JohnHowardReid Copyright 25 October 1949 by Paramount Pictures Corp. New York release at both the Paramount and Rivoli Theatres, 21 December 1949. U.S. release: 28 March 1951. U.K. release: 26 March 1951. Australian premiere at the Majestic (Adelaide): 21 September 1951. Australian release: 12 October 1951. 127 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Considerable liberties have been taken with the biblical account, principally to whitewash Samson and to introduce Delilah much earlier into the narrative. As a result, many familiar details have been omitted or altered. Samson killing thirty men for their garments is changed to a comic robbery, Samson burning the Philistine fields by tying torches to the tails of three hundred foxes in revenge for his wife being given to another is eliminated. And after Samson slew a legion of Philistines with the jawbone of an ass, twenty years elapsed - during which Samson virtually ruled Israel - before Delilah entered the picture. After betraying him, however, she disappears from the bible narrative and it is most unlikely that she ever saw Samson again.COMMENT: The biblical picture was principally seen by Hollywood as an excuse for spectacle and sex. What censor could dare object to Delilah's sauntering around most seductively in skin-tight shapely garments when this is the very image the Bible itself portrays? And who better to saunter and caper about than the exotic Hedy Lamarr?It must be admitted that Mature looks the part of Samson too. But aside from the urbane George Sanders, the rest of the players are somewhat wanting both in style and appearance and also in acting ability. They are up against some laughably banal dialogue, it is true, and decked out in costumes that are often ridiculously unflattering, no-one could envy them their task. But for stiffness, hamminess or sheer ineptitude, the enormous roster of players assembled here would be hard to beat.The sets too often look phoney and unreal - despite all the money obviously lavished on the production - and the pace is sometimes figetingly slow. De Mille's direction has so little of his customary dash and style that the shot everyone remembers is not the temple crashing down (with its obvious special effects) or even the fight with the lion (obvious doubles for both star and beast are all too evident), but the dolly shot from the ant city to a corner of the Saran's palace!Fortunately, aside from its two stars, Samson and Delilah has two other redeeming assets - George Barnes' lustrous color photography and Victor Young's melodic score. Both artists were nominated for Academy Awards, but incredibly both missed out - Barnes to Robert Surtees' King Solomon's Mines; Young to Franz Waxman's Sunset Boulevard. Special effects were also nominated, but lost to the far more deserving Destination Moon. Even more incredibly Samson and Delilah won Academy Awards for its sets and costumes. Excluding the magnificent creations Hedy Lamarr slinks around in, the costumes are ridiculous. The Philistine helmets are the oddest we've ever seen (couldn't the art department afford feathered plumes?) and even the scruffiest extras and the most poverty-laden villagers are trussed in garments as new and fresh as minted gold.OTHER VIEWS: Took almost two years to reach my city. Presumably Paramount wanted more time to fire publicity guns. But ballyhoo didn't help. The initial engagement (at road-show admission prices) ran a disappointing seven weeks before being replaced by a double bill of Appointment With Danger and The Great Missouri Raid. The reason for this lukewarm boxoffice is not hard to find. The plot is so well-known it has no novelty or suspense, the characters are cardboard cut-outs and their dialogue is as trite and banal as a dime-store romance. Although Sanders is delightfully suave and Lamarr provocatively sensuous, Mature is a thick-lipped Samson and Wilcoxon a wooden Philistine. True, the action scenes are handled with customary De Mille efficiency and the photography is attractively colored (though most of the real Palestinian backgrounds were left on the cutting-room floor) and there's plenty of on-screen evidence of a $3 million budget - but are these enough to justify both a hike in ticket price and 128 minutes of sluggish running-time? - J.H.R. in "The Gang's All Here!"

Dalbert Pringle I guess, in this case - Only Samson's hairdresser would know for sure - Eh? (giggle. giggle)And, speaking about Samson's hair - Since all of his super-strength was generated from his locks - Then - Why do you suppose he didn't grow his hair all the way down to his knees? Eh? Why?And, speaking further about Samson (and not his hair) - For a man who was apparently a righteously devoted follower of his god (a god who looked upon him favourably) - He sure didn't conceal his intense carnal lust for all the babes.Yeah. This guy was definitely thinking with his "other" head most of the time. That's for sure.It really killed me that even though all of Samson's motives were totally self-serving - When he was required to prove his strength - All he had to do was call on this often-neglected god of his and (Presto!) he was promptly granted super muscle-power like no other man on Earth.And, finally - When it came to actor, Victor Mature playing the Samson part - This barely fit dude was so pathetically miscast for his role that it was total blasphemy in my opinion.

SnoopyStyle It's 1000BC. Samson (Victor Mature) is a Danite Hebrew in the village of Zorah under the domineering rule of the Philistines. Samson is in love with Semadar (Angela Lansbury) from a wealthy Philistine family. Her younger sister Delilah (Hedy Lamarr) is infatuated with the brute. He kills a lion with his bare hands while with Delilah but Lord Saran (George Sanders) doesn't believe them. He is awarded a hunter's prize after beating Garmiskar in wrestling, but he takes Semadar's hand in marriage instead. Semadar was originally promised to Ahtur (Henry Wilcoxon) and he's not happy. Ahtur brings his 30 warriors to the wedding. Samson has a riddle and makes a bet for 30 cloaks with Ahtur. The jealous Delilah pushes Ahtur, and he frightens Semadar into betraying Samson. Samson robs passing Philistines to pay the debt, but Delilah's scheming isn't finished. She convinces her father to marry Semadar off to Ahtur while trying to get Samson for herself. It all crumbles as Samson battles Ahtur and his 30 men. Samson escapes but Semadar is killed. He burns everything down and Delilah vows vengeance against Samson.The Technicolor looks brilliant. There is a nice stunt wrestling a real lion early on. Of course, Victor Mature is wrestling a stuffed lion. He is a big guy and he plays Samson as a self assured brute. The acting is not subtle. Hedy Lamarr is playing the vixen for all her worth. Her acting is extremely broad. This is a grand epic from Cecil B. DeMille. It's all very old fashion in everything from tone to style to acting. I doubt that I should count that against it. It is simply an epic of a compelling biblical story.

edwagreen Cecil B. DeMille had the tendency to use many of his actors over and over again. For example, Olive Deering played on his Lux Radio show. In the opening scene of the film, we see the old man who took a knife to his stomach in the mud pits of "The Ten Commandments," as well as Deering playing another character known as Miriam. Henry Wilcoxon, who was with DeMille from the silent era, was also in both pictures, both he and Ms. Deering had better parts in this film as compared to 'Commandments,' though the Sam & Delilah was not nearly as good as the latter.Hedi LaMarr was wonderful as the temptress Delilah. Did anyone see that Ms. LaMarr was similar looking to Susan Hayward? There are some scenes there where I thought Hayward was acting.This biblical drama brings back the idea of hell hath no fury as a woman scorned. Let's not kid ourselves, Mature, as Samson, had to be quite gullible to be taken in by Delilah. It is only after tragedy befalls him that she becomes the sympathetic character when it's obviously too late.Victor Mature was a perfect Samson with his strength really showing. George Sanders is in rare form as the evil king. I question the casting of Angela Lansbury as Delilah's doomed sister. Lansbury would really prove herself as a quality actress years later, but lacks being provocative here. Also, she wasn't exactly a raving beauty. She does have the bitter quality that would serve her far better in her future work.Remember the fragrance of myrrh? It's mentioned in both films-10 Commandments and this one. Apparently, DeMille did his homework.