SAMSON AND DELILAH

US, 1949, 131 minutes, Colour.
Hedy Lamarr, Victor Mature, Angela Lansbury, George Sanders, Henry Wilcoxon, Fay Holden.
Directed by Cecil de Mille.

With Samson and Delilah one might say this is Cecil B. de Mille film-making personified. In the 1920s, after ten years as a director, de Mille made a breakthrough in biblical films with The Ten Commandments. He followed this up in 1927 with the spectacular King of Kings, one of the main Jesus films of the era. In the 1930s he moved on to The Sign of the Cross, early Christianity as well Cleopatra, both with Claudette Colbert. After that he turned his attention to the west with The Plainsman, Union Pacific, Unconquered. In 1949, he persuaded Hedy Lamarr to play Delilah and invited strong man actor Victor Mature to be Samson. They were a great box-office attraction.

George Sanders and Angela Lansbury offered more substantial support and Henry Wilcoxon, a regular with de Mille films, is also in the cast.

Sets and costumes are spectacular. De Mille himself appears at the beginning of the film to introduce it and show that he was making a religious film, despite the spectacle.

The film follows the biblical story, more or less, with an emphasis on Samson and Delilah and their love for each other as well as the betrayal. The destruction of the Temple of Dagon at the end is quite memorable.

There was a television version of the story, not particularly biblical, in the 1980s with Belinda Bauer and Antony Hamilton. However, there was a more serious presentation in the 1990s, the film directed by Nicolas Roeg. This time Elizabeth Hurley, a choice in looks rather than acting, is Delilah with Eric Thal as Samson. However, the supporting cast is more interesting as it includes Dennis Hopper, Diana Rigg, Daniel Massey and has a young Jonathan Rhys Meyer as the teenage Samson.

1. What constitutes the appeal of the Biblical spectaculars? Their spectacular nature? Their size? The biblical theme? Religion and spectacle?

2. What can be said of Cecil B. DeMille's view of history from this film? His attitudes towards spectacles? Towards the bible? His view, of the importance of great men in history?

3. Comment on De Mille's vision of Palestine versus the Philistines and the social and religious upheaval and their relevance for today. Did he make good his claims for the teaching value of this film? How?

4. How interesting was Samson as a hero? His strength and religion? His loyalty and fickleness to his family and country? His role as a judge? His clashes with the Philistines and taunting of them? Was he a law unto himself? Too independent? Was he a great man?

5. Samson as influenced by his love? His arranging for the marriage? His discovery of distrust and hatred? What effect did this have on him? How much was his marriage a taunting of the Philistines?

6. How interesting a person was his wife, Semadar? Did he really love her? Did she love him? Why did she agree to deceive him with the riddle? Was her death part of poetic justice?

7. What were your first impressions of Delilah? How did Cecil B, DeMitle? understand her? And present her: as an ordinary woman, as a temptress? Her attraction for Samson? Why was he not initially attracted? The importance of the sequence where she accompanied him on the hunt for the lion? Why was she so jealous when frustrated? The nature of her lies and her revenge? Did this alienate her from the audience? Why?

8. Did the film make satisfactory use of the tradition of Samson's strength: the lion, his attaining of the sets of clothes and his clashes with the Philistines, the strength of his hatred in his years of wandering, his ravaging of the Philistines, his escape with the jawbone of an ass, his finat collapsing of the temple? What point was being made by the presentation of Samson's strength and the loss of it?

9. How credible was Delilah's seducing of Samson? Did she really love him? Did she really hate him? Why did he give her the secret of his hair? The dramatic importance of the sequence where she cut his hair?

10. Were the Philistines presented interestingly? The Saran? His suave cynicism in ruling the Philistines? The Captain of the Guard and his ambition to marry Semindar? As a counterpoint to Samson? The religious overtones of the Philistians as pagans? Their attitudes towards the true religion? Towards Samson's God? Their cruelty in blinding Samson and putting him on the mill? How violent were these sequences? How horrifying? Did it gain audience sympathy for Samson and dislike of Delilah? Delilah's discovery of what had happened and its effect on her?

11. How important was the mill experience for Samson? His despair, his prayer to God, the impact of it on Delilah? Her helping him then to destroy the Philistines?

12. Was the finale just a spectacle or did it have a point? The appeal of the Hebrews for Sarnson's help, their grief? Delilah allowing herself to be killed? The impact of the deaths and the overthrow of the idol?

13. Cecil B. DeMille? saw this as a moral parable. After examining it themes, do you think this is valid?

14. Did the film avoid the dangers of bad taste, dialogue which is anachronistic or silly? Was the film a reverent and balanced, but enjoyable biblical spectacle?