Samson and Delilah (1949)

Director:

Cecil B. DeMille

Writers:

Jesse Lasky Jr. (screenplay) &
Fredric M. Frank (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

January 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | Romance

Tagline:

HISTORY'S MOST BEAUTIFUL AND TREACHEROUS WOMAN! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

Though his people, the Israelites, are enslaved by the Philistines, Samson, strongest man of the tribe of Dan...

Plot Keywords:

Philistine | Bible | Hair | Sword And Sandal | Betrayal

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 4 nominations

Cast

Hedy Lamarr	...	Delilah
Victor Mature	...	Samson
George Sanders	...	The Saran of Gaza
Angela Lansbury	...	Semadar
Henry Wilcoxon	...	Prince Ahtur
Olive Deering	...	Miriam
Fay Holden	...	Hazelelponit
Julia Faye	...	Haisham
Russ Tamblyn	...	Saul (as Russell Tamblyn)
William Farnum	...	Tubal
Lane Chandler	...	Teresh
Moroni Olsen	...	Targil
Francis McDonald	...	Story Teller (as Francis J. McDonald)
William 'Wee Willie' Davis	...	Garmiskar (as William Davis)
John Miljan	...	Lesh Lakish

Also Known As:

Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah (UK) (complete title) (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

131 min | Argentina:134 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Approved (certificate #13447) | UK:U | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

For the scene in which Samson kills the lion, actor Victor Mature refused to wrestle a tame movie lion. Told by director Cecil B. DeMille that the lion had no teeth, Mature replied, "I don't want to be gummed to death, either." The scene shows a stunt man wrestling the tame lion, intercut with closeups of Mature wrestling a lion skin.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Although the Phillistines did indeed worship the god Dagon, everything else about them as depicted in the film is untrue; not even the clothing corresponds with archaeological evidence. We now know the Philistine men shaved their facial hair and wore their head hair long, thanks to depictions of them found at the ruins of the actual Phillistia, which was not discovered until long after this movie had come out. The fact is that we do not know much about the Phillistines at all. In fact, we do not even know whether or not Phillistine women were treated as equals by the men!

Quotes:

Samson: [of Delilah] Hold this fork-tongued adder before I put a heel on her.
Delilah: If you crush the life out of me I'd kiss you with my dying breath!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 'Sunset Blvd.': A Look Back (2002) (V)

Soundtrack:

FOR TO WIN A BRIDE

NOT Another run of DeMille Picture

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.