Samson and Delilah

Samson and Delilah is a biblical adventure drama set in Palestine around 1000 BC. Samson, a man of extraordinary strength regarded by his people as chosen by God, fights to free the Israelites from Philistine rule. He falls for Delilah, a Philistine woman, but her feelings turn to vengeance when he rejects her. Learning that his power lies in his hair, she betrays him to his enemies, who blind him and imprison him. The film builds toward his confrontation with his captors, whose humiliation of him carries unforeseen consequences for them as well as for Samson.

Cecil B. DeMille directed and produced the film for Paramount, working from a screenplay by Jesse Lasky Jr. and Fredric M. Frank. It came late in a long career that had already included biblical and historical epics such as The Ten Commandments (1923) and Cleopatra (1934), and it was followed by The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) and a second The Ten Commandments (1956). Victor Mature plays Samson opposite Hedy Lamarr as Delilah, with George Sanders as the Saran of Gaza, Angela Lansbury as Semadar, Henry Wilcoxon as Prince Ahtur and Olive Deering as Miriam. The production cost about 3 million dollars and returned roughly 12 million worldwide, a strong result for its time. On TMDB it holds a rating of 6.6 out of 10 from 258 votes, indicating moderate approval from viewers.