To be Totally Honest, Howard Hawks Movies all Look Artificial. As Entertaining as some may be, they Look Staged. If Auteurs by Definition have Stylish Signatures, this is One of Hawk's Charms/Drawbacks. The Thing (1951), The Big Sleep (1946), Rio Bravo (1959), just to name a Few of His more Celebrated "Masterpieces" all Appear Staged and Presented, and for Better or Worse it is Undeniable.Ironically, this one, Considered by Most a Failure, is Somewhat Removed from that because of the Necessity for the Director to be Panoramic and Expansive. So the Staginess doesn't Work Against Hawks here, although some Stiffness Remains, it is some other Things like Miscasting and a Severely Corny Script and Dialog.The Movie, with its CinemaScope is Magical, the Costumes, the Colorful Palette, the Mighty Musical Score, all make this Watchable like some sort of Postcard from Antiquity. But, Oozing in on its Serious Scenario of Megalomania, Greed, and Tyranny is a Fifties Mindset. The Film in all its Grandeur is Full of Clunk. There is Enough here to make it a Pleasurable Viewing, it's Expensive Enough and it is a Showy, but Shallow Story that has Misplaced its Vision with a Contrived and Underwritten Exposure of One of the Most Extravagant and Interesting Periods in Human History.

This film manages to combine the worst of the 1950s bloated historical epic: cheesy dialogue, stilted acting, and spectacle over substance.Everyone gives an uninspired performance. You have Jack Hawkins struggling to make his self-obsessed pharaoh credible while Joan Collins vamps it up as the femme fatale who seeks to usurp his throne and his treasures. Her performance is terrible but also absolutely hilarious, melding together sensuality with unbridled kitsch.The sets and spectacle are impressive, to be sure. I can see why director Howard Hawks was proud of that. However, he rightly regarded The Land of the Pharaohs (1955) as an embarrassment. Only lovers of camp will get a kick out of this.

Although reviews at the time of its release were scathing, "Land of the Pharaohs" nonetheless grips the viewer's imagination from beginning to end of its compact 105 minutes. It also features some of the most spectacular visuals ever put on film. Many exteriors were shot in Egypt, employing thousands of extras, and delivering scenes that would have received an appreciative nod from the real Khufu himself.The film opens with an impressive spectacle. Khufu, the Pharaoh of Egypt played by Jack Hawkins, has returned victorious from a war against the Kushites. Among the captives is a remarkable engineer, Vashtar, played by James Robertson Justice at his basso profundo best. Khufu persuades Vashtar to design a tomb for him that will be resistant to thieves in exchange for allowing his people to return to their lands.All is well until Khufu is presented with Princess Nellifer from the island of Cyprus. At twenty-one, this was Joan Collins' first starring role. Full-figured, sporting a deep tan and a series of midriff-bare tops, she made a big impression. The filmmakers even managed to work in a sequence where she is whipped. Although brief and tame by today's standards – or lack of them – the scene would probably have needed some selling to the censors in 1956.Khufu falls under her spell and takes her as his second wife. However she proves treacherous, scheming from the start to become sole ruler of Egypt. In a memorable ending, Nellifer's plans come spectacularly unstuck but Vashtar's grand design works perfectly, and the movie ends with his people beginning the exodus back to their homeland.Although Jack Hawkins as Pharaoh projected the appropriate sense of power, this was undermined somewhat in a scene where Khufu strangles a bull. This was a stretch for Hawkins, who by this stage in his career didn't look like he had the muscle tone to finish a round of golf. An element of the movie that really delivered was Dimitri Tiomkin's score. It was truly one of the stars of this movie. Operatic in its grandeur, symphonic in scope it was a remarkable achievement in a decade noted for monumental scores.The Kushites were a dark-skinned people from lands south of Ancient Egypt. Great license was taken in casting James Robertson Justice and Dewey Martin as Kushites. But as the Kushites in this film are virtually cast in the role of the Israelites, including an Exodus from Egypt, one just has to go along with this amendment to history. More telling for the film's credibility, Dewey Martin plays Vashtar's son, Senta; it is in his character and the domestic sub-plot that the film struggles to be taken seriously. Howard Hawks, the director, felt the movie failed in the area of dialogue and although he was too critical of the final movie, he pinpointed the film's major weakness.However, the intensity of the drama, and the scale of the movie offset the odd misstep. Finally, "Land of the Pharaohs", like the great pyramids themselves, is big enough and bold enough to leave a lasting impression.

About 5,000 years ago in Egypt, pharaoh Jack Hawkins (as Khufu) returns from a successful war, loaded with golden treasure and slaves for his collection. Away three months with his conquering men, Mr. Hawkins cleans up and has sex with beautiful wife Kerima (as Nailla). Hawkins loves gold and wants to take it with him to the afterlife. He has robbed graves and knows he needs to build an impenetrable tomb in order to keep his gold forever. For this purpose, Hawkins builds one of the Great Pyramids of Egypt...The film's narrator estimates three million huge blocks of stone are used to construct the pyramid...Enslaved architect James Robertson Justice (as Vashtar) plans the building. He wants payment to be freedom for his people - especially the son who kneels up to become handsome Dewey Martin (as Senta). Workers include slaves and others toiling in return for godly Hawkins' promise of life after death. After 15 years, pretty princess Joan Collins (as Nellifer) arrives. After she mouths off to Hawkins, he has her whipped, wearing a pointy bra and harem pants. She becomes one of Hawkins' wives, then plots against him...Ms. Collins is beautifully proportioned..."Land of the Pharaohs" was produced and directed by Howard Hawks, so everyone knew where to send congratulations or condolences. This film received most of the latter.Ordering a lot of medium and long shots, Mr. Hawks may have thought CinemaScope would take care of everything else. It is strange to read William Faulkner as one of the film's writers; we can only wonder what he was drinking, or not drinking, for his participation. The story should have been told from the perspective of "Vashtar" (Justice), who harbored the secret that "Senta" (Martin), seductively targeted by "Nellifer" (Collins), was the illegitimate son of "Khufu" (Hawkins). Lack of characterization, stand kneel or walk acting, and poor direction ruined a good plot and great ending.***** Land of the Pharaohs (6/24/55) Howard Hawks ~ Jack Hawkins, Joan Collins, Dewey Martin, James Robertson Justice