Sansone e Dalila

In 1949, I was 11years old and saw it in NYC when it was first released. My aunt Ethel, may she rest in peace, took me during Christmas vacation. I was mesmerized by it which led me to check out the story in that Chapter of the O.T. called Judges. And I remember being asked by my 6th or 7th grade teacher to do an oral report about the film before the class. I found it a bit awkward to discuss the idea of seduction at that time especially when I heard the pubescent girls giggling. At any rate I did make that report and remember displaying the book I had bought about the film right at the theater. I estimate from age 11 to 14, I saw the film a dozen times and I'm not kidding. In my adulthood, I saw it once on free TV and rented it once for kicks. Quite honestly, I never saw a more beautiful woman than Hedy in that role. And Victor was perfect thanks to his countenance and physique. After seeing it first and then reading the story in the O.T. I came to the conclusion that the film certainly was factual and illuminating. The bible came alive thanks to the genius of Cecil B.DeMille. The special effects were brilliant, way ahead of its time. What I especially loved about this film was the haunting score by Victor Young and I do remember going out to buy it on 78 rpm disks. And I do have the radio program on cassette, "Lux Presents Hollywood-Samson and Delilah starring Mature and Lamarr. That last scene will always stick in my mind as Samson, standing blind between the two main pillars of the Temple of Dagon, the Phillistine God,called on Jehovah to give him the strength to crush his enemies and WHAT A SCENE FOLLOWED. Good heavens, DeMille was indeed a GENIUS! I recommend the film to EVERYONE because of the amazing story, color

Cecil B. DeMille is best remembered for his biblical epics, even though in a forty-year, eighty-film career he only made four of them. It wasn't just that the bible pictures gave him some of his biggest hits; it was in these features that DeMille seemed most at home, and the one genre in which he had unique ability.

Samson and Delilah brought an end to a long phase of epic-cum-adventure movies from DeMille. This period, beginning with The Plainsman in 1936, had some of the weakest pictures of his career for a number of reasons. For one thing, DeMille was not really very good at individualistic action scenes, and there was too much DeMillean historical grandeur and not enough of the free-spirited feel of the Errol Flynn or Tyrone power swashbucklers he was to some extent an trying to copy. What's more, these were mostly original stories or, at least, ones which were not well known, and DeMille's poor choice of source material and screenwriters meant the new characters and situations tended towards the feeble. DeMille's strength lay in his staging and presentation of a familiar tale, and as such his return to Sunday-school moralising, stuffy and pompous though it may be, is apt and welcome.

You see, DeMille was probably aware on some level that although these fables were well-known in a largely Christian society, to a modern audience they were also historically distant, emotionally neutral and even ridiculous when presented literally. But DeMille never attempted any humanity or realism in his features, instead turning the remote, mythical nature of the stories into a virtue, portraying his subject matter with a kind of dignity and grace. Of course most ancient world epics do this to some extent, but DeMille did it the most effectively because he never demanded that the audience sympathise with the characters, merely that we marvel at their deeds.

Specifically, DeMille composes the picture with overstated gesturing and painterly tableau, like a Gustave Dore print come to life. This is combined with the vivid colours of a bible stories illustration, coded with drab shades for humbleness and virtue, garish ones for extravagance and sin. Throughout, DeMille's flair for dreamlike, rhythmic motion keeps the images flowing, most notably in the establishing tracking shot at the wedding feast - although if you watch closely you'll see one of the two men engaged in a mock swordfight is actually camply slapping his opponent with a feather duster.

And DeMille was perhaps unique in that he even used the imagery to turn God into a character. You can see from one of his much earlier religious pictures, 1929's The Godless Girl, that DeMille associated God with natural beauty, and in Samson and Delilah God makes several key "appearances" as a breathtaking skyscape. This touch would be expanded upon in the 1956 version of Ten Commandments.

It's a pity DeMille didn't associate God with good acting, because even the theatrical presentation on offer here could do with at least some half-decent hamming. The trouble is DeMille chose his actors for their physicality, not for their ability to qualify their job description. In this respect Victor Mature and Hedy Lamarr are natural choices. DeMille's business associate Henry Wilcoxon, whom the director unbelievably used to cast in lead roles, is as wooden as ever, and the somewhat hit-and-miss Angela Lansbury, misses this time. The only standout is George Sanders who proves, just as Herbert Marshall did in DeMille's Four Frightened People, that bad dialogue becomes bearable if you underplay it.

Fortunately when it came to crew DeMille always procured the best. Samson and Delilah boasts Oscar-winning costumes and art direction from no less personages than Edith Head and Hans Dreier respectively. The Technicolor cinematography is great, with some remarkably clear night time shots. Some of the effects may be a little dubious; whenever Victor Mature lifts up something heavy it's obvious it's being hoisted from offscreen, and that woolly-rug/lion tamer scene is actually betrayed by bad editing, but overall this is a solid, high-quality production.

