This is one to see on a large screen. I first saw it when it came out in a theater,and the climactic scene was extremely impressive to a youngish teenager.
There was a lot of coverage of the film at the time, and Life magazine had a feature on it, including a pictorial of Mr. Demille showing Victor Mature the proper technique to use a jawbone as a weapon.
Possible spoilers follow.
In Demille's autobiography, he indicated how he used a sketch of a muscular hunk and a gorgeous woman to sell his underwriters on financing a Biblical film. He also related how he had his research staff scour historical documents to find a temple design that would collapse if its two main pillars were dislodged. The result is what's seen on the screen, though the collapse was aided by a few concealed charges.
Hedy Lamarr made an excellent Delilah, with the best of motivations for betraying Samson: she was spurned. This was set up before the wedding feast, where she enjoyed being with Samson, even though he wasn't paying attention. (I can't think of many functional and heterosexual males who would be that obtuse.) Although Victor Mature wasn't as beefy as later male stars like Steve Reeves or Arnold Schwarzennegger, this was okay because his strength was miraculous.
Naturally, the finale was spectacular, and that is what people went to theaters to see in a Demille film.
There was a lot of coverage of the film at the time, and Life magazine had a feature on it, including a pictorial of Mr. Demille showing Victor Mature the proper technique to use a jawbone as a weapon.
Possible spoilers follow.
In Demille's autobiography, he indicated how he used a sketch of a muscular hunk and a gorgeous woman to sell his underwriters on financing a Biblical film. He also related how he had his research staff scour historical documents to find a temple design that would collapse if its two main pillars were dislodged. The result is what's seen on the screen, though the collapse was aided by a few concealed charges.
Hedy Lamarr made an excellent Delilah, with the best of motivations for betraying Samson: she was spurned. This was set up before the wedding feast, where she enjoyed being with Samson, even though he wasn't paying attention. (I can't think of many functional and heterosexual males who would be that obtuse.) Although Victor Mature wasn't as beefy as later male stars like Steve Reeves or Arnold Schwarzennegger, this was okay because his strength was miraculous.
Naturally, the finale was spectacular, and that is what people went to theaters to see in a Demille film.