Samson and Delilah (1949)

 Cecil B. DeMille's "Samson and Delilah"

In keeping with the traditional of making biblical epics, Cecil B. DeMille 1949 film "Samson and Delilah" had become the biggest up to that point. DeMille had been attempting to make the film since 1935, but complications with DeMille's contract halted production. However, in 1946, DeMille was able to convince Paramount executives to take a chance with the story, despite their hesitations about financing a 'Sunday school tale.' DeMille cast Victor Mature in the role of Samson, a decision DeMille would later regret due to the actor's cowardice on set. For the role of Delilah, Hedy Lamarr was chosen, a role that would define her Hollywood career. 

The plot centers around the iconic bible story. Samson is a Danite, who are under the rule of the Philistines. After showing his strength by killing a lion with his bare hands, he is allowed to marry whomever he chooses. Instead of picking Delilah, who has been pining over him, he chooses her sister Semadar. After Semadar betrays his trust, a fight breaks out between him and the Philistines, making him a fugitive on the run. Delilah, upset over his disregard for her, finds him and seduces him. She eventually unlocks the secret to his strength: his hair. After cutting his hair, she calls upon Philistines soldiers to capture him. Samson is enslaved and his eyes permanent burned, blinding him. Delilah's guilt leads her to back into Samson's arms. He forgives her trespasses. Samson is taken to the temple of Dagon, where he is placed in front of a crowd of Philistines to be mocked and beaten. There, he is chained to the temple's pillars where he uses his regained strength to tear the temple down.

There were a couple instances of things being changed from the bible to fit the narrative screenplay. For one thing, Samson is a Danite, rather than being called an 'Israelite,' Hebrew,' or 'Jews.' The reason for this avoidance was due to the political pressures from the Communist witch hunt by the American government. The state considered Jews to be aligned with Communist sympathies and since the common narrative has always been that Jews run Hollywood, the studio did not want to invite investigations. Also, the film portrays Delilah as being sisters to Semadar, a woman Samson intended to marry. In the bible, Semadar did not have a name and she did not appear to be related to Delilah. This was changed for the film, however, to make it more narratively cohesive. 

Being a DeMille film, "Samson and Delilah" was a visual marvel. It's use of three-strip Technicolor allowed the images to pop with stark coloring. Also in line with DeMille's visual intrigue, a film's climax nicely fits into the visual spectacle that comes with the renowned director. The collapse of the temple of Dagon was a marvelous action set-piece. The bottom portion of the temple was constructed full scale while the top was a separate 37 foot high structure. DeMille fused the footage of each together to construct the visual might of the temple. The top of the temple was toppled three separate times to accompany the various camera angles. 

"Samson and Delilah" became DeMille's most successful film to date. It was the highest grossing film of 1950 and was even the third highest grossing film of all time (at that point), behind "Gone With the Wind" and "The Best Years of Our Lives." Even DeMille himself considered it his crowning achievement. According to DeMille: "Here - for me - is the climax of thirty-seven years of motion picture making, the dream of a lifetime come true."