Yes, Samson and Delilah is as corny as anything, but it looks great, and above all it entertains. Don't be too harsh on DeMille's staginess or his archaic moralism, for as his willing appearance as himself in Sunset Boulevard proves, he probably didn't have a sense of irony. And his earnestness was probably his greatest asset.

While having some very major flaws, this is a thoroughly decent biblical epic on the story of Samson and Delilah. It is nicely filmed, with lovely costumes, nice sets and good cinematography and has a rousing score. Also the acing is not bad at all, Victor Mature is a dashing Samson and Hedy Lamarr pretty much steals the film as the beautifully captivating Delilah, it somehow reminded me of Rita Hayworth in Salome. George Sanders proves here he is the epitome of calculation and world-weariness, and while Angela Lansbury is good she has been better. Plus the final scene with the temple coming down is brilliantly staged and serves as the highlight of the film. However, the script is not always that great, neither is the pacing which is quite slow or the direction which is disappointingly stodgy. Overall though, Samson and Delilah isn't bad, it could've been better, but it was decent. 7/10 Bethany Cox

I've always loved this film. Granted, somehow it does not generate the 'huge epic' feel of some of the director's other work but it is a great film to sit down and relax in front of. Opulent costume design, good casting and excellent cinematography make this one of the better biblical epics that were being produced at the time.

Victor Mature, a fine physical specimen of the male physique, seems to fit perfectly into the role of the brooding and oft-troubled Samson. Burt Lancaster, I'm told, was the original choice for the part which I think would have been a bad choice. Although Lancaster is a better actor, on purely aesthetic grounds, the Mediterranean featured, tousle-locked Mature fitted better into the location.

George Sanders is superb as the Saran of Gaza. One of the other reviewers on this website said he portrayed a "sophisticated cad" which is the best description I have ever heard of Mr Sanders in this role or any other for that matter.

The absolute star of the show is the movie's other lead actor, Hedy Lamarr. This was undoubtedly the finest hour of an actress who either, curiously passed up or was just overlooked for many other leading parts. Hedy sets the screen on fire as the sensual and wicked Delilah, playing with and dragging every man on screen and in the audience in her wake. Many have questioned her acting ability. Truth is I doubt we shall ever really find out. Poor choice of scripts and directors resulted in her being pushed to the sidelines at MGM and eventually and sadly into complete obscurity.

Biblical epic that became the biggest hit, up until then, in Paramount Pictures history. The story about the Hebrew Hercules Samson, Victor Mature, who redeemed himself from a life of foolhardiness and slavery by taking down the Temple of Dagon, the Philistine Idol God. Samson not only destroyed Dagon's temple he took the lives, together with his own, of 3,000 of his bitter enemies and tormentors in the movies', Samson and Delilah, spectacular and ground shaking final scene.

Never living up to what God wanted from him, to lead his people the ancient Israelites against the hated and occupying Philistines, Samson instead lead a life of womanizing and partying mostly with the Philistines who more then anything else wanted him dead. Because of his super-human strength Samson felt safe from anything that the Philistines could do to him, killing hundreds who tried, in capturing or killing the biblical strongman.

It's when the Philistine temptress the drop-dead gorgeous Delilah, Hedy Lamarr, got to work on the big guy that he left himself open to be captured, by the Philistine army, in revealing the source of his strength; His black curly locks of hair on his head. Blinded, with a red hot iron put to his eyes, Samson was then forced to pull the grind-mill and made to look helpless as he was brutally mocked and tortured by his Philistine captors.

As the days weeks and months went by and his hair, the source of his great strength, grew back Samson with Delilah's, who had since repented what she did to him, help then planned to finish the job that he never really started; annihilate his and his peoples enslavers the hated Philistines. Samson did it by, with Delilah's leading him to them, tearing down the pillars that held up Dagan's temple and thus bringing the entire house down.

The film "Samson and Delilah" still holds up quite well despite it's bargain basement, compared to those now, special effects. Victor Mature as Samson was at his best being able to show off his hunky body without having to wear a suit and tie, as well as pants, like in his previous blockbusters "Kiss of Death" and My Darling Clementine". Heady Lamarr in her first Technicolor movie showed why she was considered to be, just get a load of her violet/lavender eyes, the most beautiful women in the world at that, back in 1950, time.

The movies director Cecil B. DeMille really had very little to go on in making the biblical blockbuster in that it was based on only four chapters, the 13 to 16, of the Book of Judges. It was an obscure 1930 German language novel "the Judge and the Fool" by Vladimir Jabotinsky that filled in all the gaps and made a full length two hour plus film about the subject, Samson & Delilah, possible.