the others? Well, the tribes vary in familiarity and friendliness, but I could detect no caricature.
So how about the adventure itself? For all the perils, it doesn't move very fast, giving us a sense of a long journey. The plot developments are seldom surprising. Nevertheless, the complete absence of music other than what the natives occasionally played or sang was a rather daring decision on top of the other elements of authenticity, and the fact that I didn't notice the nonmusical aspect at the time tells me that I must have found the experience engrossing on the whole.
The experiment worked for me. I can't guarantee that it will work for you.
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