Movies - Samson and Delilah

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	Movies - Samson and Delilah

Samson and Delilah is a 1949 film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, 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.

Plot of the Film

Samson, a Hebrew, is engaged to a Philistine woman. During a fight at their wedding feast his bride is killed and Samson becomes a hunted man. The bride'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.

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 Victore Mature in the Samson film. DeMille did not like Victor Mature and was outraged when Mature refused to wrestle the tame lion.

Category:1949 films

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