Land of the Pharaohs is a 1955 American epic film in Cinemascope, directed and produced by Howard Hawks and starring the two British actors Jack Hawkins and Joan Collins as Pharaoh Khufu (also known as Cheops) and his second wife Nellifer, in fictional account of the building of the Great Pyramid. Novelist William Faulkner was one of the three screenwriters.
The film literally had a cast of thousands (Warner Bros. press office claimed there were 9,787 extras in one scene) and was one of Hollywood's largest-scale, ancient world epics, in the spirit of The Robe, The Ten Commandments, Ben Hur, and others. The film was shot on location in Egypt and in Rome's Titanus studios.
In ancient Egypt, Pharaoh Khufu (Jack Hawkins) is obsessed with preparing his tomb for the "second life". Dissatisfied with his own architects' offerings, he enlists Vashtar (James Robertson Justice), an ingenious man whose devices nearly saved his own people from being conquered and enslaved by Khufu. Khufu offers to free Vashtar's people if he will build Khufu a robber-proof tomb - although Vashtar will have to die when the pyramid-tomb is completed, to guard its secrets. During the years that the pyramid is being built, Pharaoh demands tribute and labor from all his territories, amassing gold and treasures to be interred with him.
At least three bands have used the name Pharaohs:
The Pharaohs, an American soul/jazz/funk group, were formed in 1962 out of a student band, The Jazzmen, at Crane Junior College in Chicago, Illinois. This early incarnation comprised Louis Satterfield on trombone, Charles Handy on trumpet, and Don Myrick on alto saxophone. They were joined by Fred Humphrey on piano, Ernest McCarthy on bass guitar and Maurice White on drums. Satterfield, White, and Handy were studio musicians at Chess Records in Chicago.
On the South Side of Chicago the Affro Arts Theater offered concerts, as well as classes in music and dance. As the name suggests the theater represented the strong African-American nature of the area and the times. It was here that the Jazzmen merged with the Artistic Heritage Ensemble to form The Pharaohs.
In 1971 the band recorded The Awakening, and in 1972 In the Basement. With cuts like "The Pharaohs Love Y'all" and "In the Basement", these albums established The Pharaohs as a force, if only on the cult level, for several years. Many of the Afro-Sheen commercials from this period featured music of the Pharaohs.
you were married in the mirrored hall when i was 16
you spoke the words, "i love girls in white leather jackets"
that was good enough for love, it was good enough for me
i listened in when you thought you were alone
calling the sphinx on a tornado's phone
who knows what she'll say
i only heard what i wanted
you said i was your blue, blue baby
and you were right
you said i was your blue, blue baby
and you were right
wandered the halls all the nighttime
my body burned, my legs ached
but you never came to bed
you just left me there awake
you kept me wanting wanting wanting
like the wanting in the movies and the hymns
I want the pharaohs, but there's only men
I want the pharaohs, but there's only men
you said i was your blue, blue baby
and you were right
you said i was your blue, blue baby