To give credit where it is due, Haggard's book "King Solomon's Mines" was deeply influential and set the standard for the adventure stories that came after it. The cinematic adventure serials of the 1930s — the ones that "Raiders of the Lost Ark" is loosely based on — all took their images and plot points from Haggard. So, really, the 1985 film adaptation of "King Solomon's Mines" was a mere revisitation of the works that inspired Spielberg. Indeed, "King Solomon's Mines" had already been adapted to film multiple times before "Raiders" came out, including in 1919, 1937, 1950, and 1979. But Thompson's 1985 adaptation of "Mines," in its look and tone, was clearly aping Spielberg. Indeed, the film alters Haggard's story significantly to better match that of "Raiders of the Lost Ark." The fact that Rhys-Davies appears in "Mines" is similarly a dead giveaway. In "Raiders," Rhys-Davies, a British actor, portrays an Egyptian character, whereas in "Mines," he plays a Turkish one. In a turn of events, Rhys-Davies' character in "Mines," Dogati, is also a rival of Allan Quatermain, the role played by Chamberlain. (Yes, as in the same literary character that Sean Connery played in the notorious comic book movie flop "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.") Everyone was ripping off Spielberg at every turn with "Mines," as everyone involved in making it was well-aware. Sharon Stone was the big discovery, co-starring in "Mines" as Jesse Huston, the woman who hires Quatermain to find her missing father. Stone understands the assignment and her performance in "Mines" is pitch-perfect, as she plays things slightly over-the-top to match the movie's broad, adventurous, pulpy tone. It's one of her earliest roles, but she was already a movie star. Chamberlain, meanwhile, is clearly having a blast. The film isn't great, but it's still passably fun (like many Cannon movies).