Samson and Delilah (1949 film)

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Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox film Samson and Delilah is a 1949 American epic romantic biblical drama film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille and released by Paramount Pictures. It depicts the biblical story of Samson, a strongman whose secret lies in his uncut hair, and his love for Delilah, the woman who seduces him, discovers his secret, and then betrays him to the Philistines. It stars Victor Mature and Hedy Lamarr in the title roles, George Sanders as the Saran, Angela Lansbury as Semadar, and Henry Wilcoxon as Prince Ahtur.

Pre-production on the film began as early as 1935, but principal photography officially commenced in 1948. The screenplay, written by Jesse L. Lasky Jr. and Fredric M. Frank, is based on the biblical Book of Judges and adapted from an original film treatment by Harold Lamb, also drawing from Vladimir Jabotinsky's 1927 novel Samson the Nazirite.

Upon its release, the film was praised for its Technicolor cinematography, lead performances, costumes, sets, and innovative special effects.<ref name="The New York Times review">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Variety review">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Sfn After premiering in New York City on 21 December 1949, Samson and Delilah opened in Los Angeles on 13 January 1950. A massive commercial success, it became the highest-grossing film of 1950, and the third highest-grossing film ever at the time of its release. Of its five Academy Award nominations, the film won two for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design.<ref name="23rd Oscars">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Several costumes used in the film Samson and Delilah (1949) originated from Morocco, including traditional caftans.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Plot

Samson, a Danite Hebrew placed under Nazirite vows from birth by his mother Hazelelponit, is the leader and protector of the Danites, who are under Philistine rule. He plans to marry a Philistine woman named Semadar, who is also being courted by Ahtur, the military governor of Dan. While sneaking at Semadar's house before a Philistine lion hunt, Samson meets Semadar's younger sister, Delilah, who is enamored with him. When Samson is left behind by the hunting party, Delilah offers to help him reach the hunting spot first. They ride there together and are accosted by a young lion, whom Samson kills with his bare hands. The Philistine entourage arrives along with the Saran of Gaza and are told by Delilah of Samson's feat. After proving his strength once more by beating the Saran's champion, Samson asks for the Saran's blessing in taking Semadar as his wife. The Saran accepts, disappointing both Delilah and Ahtur.

At the wedding feast, Samson asks his guests a riddle based on his fight with the lion for a wager of thirty garments. Angered by the riddle's difficulty and after being coaxed by Delilah, the guests have Ahtur threaten Semadar to get the answer out of Samson. Semadar succeeds, and the guests humiliate Samson with the answer before the wedding’s conclusion. In anger, Samson goes out and attacks thirty Philistines to strip them of their garments and pay the wager, only to find upon his return that Semadar’s father Tubal had married her off to Ahtur. Tubal offers Delilah as a replacement, but Samson rejects her. When Samson attacks Ahtur in Semadar's chambers, a fight ensues, resulting in the deaths of Semadar and Tubal. Samson swears revenge and leaves to start burning the Philistine fields. An embittered Delilah also vows vengeance for Samson's rejection and the death of her family.

Now a hunted man, Samson continues his vendetta against the Philistines by raiding their caravans. In response, the Saran imposes heavy taxes on the Danites, promising to lift them only if they give up Samson. This works, and the frustrated Danites hand over Samson to Ahtur and a large regiment of Philistine troops. During a stopover en route to Gaza, Samson prays for strength and rips apart his bonds. He topples Ahtur's war chariot and uses a donkey's jawbone to club numerous Philistine soldiers to death.

As the Saran and the Philistine lords ponder how to defeat Samson, Delilah comes up with the idea of seducing him to learn the secret of his superhuman strength and deliver him for punishment in exchange for a large payment of silver. After encountering Samson in the valley of Sorek, Delilah spends days forming a romance with him until she eventually learns that his hair is the source of his strength. She asks him to run away with her but is foiled by the arrival of Saul and Miriam, Samson's friends, who tell him that his parents have been captured and tortured by the Philistines. Samson prepares to leave with them, but Delilah subdues him with spiked wine and cuts off his hair. When the weakened Samson awakes, he is captured by Ahtur and the Philistines, who blind him and put him to slave work.

