Samson and Delilah (1949)

Directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Starring Victor Mature, Hedy Lamarr, George Sanders, Henry Wilcoxon, Angela Lansbury, Fay Holden, Olive Deering, William Farnum, Julia Faye, Russ Tamblyn, Moroni Olsen.

Corny, incredulous spectacle from DeMille, a biblical epic derived as much from a serialized novel (Ze’ev Jabotinsky’s “Judge and Fool”, a.k.a., “Samson the Nazarite”) as the Book of Judges. Victor Mature’s lunkish woodenness as strongman Samson doesn’t exactly pair well with Hedy Lamarr’s vamping minx of a Delilah, yet their passion and betrayal are meant to set the screen aflame. Although highly-touted at the time, the production effects are mostly phony—the big collapsing Temple of Dagon set seen during the finale, Samson’s hysterical wrestling match with a “lion”, etc.—and the costuming is indistinct enough to look borrowed from other movies set anywhere between the Ancient World and the Early Middle Ages. The dialogue and acting are so ripe, I kept expecting it to lurch into full-blown parody at any moment and Mel Brooks would trot out as a barber or something. All this adds up to a lot of gassy oafishness, but also an armload of bad laughs, so at least it’s not as boring as most of this pic’s pseudo-monumental ilk. I do wonder, however, why no one can seem to agree on how one should pronounce “Philistine” (I heard at least four distinct forms). George Reeves has a bit part; DeMille narrates.

41/100