Hedy Lamarr

Victor Mature

George Sanders

Angela Lansbury

Henry Wilcoxon

Olive Deering

Fay Holden

Julia Faye

Russ Tamblyn

William Farnum

Lane Chandler

Moroni Olsen

Francis McDonald

William 'Wee Willie' Davis

John Miljan

Arthur Q. Bryan

Kasey Rogers

Victor Varconi

John Parrish

Frank Wilcox

Russell Hicks

Boyd Davis

Bert Moorhouse

Fritz Leiber

Mike Mazurki

Davison Clark

George Reeves

Pedro de Cordoba

Frank Reicher

Colin Tapley

Dorothy Adams

Claire Du Brey

Cecil B. DeMille

Dick Foote

Byron Foulger

Ynez Seabury

Jesse Lasky Jr.

Fredric M. Frank

Vladimir Jabotinsky

George Barnes

Anne Bauchens

Hans Dreier

Walter H. Tyler

Sam Comer

Ray Moyer

Gwen Wakeling

Edith Head

Dorothy Jeakins

Elois Jenssen

Gile Steele

Edward Salven

Theodore Kosloff

Victor Young

Elaine Ramsey

Bill Shanks

Ed Henderson

Harry Lindgren

John Cope

Murray Young

Pat Williams

Adventure

Romance

Drama

Samson and Delilah

Paramount Pictures

United States of America

CinemaSerf

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.

English

Samson And Delilah Trailer 1949