Samson and Delilah (1949)

Awesome Movie

A Masterpiece!

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

"Samson and Delilah" is sort of a dry run for Cecil B. De Mille's ultimate grand epic, "The Ten Commandments". This is a smaller-scale production; there are some scenes shot outdoors, but most of it is just talk inside rather obvious studio sets. Nonetheless, the few scenes where Samson demonstrates his superhuman strength are spectacular, especially the climactic collapse of the temple (if you can set aside the small fact that he is committing mass murder, of course - after all, it's in the Bible!). Victor Mature is rather miscast as Samson, but Hedy Lamarr is perfect as the slightly sadomasochistic Delilah ("if you crush the life out of me with your bare arms, I will kiss them with my dying breath!"). **1/2 out of 4.

Cecil DeMille's take on this well-known Old Testament story is quite entertaining and beautifully photographed in 3-strip Technicolor. I checked out the story in the Bible to get an idea how much DeMille had elaborated on it. Quite a bit, as I had anticipated! The relationship between Sampson and Delilah is much more complex than that described in the bible. It's a mutual love-hate relationship. Quite against the advice of his family and friends, Sampson decided to marry a Philistine princess: Semadar(Angela Lansbury). While preparing for the wedding, Semadar's younger sister, the beautiful Delilah, made herself known to Sampson. They rode a chariot out into the desert to a lion's den, and Sampson grappled with a lion, finally strangling it. Delilah was most impressed, and they kissed. However, when given a choice between the two, Sampson still chose Semadar, perhaps because of her golden hair. Delilah was very disappointed, and vowed to see Samson brought to his knees. Semadar, along with her father, was soon murdered by her own people. Delilah blamed Sampson as the indirect cause, making her hate him more, and yet still loving him at times. Semadar's death reopened the question whether Delilah might take Semadar's place in Sampson's life. Delilah was offered a fortune by the Philistine council, if she could learn the secrete of Sampson's extraordinary strength. Sampson came to her and, at first, offered false leads. Eventually, he told her that his faith in God and his long hair was the source of his strength. Thus, Delilah gave him a sedative in his drink, putting him in a deep sleep, then cut his hair. When he awoke, he was bound and surrounded by spears. After Delilah left, the Saran(George Sanders), ordered that Samson be blinded by a red-hot knife, before being bound to a grain mill stone, as oxen were.Delilah enjoyed seeing Samson doing slave labor, but was horrified when she discovered that Sampson had been blinded, for she still had feelings for him. She secretly told him she would be his eyes from now on. A Hebrew woman who had long hoped Samson would marry her, showed up and requested that she be allowed to take Sampson home. But, Delilah responded that she would not allow any other woman to romance Sampson, even now that he was blind. During the public humiliation of Sampson in the temple of Dagon(Philistine god), Sampson requests that Delilah lead him to the pillars that held up the back portion of the temple, including the idol of Dagon. This she does, and he tells her to leave the temple. But she refuses. If he succeeds in toppling the temple, clearly he will die, and the implication is that she wishes to die with him.Given all the Philistines that Sampson had killed prior to the temple collapse, it's a wonder he wasn't killed immediately after his capture. But that wasn't what Delilah wanted, and she seemed to rule his destiny at this point. Of course, the strange claim by Sampson that his strength was derived from his hair is silly. If he lost any strength from the cutting of his hair, he soon regained it in pulling the grindstone around and toppling the temple. It's strange that his head wasn't shaved, to keep him weak.In this period , Victor Mature was the ideal person to play Sampson, despite the problems DeMille had with him. He was beefy, well spoken, and definitely looked Mediterranean. This was the first of a string of films over the next 5 years rooted in the ancient world that Mature would star in...Hedy Lamarr was perfect as Delilah, although I don't consider her quite the beauty some others do. She also had a Semitic look, aside from her blue eyes. The other major actors were also good. Angela Lansburg didn't have that much to do.

