"Behold, I will sanctify this temple that you have built for Me, Solomon, and I shall live there forever, but if you reject me and my Holy Laws that I have given you, I will destroy this temple you have built for Me, and My presence and My Spirit shall no longer be with Israel."
— God
King Solomon is a 1997 Made-for-TV Movie directed by Roger Young starring Ben Cross, Vivica A. Fox, Anouk Aimee, Max von Sydow, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, and many other famous actors and actresses.
Solomon, the son of the legendary King David, inherits the Kingdom of Israel from his father and is respected for his wisdom and sense of justice, but that doesn't mean that he will be free from hardships.
Tropes in this film include:
- Ascended Extra: In the Bible, the Queen of Sheba (Vivica A. Fox) only comes to Solomon to see if he is as wise as everyone says he is and she goes to test him, but after she does so, she goes back to Sheba, never to be heard of in the Bible ever again afterwards. But in this film, she actually marries him and has a child by him.
- Big "NO!": The mother that Solomon gives the infant who was about to be cut in half to pulls this off just before Solomon can even strike the child with Benaiah's sword and she even leaps over to push him out of the way to save the child.
- Bittersweet Ending: The Tribes of Israel and Judah split away from their former union and almost go into a civil war after Solomon's death, but on the bright side, Solomon's temple is completed before he passes away, which was one thing he said he wanted to live to see the day of, and the people of Israel promise to uphold the Laws of Moses and swear to reverence the holiness of the temple.
- Betty and Veronica: Solomon is asked to choose whether he will devote himself to the Queen of Sheba, or whether he will devote himself to the people of Israel.
- Composite Character: Azarel (G.W. Bailey), who was included in the storyline and plotline of the movie as the father of Abishag, even though there was no "Azarel" in the Biblical story of David and Solomon.
- Friend to All Children: Solomon.
- Gory Discretion Shot: When Benaiah kills Adonijah, and later on Joab.
- G-Rated Sex: One scene has King Solomon making out with the Pharaoh's daughter in his bedroom, and... that's it, they never go further beyond that.
- High Priest: Zadok, the High Priest during the end of David's reign and at the beginning of King Solomon's reign.
- How the Mighty Have Fallen:
- Solomon after he disobeys God and starts worshiping idol gods in order to please his wives and concubines.
- To some extent, Adonijah, who was a first such a strong warrior who seemed fit to be king, but slowly "fell from grace" when David chose his younger brother to be the new king in his place.
- Judgment of Solomon: Well, the movie is about King Solomon himself...so...this one is pretty much obvious.
- King on His Deathbed: The entire first part of the movie is about King David, who is so sick that he cannot even get up out of bed, trying to decide whether he will have Solomon or Adonijah succeed him on the throne.
- My Beloved Smother: Many of Solomon's wives tell Solomon how they view Bathsheba as a "smother-in-law" and Solomon tries to get Bathsheba to not be so hard on them.
- Please, Don't Leave Me: Solomon begs the Queen of Sheba not to leave him after she gives birth to one of his children and tells Solomon to raise her son to be a good king so that she can return back to her own homeland to continue being queen there.
- Take Care of the Kids: When David tells Bathsheba to look after Solomon and make sure he carries out his duties as king well after he is dead.
- Take Up My Sword: When King David gives the crown to Solomon so he can become king and tells Solomon to kill Adonijah and Joab after he is dead.
- This Means War!: King Solomon's reaction to Adonijah and Joab trying to lead a rebellion against him.
- The Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter: Pharaoh's daughter. It can be said that the Pharaoh who was briefly seen when his daughter ascended up the steps of the palace to stand next to Solomon was ugly because of his old age and his wrinkles.
- The Voiceless: The Pharaoh's daughter.
- Three-Month-Old Newborn: Used in several of the scenes where Solomon's wives go into labor and give birth.
- We Can Rule Together: When Benaiah, the commander of Israel's military, is ordered by King Solomon to go out to find and kill Joab, Joab promises Benaiah that when he is made king after Solomon is killed, he'll be able to rule with him as the supreme commander of Israel and Judah's militaries and as his own chief advisor. Benaiah, however, carries out Solomon's orders anyway and kills Joab.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: One of the minor characters tells his fellow friends, "I caught my wife worshiping one of those idol gods and I beat it out of her!" and then he says in his defense, "I did it to her so our children would know that worshiping false gods is wrong and worthy of cruel punishment!!"
- World's Most Beautiful Woman: How Solomon felt about the Queen of Sheba.
