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Samson and Delilah is a 1949 film made by Paramount Pictures, produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Victor Mature and Hedy Lamarr as the title characters. Angela Lansbury, George Sanders and Henry Wilcoxon are also featured.
The story of Samson and Delilah is adapted from the Biblical Book of Judges.
Wildly successful at the box-office, DeMille's Biblical epic is known for the beauty of its leading lady and the spectacular toppling of the temple, not the acting skills of its players or sparkling dialogue. Mature's fight with a lion is hopelessly fake, but the film endures as a camp classic, still retaining its entertainment value as a product of its time.
Samson and Delilah (1949 film)
Plot of the Film
Cast
Trivia
See also
| | Name | Samson and Delilah (1949 film) | | image |  | | Caption | French movie poster for Samson and Delilah | | Director | Cecil B. DeMille | | Producer | Cecil B. DeMille | | Writer | Fredric M. Frank
Vladimir Jabotinsky (book... | | Music | Victor Young
Ray Evans (song)
Jay Livin... | | Cinematography | George Barnes
Dewey Wrigley
Victor Youn... | | Editing | Anne Bauchens | | Distributor | Paramount Pictures | | Released | 1949 in film | | Runtime | 128 min. | | Country | U.S.A. | | Language | English language | | Amg Id | 1:42719 |
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Plot of the Film
Samson, a Hebrew, is engaged to a Philistine woman named Semadar. During a fight at their wedding feast, Semadar is killed and Samson becomes a hunted man. Semadar's sister, Delilah, plots to deliver Samson up for punishment. To do so, she cuts his hair, which he feels gives him his strength. Falling in love with him, Delilah regrets her act after Samson is blinded by his captors. He is brought to the temple for entertainment, where he topples the structure, destroying his enemies.
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Cast
Edgar Dearing - Tax collector
Julia Faye - Haisham, Delilah's maid
William Farnum - Tubal, Delilah's Father
Francis McDonald - Story Teller
Wee Willie Davis - Garmiskar
John Miljan - Lesh Lakish
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Trivia
Burt Lancaster was the original choice to play Samson, but he declined due to a bad back. Body builder Steve Reeves was also considered and DeMille lobbied long and hard to get the studio to pick up Reeves, but both DeMille and the studio wanted Reeves to tone down his physique, which Reeves, still young and new to the industry, ultimately refused to do; almost a decade later, Reeves found fame and cult status as another legendary strong man, Hercules, performing many of the same feats as Victor Mature in the Samson film. DeMille did not like Victor Mature and was outraged when Mature refused to wrestle the tame lion.
Director DeMille had a cameo in Sunset Boulevard in a scene where the character of Norma Desmond meets with him on a film set. The film being shot is Samson and Delilah.
This movie gave radical early Zionist leader Vladimir Jabotinsky his sole Hollywood filmmaking credit.
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See also
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