Delilah relishes Samson's downfall at first but becomes remorseful upon finding out that he was blinded. After being tormented by her guilt for weeks, she decides to make amends by visiting Samson in prison, where they learn that his strength has returned. After the two of them reconcile, Delilah offers to spirit Samson away, but he learns that he will be brought to the temple of Dagon the next day as part of his public humiliation and torture. He decides to stay and warns Delilah not to come to the temple.

Despite Samson's warning, Delilah attends the feast at the temple, where Samson is brought out in front of a massive Philistine crowd. Miriam arrives with Saul and begs the Saran and Delilah in vain for Samson's freedom. Under the pretense of humiliating him, Delilah guides Samson to the temple's two main pillars at his behest. Once he stands between them, he tells Delilah to flee, but she remains, unseen by him, as he prays for strength and pushes the pillars apart. The pillars give way and the temple collapses, burying Samson, Delilah, and hundreds of Philistines under the rubble. Saul and Miriam mourn Samson's death, remarking that "men will tell his story for a thousand years."

Cast

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Production

Development

Cecil B. DeMille (seated, center) on the set of the film with cinematographer George Barnes behind him.

In April 1934, Paramount Pictures announced that its next "big picture" and DeMille's follow-up to Cleopatra (1934) would be Samson and Delilah, starring Henry Wilcoxon and Miriam Hopkins in the title roles.<ref name="Film Daily April 1934">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The film was eventually postponed and DeMille decided to produce and direct The Crusades (1935).

In May 1935, Motion Picture Daily informed that Samson and Delilah was "slated to start five weeks after the completion of The Crusades."<ref name="Motion Picture Daily May 1935">Template:Cite journal</ref> Paramount bought the film rights to the music and libretto of the 1877 opera Samson et Dalila.<ref name="Motion Picture Daily May 1935" /> DeMille paid $10,000 to historian Harold Lamb to write a film treatment of the biblical story of Samson and Delilah, which DeMille regarded as "one of the greatest love stories of all time."<ref name=oil>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref> Jeanie MacPherson was also hired to do research and collaborate with Lamb on the screenplay.<ref name="Motion Picture Daily May 1935" /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> DeMille considered filming it in the new three-strip Technicolor.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> After the release of The Crusades, Paramount negotiated a new contract with DeMille and cancelled Samson and Delilah in 1936.<ref name="Variety February 1936">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Ten years later, on August 15, 1946, DeMille publicly stated that Samson and Delilah would be his next project after Unconquered (1947).<ref name="Motion Picture Daily August 1946">Template:Cite journal</ref> DeMille later recalled in his autobiography that the Paramount executives had doubts about financing a "Sunday school tale."Template:Sfn They approved the project when DeMille showed them a sketch by artist Dan Groesbeck depicting a "big, brawny" Samson and a "slim and ravishingly attractive" Delilah.Template:Sfn He initially planned to film it in 1947,<ref name="Motion Picture Daily August 1946" /> but in October 1947, he said he would produce the film the following year with a "budget to be based on the anticipated world gross at that time."<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

In spring of 1948, DeMille hired illustrator Henry Clive to paint the "ideal Delilah" on canvas.<ref name=oil /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> He had studied paintings of Delilah by Peter Paul Rubens, Rembrandt, Gustave Doré, and Solomon Joseph Solomon, but wanted her to look modern.<ref name=oil /> DeMille said his Delilah "must have a dangerous capacity for vengeance. Warm, soft, cunning. A combination of Vivien Leigh and Jean Simmons with a dash of Lana Turner."<ref name=oil /> In July, he hired Henry Noerdlinger as a research coordinator.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Adding to his dramatization of the biblical story, DeMille bought the rights to Samson the Nazirite (published in the United States as Judge and Fool), a 1927 novel by Vladimir Jabotinsky, who portrayed Delilah as the younger sister of Samson's Philistine wife.Template:Sfn<ref name="De Mille Discusses Changes In 'Samson and Delilah' Epic">Template:Cite news</ref> <templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />

