Sansão e Dalila

By the time the 1940s were rolling around, Cecil B. DeMille was doing a lot less work, but the work was getting more expensive. DeMille took off a couple of years now between films to create the opulent splendor that typifies his work.

Well Samson and Delilah abounds in opulence. The color cinematography is first rate and reason enough to see the film. Of course it has the usual stilted dialog that is common in DeMille's costume work. But one has to remember that DeMille made his show business bones with David Belasco in the Edwardian era. And that's how folks talked in those Belasco plays.

Acting honors in this go to George Sanders as the Saran of Gaza, Philistine ruler and sophisticated cad. This was the height of Sanders career, he received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for All About Eve the same year. I think the Saran and Addison DeWitt would have understood each other very well.

Angela Lansbury is the original object of Samson's lust and she does okay, but personally if you had the choice between Jessica Fletcher and Tondelayo, who would you choose? Is that ever a no-brainer.

DeMille got a couple of loan-outs to play the leads. Hedy Lamarr could easily lay claim to be the most beautiful woman in the cinema. She never had much acting skill, but all she has to do is be seductive and that no one could do better.

And Victor Mature away from his home studio of 20th Century Fox where he was languishing, Samson and Delilah provided a whole new vista for him with roles in spectacle pictures where he could truly be that beautiful hunk of man.

Fay Holden is good as Samson's mother. In modern times I can just hear her telling him about settling down with a good Jewish girl.

I first saw this as a kid in the early 80s n was blown away by the lion fight sequence n the climax scene of that of Dagon's towering idol.

Saw many times aft that n coincidentally revisited it again on this Easter (04/04/21).

This one is a classic action movie n i still found it very captivating.

The film was very violent for its times. Samson using a jawbone of a donkey to crush skulls like eggs thru helmets is very brutal.

The film's special effects are noteworthy and the most spectacular special effect in the film is the toppling of the temple of Dagon.

This film is a must for everyone who loves Technicolor, great actors and great movies. Mature is a wonderful Samson but Hedy Lamarr is the definitive incarnation of beauty. She is also a very good actress and directed by De Mille gets her screen triumph. Watch this over and over again and you'll not be tired.

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.

She sure WAS a wildcat in this film! Beauty beyond compare! And Mature's 'Samson' was a sure delight (even though he was told to drop 30 lbs. for the role before filming). Biblical stories are always interesting & enjoyable if filmed in this colorful way, as was The 10 Commandments. We don't need that brown, boring type of color for 'realism'. We want beautiful color to show off those gorgeous costumes & scenery! (When it's not fake back-drops!) Anyway, see this film! It's worth whatever the video costs! Or catch it on TV!