Hedy Lamarr never has been more eye-filling and makes of Delilah a convincing minx.It depicts the biblical story of Samson, a strongman whose secret lies in his uncut hair, and his love for Delilah, the woman who seduces him, discovers his secret and then betrays him to the Philistines.It stars Hedy Lamarr and Victor Mature in the title roles, George Sanders as the Saran, Angela Lansbury as Semadar, and Henry Wilcoxon as Ahtur.The screenplay, written by Jesse L.
Lasky, Jr. and Fredric M. Frank, is based on the biblical Book of Judges and adapted from original film treatments by Harold Lamb and Vladimir Jabotinsky. It was the highest-grossing film of 1950. Of its five Academy Award nominations, the film won two for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design. When his deeds become known, Semadar and her father Tubal are killed; Samson becomes a hunted man and in his fury he begins fighting the Philistines. ![]() The Sarans plan works, and frustrated Danites hand over Samson to the Philistines, much to the joy of Delilah, Semadars younger sister. Samson is taken by Prince Ahtur, the military governor of the land of Dan, and a regiment of Philistine troops. Samson rips apart his chains and ropes and begins to combat the Philistines, toppling Ahturs war chariot and using the jawbone of an ass to club the Philistine soldiers to death. Delilah comes up with the idea of seducing Samson, thus having him reveal the secret of his strength and then deliver him for punishment. Her plan works; she cuts his hair, which he feels gives him his strength. In order to fully neutralize him, Samson is blinded by his captors, put to slave work and is eventually brought to the temple of Dagon for the entertainment of the Philistines and of the Saran. She initially had betrayed him because she wanted to avenge the deaths of her father and sister, which she thought were caused because of Samson. Once he stands between them, he tells Delilah to flee, but she remains, unseen by him, as he pushes the pillars apart. The pillars give way and the temple collapses, burying Samson, Delilah, and all the Philistines inside alive, including the court. In the end the temple lies in rubble, and Saul and Miriam, his two closest Danite Hebrew friends, are left to mourn Samsons passing. Those considered were Mrta Torn, Viveca Lindfors, Lana Turner, Rita Hayworth, Susan Hayward, Ava Gardner, Jane Greer, Greer Garson, Maureen OHara, Rhonda Fleming, Jeanne Crain, Lucille Ball, Jennifer Jones, Vivien Leigh, Gail Russell, Alida Valli, Linda Darnell, Patricia Neal, Jean Simmons, and Nancy Olson. DeMille cast Hedy Lamarr as Delilah after screening the film The Strange Woman, which featured Ian Keith (a contender for the role of the Saran). DeMille first wanted Lamarr to play Esther in a biblical film he was planning to make in 1939, 17 but the film was never realized. However, he was content with Lamarrs performance as Delilah, describing it as more than skin-deep. He would also described her as a gazelleincapable of a clumsy or wrong move, and she would flirtatiously refer to herself as Delilah and DeMille as her Samson. She later played the real biblical Miriam, sister of Moses, in DeMilles last and most successful film The Ten Commandments. For the scene where Desmond visits DeMille at Paramount, an actual set of Samson and Delilah was reconstructed to show the director at work. The first day scheduled to shoot the scene was May 23, 1949, months after filming on Samson and Delilah had ended. After the scene was shot in a total of four days, Wilder patted DeMille on the back and humorously told him, Very good, my boy. I may have a small part for you in my next picture. Wilder later said that DeMille took direction terrifically. Variety described the film as a lusty action story with a heavy coating of torrid-zone romance. The magazine also appreciated the films cast by writing, Victor Mature fits neatly into the role of the handsome but dumb hulk of muscle that both the Bible and DeMille make of the Samson character.
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