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Despite the renown of this iconic biblical story depicting their battle against the Philistines, the oppressed people represented by Samson are never once referred to as "Israelites", "Hebrews" or "Jewish" people. They are referred to only as Danites, members of the Tribe of Dan. This omission—or avoidance—occurred in the early days of the witch hunt into Communist—often Jewish—influence when Hollywood studio chiefs were very sensitive to the fact that the film industry was generally considered to be run by Jews.<ref name="Jewish image">Template:Cite book</ref>

Jesse L. Lasky Jr. and Fredric M. Frank completed the 186-page script on September 7, 1948.<ref name="Margaret Herrick Library">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Casting

Samson (Mature) and Delilah (Lamarr) inside Delilah's tent at the Valley of Sorek.

When he first planned the film in 1934, DeMille chose Paramount contract player Miriam Hopkins as Delilah and his new star Henry Wilcoxon as Samson.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="york">Template:Cite news</ref> The following year, he was considering other actors for those roles. In July 1935, columnist Louella Parsons reported that the director wanted to borrow James Cagney from Warner Bros. for the role of Samson.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In November, actresses Dolores del Río, Paulette Goddard, and Joan Crawford were suggested for the part of Delilah,<ref name="DeMille Gets Lots of Help Naming Samson and Delilah Characters in His Picture">Template:Cite news</ref> a role Grace Bradley wanted to play and also campaigned for.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In April 1936, he thought dancer Sally Rand could be "the perfect beautiful brute" as Delilah.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In October, DeMille signed a new contract with Paramount and said he was making a deal with Charles Bickford for Samson and asked Claudette Colbert to play Delilah.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By the end of 1936, the film was "indefinitely" shelved.<ref name="C.B. DeMille Switches From Bible to History">Template:Cite news</ref>

Twelve years later, when he restarted his plans for the film, DeMille stated, "For Samson, I want a combination Tarzan, Robin Hood, and Superman."<ref name="york" /> As early as December 1947, DeMille informed that he wanted to borrow Victor Mature from 20th Century Fox for the role.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In January 1948, columnist Erskine Johnson reported that Mature was one of DeMille's candidates for the role.<ref name="Hollywood To Fight Back: Film Folk Plan Battle Strategy">Template:Cite news</ref> Burt Lancaster was also considered but he declined due to a bad back.Template:Sfn Body builder Steve Reeves was another candidate and DeMille lobbied long and hard to get the studio to pick up Reeves,Template:Sfn but both DeMille and the studio wanted Reeves to tone down his physique, which Reeves, still young and new to the industry, ultimately refused to do.<ref>An Interview with Steeve Reeves from The Perfect Vision Magazine, Volume 6 Issue, July 22, 1994, at drkmr gallery</ref> In June 1948, after an 18-month search initially for an unknown "athletic young man",<ref name="Mature is Cast in 'Samson and Delilah'">Template:Cite news</ref> DeMille chose Mature after admiring his performance in the film Kiss of Death (1947).Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

DeMille and his staff considered many film stars of various nationalities for the role of Delilah. In September 1947, he said he wanted to cast Hedy Lamarr in the role.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She first caught his attention in 1939, when he planned a film starring her as the Jewish queen Esther.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He had also worked with her on Lux Radio Theatre. In December, he was thinking about giving the part to Rhonda Fleming but thought she was "too nice" for it.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In January 1948, DeMille's assistants voted Vivien Leigh the "perfect Delilah";<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> he attempted to hire her but found out she was very ill.<ref name="Hollywood To Fight Back: Film Folk Plan Battle Strategy" /> That same month, Ruth Roman made a screen test.Template:Sfn In March, Jean Simmons visited Hollywood and talked with DeMille about the role.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In April, DeMille was "seriously considering" Lizabeth Scott.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Columnist Hedda Hopper recommended Ann Sheridan, who "would make a luscious one."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By early June, DeMille had interviewed several actresses, including Lamarr and Sheridan.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He had an idea of what he was looking for in the actress: "For Delilah ... a sort of distilled Jean Simmons, Vivien Leigh and a generous touch of Lana Turner."<ref name="york"/> Others considered were Lucille Ball, Jeanne Crain, Linda Darnell, Ava Gardner, Greer Garson, Jane Greer, Susan Hayward, Rita Hayworth, Jennifer Jones, Viveca Lindfors, Patricia Neal, Maureen O'Hara, Nancy Olson, Gail Russell, Märta Torén, and Alida Valli.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn Template:Quote box

