Samson and Delilah

Audience Reviews

View All (88) audience reviews

Alec B It has some minor camp appeal (mostly due to Hedy Lamarr) but overall it's flat and boring. Good evidence for why I think DeMille's epic filmmaking credentials were overrated. Especially when his work is compared to other epics from the era. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 10/27/24 Full Review Audience Member This was very good, and only cements my love for Demille’s work even more. Unfortunately though, I feel they could have put more time into exploring the Danites. They especially should have given them more screen time while Samson was off, and they were being punished. This could have led up to Miriam arriving at Delilah’s place and telling him of the awful stuff going on. I also feel Delilah was the most interesting character in the film. Hedy was one beautiful woman that’s for sure. Definitely check this out. 3.5/5 stars. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/01/24 Full Review Matthew D A Biblical epic as grand as The Ten Commandments or Ben Hur. Director Cecil B. DeMille's religious romance drama epic Samson and Delilah (1949) is pretty fantastic. I have no love of Cecil B. DeMille, but The Ten Commandments has its moments. Samson and Delilah's more grounded romance story. DeMille takes each moment as important in his tale of Philistines and Danites. Writers Jesse Lasky Jr. and Fredric M. Frank adapted Vladimir Jabotinsky's version of The Bible tales of Samson and Delilah. Their clever wit makes Delilah into a neat femme fatale and Samson a poor fool of a strong hero. Editor Anne Bauchens has slick cuts that keep this massive 134 minute movie from feeling too long. Cinematographer George Barnes uses huge wide shots and sweeping panning shots around art directors Hans Dreier and Walter H. Tyler's magnificent sets. All the vivid colors are wondrous with extravagant furnishings from set decorators Sam Comer and Ray Moyer. Composer Victor Young's whimsical and sweeping film score has an air of romance and neat playfulness to his old sonic splendor. Sound designers Harry Lingren and John Cope capture crisp and clear voice recordings. Elaine Ramsey's curly hairstyles are as amazing as Edith Head and Gwen Wakeling's lavish dresses. Hedy Lamarr is gorgeous and captivating as the flirtatious and jealous Delilah. Her conniving schemes make her Delilah a fun romantic villainess. She's as great as Anne Baxter in The Ten Commandments. Victor Mature is touching and strong as the romantic hero Samson. He foolishly loves Semadar instead of Delilah and finds his ruin. Mature looks like an old cross of Dean Martin and Sylvester Stallone. George Sanders' pompous antagonist The Saran of Gaza is amusing with his usual posh air and casual cruelty that Sanders does so well. Angela Lansbury is pretty and charming as the javelin throwing lady Semadar, whom Samson adores. She's very fun in her brief appearance. Henry Wilcoxon is mean and arrogant as Prince Ahtur. Olive Deering is really lovely and charming as the smart and caring Miriam. Cecil B. DeMille's narration is laughable and overbearing and he cannot even pronounce Philistine correctly. Tanner the Lion is very cute and fuzzy as the massive beastly lion that Samson must wrestle. In conclusion, Hedy Lamarr steals Samson and Delilah as the mischievous and bitterly jealous Delilah. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/02/23 Full Review milo v One of the best movies ever made. Being made just few years after the war it was made with the heart and soul, in times when the moral of the story was more important than the effects. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review lanfranco c The terrific power of love Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member A proper Cecil B. DeMille epic from the 1940s where Victor Mature plays the biblical hero Samson straight out of Brooklyn. You either love this sort of nonsense or hate it and it is very much of its era. Gloriously and gaudily Technicolor and filmed on back lots and sound stages of the the Hollywood Golden Age this is a campy, hammy spectacular. One of my favourite scenes occurs when Samson wrestles a lion which is clearly a man in a rug in order to demonstrate his masculinity. There's also a brilliantly funny scene when a young Angela Lansbury gets accidentally skewered with a javelin. Of course, the plot all leads up to the ending where Samson pushes down the Phillistine temple by shifting some polystyrene pillars and DeMille goes full throttle in his depiction of pagan frenzy. The big draw for this film is the glorious Hedy Lamarr as Delilah. Not only is she gorgeous but manages to transcend the wooden script and acts the socks off everyone around her. She really commands the screen and puts her costar in the shade. There's also a typically laconic part for the very watchable George Sanders who quips wittily from the sidelines of the action with exactly the right amount of arch villainy. Definitely of its age and a classic of the time this is a great, lazy afternoon movie. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Samson and Delilah

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Most Popular at Home Now