Classical and Biblical epics were popular during the cinema's silent era, but the genre declined in popularity during the thirties and early forties, partly due to technical problems with the early sound systems and partly because the financial climate during the Depression made the studios less willing to take risks. The genre never died out altogether, however, and during the late forties, fifties and early sixties it was to see a triumphant revival as Hollywood rediscovered spectacle as its main weapon in its battle with television. Cecil B. DeMille, probably the director most closely associated with the silent epic, had continued making examples such as "The Sign of the Cross" and "Cleopatra" even during the early days of sound, and was to play an important part in this revival, making two major epics based upon the Old Testament, "Samson and Delilah" and "The Ten Commandments".
The appeal of the story of Samson and Delilah to DeMille is obvious. It is not only an adventure story, with its hero leading his people in a fight against oppression, but also one of the few great Biblical love stories, with a treacherous, seductive heroine. Although traditionalist Jews and Christians regard Samson as a literally real historical individual, the story has the feel of an archetypal myth.
DeMille's film broadly follows the outline of the story given in the Book of Judges, but as this account is a rather brief one, it expands on it, introducing characters not found in the Bible. In this version, Samson is originally the fiancé of one of these characters, Delilah's sister Semadar, and his hatred for the Philistines stems partly from her death. (She is accidentally killed during a brawl at their wedding feast). Other non-Biblical characters are the Philistine ruler, the Saran, and his military commander, Ahtur. For some reason, Samson's people are always referred to as "Danites" rather than Hebrews or Israelites; although the Bible tells us that Samson was of the tribe of Dan, this was only one of twelve tribes which together made up the Israelite people.
When first made in 1949, the film was wildly successful at the box-office, demonstrating that DeMille was right in his view that spectacle was what the American public wanted. Today, however, it looks very dated- in my view more so than "The Ten Commandments", which has stood the test of time far better. Part of the reason is the quality of the acting. The star of the later film is the great Charlton Heston, the actor who more than any other has come to symbolise the epic style, and DeMille could also call upon some fine supporting performances from the likes of Yul Brynner, Edward G Robinson, Cedric Hardwicke and Anne Baxter.
Victor Mature certainly had the right looks for Samson; he was a man for whom the expression "beefcake" could have been invented, and his imposing physique and screen presence helped him win roles in later epics such as "The Robe", "Demetrius and the Gladiators" and "The Egyptian". Few, however, regarded him as being an actor in the same class as Heston- certainly not DeMille, who disliked him both as an actor and as an individual but was forced to take him by the studio, and not even Mature himself, who was famously self-deprecating about his acting skills. ("I'm not an actor — and I've got sixty-four films to prove it!"). DeMille's first choice for the part would have been either Burt Lancaster or Steve Reeves. Reeves was later to become a well-known epic actor, perhaps most famous for playing Hercules, another legendary strongman with many similarities to Samson, but Lancaster was never to star in an epic although his style of acting seemed well-suited to the genre.
As one of the most beautiful actresses of the forties, Hedy Lamarr equally had the right looks for Delilah. She was not only a beauty but also highly intelligent, about as far from the "dumb blonde" (or "dumb brunette") image of the Hollywood starlet as one can get, but intellectuals do not always make the best actors, especially in roles which require strong emotions, as they often try to think themselves into a role as opposed to empathising with their character. (The Princeton-educated Brooke Shields has struck me as another example of this phenomenon). Hedy did not perhaps have the emotional range to play Delilah, who is not a simple villainess but an emotionally complex character who finds herself falling in love with Samson after she has betrayed him.
The one good performance comes from George Sanders as the Saran, played not as a ranting tyrant but as a suave, worldly-wise and cynical ruler. (Sanders often played characters who were sophisticated but villainous, as in "All About Eve" or "Moonfleet", or for that matter the tiger Shere Khan in "The Jungle Book"). It came as a surprise to see Angela Lansbury, best-known for playing characters considerably older than her real age, as the glamorous young Semadar, although even here she is supposed to be Lamarr's older sister whereas in reality Lamarr was older than Lansbury by twelve years.