On June 19, 1948, the press announced that DeMille chose Hedy Lamarr.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> According to co-star Henry Wilcoxon, Lamarr (who was of Jewish descent,Template:Sfn as was DeMille himself on his mother's side) won the role of Delilah after DeMille saw her film The Strange Woman (1946).Template:Sfn Erskine Johnson revealed that Lamarr's portrayal of Tondelayo in White Cargo (1942) ultimately convinced DeMille to hire her.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Maria Montez wanted to play Delilah and was reportedly "so disappointed" that Lamarr got the role.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Yvonne De Carlo "cried into her tea cup" when Lamarr was cast and said, "[DeMille] told me two years ago that when he made the movie I would get the part."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was content with Lamarr's performance as Delilah, describing it as "more than skin-deep." He also described her as "a gazelle–incapable of a clumsy or wrong move", and she would flirtatiously refer to herself as "Delilah" and DeMille as her "Samson."Template:Sfn

Angela Lansbury plays Samson's "golden-haired" wife and Delilah's older sister, Semadar

In July 1948, DeMille gave the role of Semadar to Phyllis Calvert, but she relinquished the part due to illness.Template:Sfn Therefore, DeMille cast Angela Lansbury in the role in September.Template:Sfn When Lawrence Perry of The Pittsburgh Press interviewed Lansbury on September 24, 1949, he told her that the Bible does not describe Delilah as having a sister.<ref name="Film Star Glad She's Still Alive! Survives Peril of De Mille Film">Template:Cite news</ref> Lansbury replied, "Anyway, if Delilah didn't have a sister, Mr. DeMille has supplied one."<ref name="Film Star Glad She's Still Alive! Survives Peril of De Mille Film" />

Kasey Rogers auditioned and was screen-tested for the role of Miriam, the Danite girl who loves Samson.<ref name="Science Fiction Confidential: Interviews with 23 Monster Stars and Filmmakers">Template:Cite book</ref> But DeMille told her, "You're too pretty and you're too young", and Rogers was cast as a Philistine spectator in the temple scene and credited in the film as Laura Elliot.<ref name="Science Fiction Confidential: Interviews with 23 Monster Stars and Filmmakers" /> Rogers was given a close-up and several lines, including "Why can't I lead you like that?" and "It [the column] moved!" The role of Miriam was given to stage actress Olive Deering, who received sixth billing after the five main stars.

William "Wee Willie" Davis, a local professional wrestler, was cast in the role of Garmiskar, the Saran's wrestler who fights Samson. He was described as "seven feet tall and, with his costume on, tops the scales 350 pounds."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Filming

Principal photography began on October 4, 1948 and ended on December 22, 1948.Template:Sfn The scenes involving the plowed field were shot on January 4, 1949, and added scenes and closeups were shot between January 18 and January 21, 1949.Template:Sfn In February 1949, the rough cut of the film ran over three hours.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In late October 1948, Hedda Hopper visited the set of the film and described it as "harmonious, peaceful, and full of love."<ref name="Hedda Hopper visit October 1948">Template:Cite news</ref> She reported that DeMille awarded Mature one of his special "50-cent pieces" for "doing a dramatic scene well."<ref name="Hedda Hopper visit October 1948" /> Lamarr told Hopper that she had "just been waiting for DeMille and Technicolor", while DeMille said Lamarr was "unbelievably beautiful".<ref name="Hedda Hopper visit October 1948" /> Another columnist, Virginia MacPherson, wrote an article in which she detailed the informal, irreverent way Mature treated DeMille on the set. When Mature muffed a scene and DeMille complained, Mature talked back: "Take it easy, Bud. You can't replace me, y'know. Where else in town could you get anything this big who can talk."<ref name="Awe of DeMille Vanishes Under Mature's Onslaught">Template:Cite news</ref> Mature said DeMille eventually found his retorts amusing: "Didn't know how to take me, at first. He just stood there. Now he laughs."<ref name="Awe of DeMille Vanishes Under Mature's Onslaught" />

Victor Mature's double fought the lion.

