Samson and Delilah

"HISTORY'S MOST BEAUTIFUL AND TREACHEROUS WOMAN!"

1949 2h 14m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

🍅

60%

FRESH

⭐

6.8

IMDB

★6.6TMDB · 261🍅60%Rotten Tomatoes★6.8IMDB · 9,858

RomanceDramaHistory

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When strongman Samson rejects the love of the beautiful Philistine woman Delilah, she seeks vengeance that brings horrible consequences they both regret.

“HISTORY'S MOST BEAUTIFUL AND TREACHEROUS WOMAN!”

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Cast

Hedy Lamarr
Delilah
Victor Mature
Samson
George Sanders
The Saran of Gaza
Angela Lansbury
Semadar
Henry Wilcoxon
Prince Ahtur
Olive Deering
Miriam
Fay Holden
Hazel
Julia Faye
Haisham

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Writers: Jesse Lasky Jr., Fredric M. Frank
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $3.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.8× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

77 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Cecil B. DeMille, shot by George Barnes. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Victor Young. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Anne Bauchens shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Hedy Lamarr and Victor Mature and George Sanders carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "HISTORY'S MOST BEAUTIFUL AND TREACHEROUS WOMAN!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Cecil B. DeMille directs. George Barnes behind the camera. Victor Young scores. Anne Bauchens cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $3.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 3.8× over at the box office.
377 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by Cecil B. DeMille, shot by George Barnes. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Victor Young. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Anne Bauchens shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Hedy Lamarr and Victor Mature and George Sanders carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "HISTORY'S MOST BEAUTIFUL AND TREACHEROUS WOMAN!".
9IMDB entry: tt0041838 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 15 themes, including "christianity", "lion", "torah", "bible".

The technical file

Cinematography: George Barnes
Original score: Victor Young
Editing: Anne Bauchens
Costume design: Dorothy Jeakins
Makeup / hair: Elaine Ramsey
Runtime: 134 min · 2h 14m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $3,000,000
Box office: $11,500,000
Return: 383% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Samson and Delilah (1949)
Rotten Tomatoes: 60% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 6.8/10 · 9,858 votes
MPAA: Approved

Awards

Won 2 Oscars. 7 wins & 5 nominations total

Academy Award for Best Art Direction, Color
Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Color

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Cecil B. DeMille

Stills · wallpapers

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Wallpaper

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-24
★ 7/10
Maybe not one of Cecil B. De Mille's better biblical epics, this, but it's still an enjoyable, if slightly long, watch with Hedy Lamarr on good form as the eponymous temptress. Snubbed by "Samson" (Victor Mature) in favour of her beautiful but fickle sister "Samadar" (Angela Lansbury) whom is subsequently killed, she sets out - with the aid of the Saran of Gaza (George Sanders), to find the secret behind the strength of the handsome, strong and decent man and use it do ensure his disgrace and downfall. De Mille uses a certain amount of cinematic licence with the biblical verses upon which this is based, but that does it no harm - it is a live, fairly action-packed romantic adventure that looks every inch the part. Sumptuous settings and costumes give it a visual richness and Victor Young has written a score than accompanies the grandeur of the visuals well, too. The acting, well that's quite another matter though. Lamarr is efficient, certainly, but Mature and Sanders are both as wooden as a picket fence. They deliver their dialogue as if they were reading it straight from off-screen cue cards. There is a great deal of activity filmed on sound stages that, though colourful, does limit the imagination (especially the terrifying stuffed lion that starts off the whole enterprise in the first place). George Barnes did try quite hard to photograph the legendary denouement creatively, but even that is just too stage bound to be wholly effective. Luckily, for me anyway, it leaves out much of the moralising. It's about power, avarice, betrayal, maybe even love and ultimately redemption but the narrative is left to deliver what messages we choose to receive, rather than having pontificating monologues aimed between our eyes. That helps to keep this a decent example of entertaining, big screen cinema that delivers a feast for your eyes, if not so much for your brain.

Production companies