Visually, the film is certainly spectacular, particularly the final scene in which Samson destroys the temple of the Philistine god Dagon. It is not, however, in the same class as "The Ten Commandments", a film which showed that the epic form could offer more than empty spectacle. "Samson and Delilah", however, may be spectacular, but there is little behind the spectacle. It is the sort of film which shows just why DeMille's detractors- and he had quite a few- frequently dismissed him as a mere vulgar showman. 5/10
The appeal of the story of Samson and Delilah to DeMille is obvious. It is not only an adventure story, with its hero leading his people in a fight against oppression, but also one of the few great Biblical love stories, with a treacherous, seductive heroine. Although traditionalist Jews and Christians regard Samson as a literally real historical individual, the story has the feel of an archetypal myth.
DeMille's film broadly follows the outline of the story given in the Book of Judges, but as this account is a rather brief one, it expands on it, introducing characters not found in the Bible. In this version, Samson is originally the fiancé of one of these characters, Delilah's sister Semadar, and his hatred for the Philistines stems partly from her death. (She is accidentally killed during a brawl at their wedding feast). Other non-Biblical characters are the Philistine ruler, the Saran, and his military commander, Ahtur. For some reason, Samson's people are always referred to as "Danites" rather than Hebrews or Israelites; although the Bible tells us that Samson was of the tribe of Dan, this was only one of twelve tribes which together made up the Israelite people.
When first made in 1949, the film was wildly successful at the box-office, demonstrating that DeMille was right in his view that spectacle was what the American public wanted. Today, however, it looks very dated- in my view more so than "The Ten Commandments", which has stood the test of time far better. Part of the reason is the quality of the acting. The star of the later film is the great Charlton Heston, the actor who more than any other has come to symbolise the epic style, and DeMille could also call upon some fine supporting performances from the likes of Yul Brynner, Edward G Robinson, Cedric Hardwicke and Anne Baxter.
Victor Mature certainly had the right looks for Samson; he was a man for whom the expression "beefcake" could have been invented, and his imposing physique and screen presence helped him win roles in later epics such as "The Robe", "Demetrius and the Gladiators" and "The Egyptian". Few, however, regarded him as being an actor in the same class as Heston- certainly not DeMille, who disliked him both as an actor and as an individual but was forced to take him by the studio, and not even Mature himself, who was famously self-deprecating about his acting skills. ("I'm not an actor — and I've got sixty-four films to prove it!"). DeMille's first choice for the part would have been either Burt Lancaster or Steve Reeves. Reeves was later to become a well-known epic actor, perhaps most famous for playing Hercules, another legendary strongman with many similarities to Samson, but Lancaster was never to star in an epic although his style of acting seemed well-suited to the genre.
As one of the most beautiful actresses of the forties, Hedy Lamarr equally had the right looks for Delilah. She was not only a beauty but also highly intelligent, about as far from the "dumb blonde" (or "dumb brunette") image of the Hollywood starlet as one can get, but intellectuals do not always make the best actors, especially in roles which require strong emotions, as they often try to think themselves into a role as opposed to empathising with their character. (The Princeton-educated Brooke Shields has struck me as another example of this phenomenon). Hedy did not perhaps have the emotional range to play Delilah, who is not a simple villainess but an emotionally complex character who finds herself falling in love with Samson after she has betrayed him.
The one good performance comes from George Sanders as the Saran, played not as a ranting tyrant but as a suave, worldly-wise and cynical ruler. (Sanders often played characters who were sophisticated but villainous, as in "All About Eve" or "Moonfleet", or for that matter the tiger Shere Khan in "The Jungle Book"). It came as a surprise to see Angela Lansbury, best-known for playing characters considerably older than her real age, as the glamorous young Semadar, although even here she is supposed to be Lamarr's older sister whereas in reality Lamarr was older than Lansbury by twelve years.
Visually, the film is certainly spectacular, particularly the final scene in which Samson destroys the temple of the Philistine god Dagon. It is not, however, in the same class as "The Ten Commandments", a film which showed that the epic form could offer more than empty spectacle. "Samson and Delilah", however, may be spectacular, but there is little behind the spectacle. It is the sort of film which shows just why DeMille's detractors- and he had quite a few- frequently dismissed him as a mere vulgar showman. 5/10