For an early scene with Hedy Lamarr, DeMille originally wanted Mature to fight the lion barehanded in the full shot, but Mature refused and a stunt man performed the scene. Mature appears in the close-ups. After the film's premiere, DeMille revealed that Mature's double "got a dreadful clawing down his arm which necessitated painting the wound on Victor's arm."<ref name="DeMille's Lions Are Meanies: Beasts Play Rough In Samson Film">Template:Cite news</ref> "Vic was leary about tangling with the critter," Lamarr confided to Hedda Hopper in December 1948. "I told him, 'Don't be afraid. I'm not, and I'm even wearing a red dress.' He replied, 'You've got your animals mixed. This is a lion, not a bull.' When he started closing in on the lion, the cameraman shouted, 'If he jumps, Vic, try and stay in the lights.'"<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Mature himself later recounted the moment:

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I had no love for the lion, and he wasn't carrying any torch for me. In the scene where I was supposed to be stalking him, Cecil DeMille kept urging me to get closer, and I was calling out, "Nice kitty, nice kitty." Didn't do any good. The lion cast an unaffectionate eye upon me, and for a moment it looked like a question of who would jump first—me or the lion. The cameraman, seeing the situation, yelled, "If he jumps, Vic, try to keep yourself properly lighted for the shot." A stunt man finally tackled the lion.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>{{#if:|

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In late December 1948, the scene where Samson is blinded by the Philistines was filmed. The "red-hot" sword prop used had a blade made of opaque plastic with a red neon bulb inside the tip.<ref name="'Blinding' Of Vic Mature Is Fearsome But Painless">Template:Cite news</ref> The tub of coals from which the sword was drawn originally had real coals but DeMille replaced it because the coals did not look real on camera. The new tub contained pieces of colored glass resembling coals with electric lights glowing underneath them.<ref name="'Blinding' Of Vic Mature Is Fearsome But Painless" />

The 37-foot tall model of the temple of Dagon.

The film's special effects were supervised by Gordon Jennings.Template:Sfn The most spectacular special effect in the film is the toppling of the temple of Dagon, the god of the Philistines.Template:Sfn It is the penultimate scene in the film, cost $150,000, and took a year to shoot.Template:Sfn The bottom portion of the temple was constructed full-scale.Template:Sfn A separate 37-foot high model with a 17-foot high Dagon statue was built for the photographic effects.Template:Sfn The model was destroyed three times to shoot it through different camera angles.Template:Sfn Footage of the full-scale set was merged with footage of the scale model using a "motion repeater system" fabricated by Paramount, which enabled the exact repetition of camera moves.Template:Sfn

By July 1949, the film had been completely edited and was awaiting small touches concerning the music score and dubbing of sound effects.<ref name="DeMille Film Wins Cheers" /> Paramount executives and the audience at a sneak preview called it "DeMille's masterpiece."<ref name="DeMille Film Wins Cheers">Template:Cite news</ref>

Connection with Sunset Boulevard

DeMille's legendary status led him to play himself in Billy Wilder's film noir Sunset Boulevard (1950).Template:Sfn The film is about a fictional silent film star named Norma Desmond (played by Gloria Swanson) who, no longer active, once worked as an actress for DeMille. For the scene in which Desmond visits DeMille at Paramount, an actual set of Samson and Delilah was reconstructed to show the director at work.Template:Sfn The first day scheduled to shoot the scene was May 23, 1949, months after filming on Samson and Delilah had ended.Template:Sfn After the scene was shot in a total of four days, Wilder patted DeMille on the back and humorously told him, "Very good, my boy. Leave your name with my secretary. I may have a small part for you in my next picture."Template:Sfn Wilder later said that DeMille "took direction terrifically. He loved it. He understood it. He was very subtle."Template:Sfn