This is the film DeMille was making when Norma Desmond visited the Paramount sound stage in 'Sunset Blvd'. That little reference was enough to lure me into watching Samson and Delilah.I've always thought Lamarr was the most beautiful woman in films, (though she looked pretty ordinary in 'Ecstasy', before MGM got its hands on her), but she was wooden, with an annoying accent, which somewhat cancelled out the magnetism of her beauty. But in this film she's animated and alluring and believable as Delilah, the wicked seductress, who late in the film finds her heartless self in love. In love with Victor, who is perfectly cast as the barrel-chested strongman, Samson. Technicolor biblical extravaganzas do not require the acting skills of Mr and Mrs Olivier, and both leads were up to the task of delivering their lines and hitting their marks with precision. Hedy was 35 during production and physically in her prime, wearing gorgeous figure revealing costumes that not one woman in a thousand could wear, and that includes Lana Turner, even more scantily clad in that colossal biblical bore, The Prodigal.The Victor and the Lion scene looked like the real thing to me. I kept a close eye on that lion and not once did it look like a stuffed rug. My compliments to the stuntman and the well-trained Oscar-worthy lion.As for the "ridiculous" dialogue, I heard none. DeMille's narrative at the film's beginning states the theme - man's yearning for freedom - something the 1949 audience, 4 years after the end of WW2, responded to. Also, the spiritual message came through without bombast, and when Victor talked to or about his God, he was believable and moving. And I was mesmerized by the seduction scene in the desert tent - walls of colored silks, satins, ala Valentino - and the to/fro conversation as they moved about the tent. Yes, Delilah lured her man with words. I've always wondered about the biblical account where Delilah tried and failed multiple times to get Samson to reveal the secret of his strength. Didn't he know what she was up to? How could he be so dumb? Well, this scene, expertly written, shows us how she did it, and No, it wasn't because Samson was a knucklehead.The temple destruction scene is powerful because of DeMille's skill in conception and editing, allowing the scene to build slowly, as ever so gradually cracks appear in the columns. What a triumphant, emotionally satisfying ending.George Sanders, always a treat to watch, is given witty, pithy dialogue by the script writers which, combined with his customary subtlety, showed that he understood Delilah's character. He's an older, wiser man waiting patiently for his Scarlett to grow up and know herself. The writers give Lamarr, too, ample opportunities to show the twists and turns in her character development. All in all, this is a terrific popcorn movie for a rainy Sunday afternoon.

I give DeMille credit for trying. The costumes, the temple set, all of the extras... The feel of a biblical epic. This film just didn't do it for me. It doesn't hold up against the cynicism of a modern audience. It just seems to me like DeMille, who'd built up his career during the early silent days, did everything the "old" way. And it shows.Whether it's a lingering shot of a bulky stuntman who's not named Vic Mature, a sloppily edited brawl, a stuntman hanging by wires to simulate Samson's strength, stagey sets, clunky acting, or the fact that it is all taken so seriously, this is a film whose intended power is compromised by its unintentional silliness. (Mature, who'd fought rear-projection reptiles nine years earlier in ONE MILLION B.C., valiantly wrestles with a stuffed lion skin.) I know modern effects technology did not exist in 1949, but I doubt SAMSON AND DELILAH employs cutting-edge techniques, even for the time. Or if it does, DeMille doesn't do a great job passing the tricks off. It just seems like an old-fashioned movie made at a time when movies had already advanced past that.Or maybe that's just me. The film was a box office hit.One thing the movie does have is the beauty of Hedy Lamarr in the role of the wicked seductress Delilah. Lamarr may never have looked better than in the revealing Old Testament costumes of this film, and in glorious Technicolor.Victor Mature plays the lead role of Samson, a Hebrew shepherd with superhuman strength, which he attributes to his devotion to God. After a spoiled wedding night (and much bloodshed), Samson becomes Public Enemy No. 1 among the Philistines. Samson is a threat to an entire army, even unarmed, and cannot be taken into custody while he has his power. The Philistines send the jilted Delilah to win Samson's trust so that she may learn the source of his strength. (Hell hath no fury...)George Sanders gives a solid performance as the Philistine king, who desires Delilah but knows better than to trust her. It's also nice to see a youthful Angela Lansbury as Delilah's sister and the original object of Samson's affection.It took me a while to get into this epic, but I did take interest in Samson's great comeback. I was only vaguely familiar with the story of Samson from the Bible. After his betrayal I wanted to see his redemption, which leads up to the heathen temple set piece. Again, the scene seems dated today, but you can tell what they're trying to say with it. The finale does pack some punch. It's really a good story, Samson's, if you ignore DeMille's sometimes cheesy presentation.