Release

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Samson and Delilah received its televised world premiere on December 21, 1949, at two of New York City's Broadway theatres, the Paramount and the Rivoli, in order to "accommodate the 7,000,000 movie-goers in the greater New York area."<ref name="BoxOffice December 10, 1949 page 26" /> People who attended the event included Mary Pickford, Buddy Rogers, and Barney Balaban.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The film eventually went into general release on January 13, 1950.<ref>Samson and Delilah (1949) - Release Info</ref>

It was successfully re-released in November 1959<ref name="Samson and Delilah (1950) – Notes">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> following the box office triumph of Joseph E. Levine's Hercules (1958).

Critical response

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Samson and Delilah received rave reviews upon its release in 1949. Showmen's Trade Review wrote that the film "bids fair to stand as this veteran showman's most impressive and magnificent spectacle since that history-making 1923 religious epic [The Ten Commandments]."<ref name="Showmen's Trade Review">Template:Cite journal</ref> A review in Harrison's Reports commented: "Mr. DeMille has succeeded, not only in keeping the story authentic, but also in presenting it in a highly entertaining way. Its combination of spectacularity and human interest will grip the attention of all movie-goers."<ref name="Harrison's Reports">Template:Cite journal</ref> The Modern Screen reviewer remarked, "It's tremendous, impressive, and beautiful to look at."<ref name="Modern Screen review">Template:Cite journal</ref> Boxoffice considered it the "most prodigious spectacle ever conceived," while The Film Daily stated that it "[s]tands monumental alongside any contender."<ref name="Today the voice of the public ...">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The Exhibitor, a trade magazine, declared: "This will be classed with the big films of all time."<ref name="Today the voice of the public ..." />

Variety appreciated the film's cast by writing, "Victor Mature fits neatly into the role of the handsome but dumb hulk of muscle that both the Bible and DeMille make of the Samson character. Hedy Lamarr never has been more eye-filling and makes of Delilah a convincing minx. George Sanders gives a pleasantly light flavor of satirical humor to the part of the ruler, while Henry Wilcoxon is duly rugged as the military man."<ref name="Variety review" /> Bosley Crowther of The New York Times admired the "dazzling displays of splendid costumes, of sumptuous settings and softly tinted flesh which Mr. DeMille's color cameras have brilliantly pageanted ... Color has seldom been more lushly or unmistakably used."<ref name="The New York Times review" />

Film critic Leonard Maltin, in his review for Samson and Delilah, wrote: "With expected DeMille touches, this remains a tremendously entertaining film."<ref name="TCM overview">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Box office

Samson and Delilah was enormously successful, earning $9 million in theatrical rentals in its initial release, thus making it the highest-grossing film of 1950.<ref name=Finler>Template:Cite book</ref> At the time of its release, it was the third highest-grossing film ever, behind Gone with the Wind (1939) and The Best Years of Our Lives (1946).<ref>List of highest-grossing films</ref> It was the second most popular film at the British box office that year.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

During its theatrical reissue, in 1959, it earned another $2.5 million in distributor rentals.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Accolades

The film's Academy Award-winning costumes include this peacock gown and cape designed by Edith Head and worn by Delilah (Lamarr) at the temple of Dagon.

In December 1949, Cecil B. DeMille was awarded the ParentsTemplate:' magazine medal for "thirty-five years of devotion to research in the production of historical pictures culminating in his greatest achievement, Samson and Delilah."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

The Christian Herald and the Protestant Motion Picture Council presented DeMille with its December 1949 Picture of the Month Award for Samson and Delilah.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In March 1950, Samson and Delilah was named one of the Best Pictures of 1949 at LookTemplate:'s Annual Film Awards.<ref name="Look's Annual Film Awards Put Paramount On Top">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Production Encyclopedia">Template:Cite book</ref> Cecil B. DeMille received the All Industry Achievement Award for the film.<ref name="Look's Annual Film Awards Put Paramount On Top" /><ref name="Production Encyclopedia" />

In December 1950, DeMille received the Boxoffice Barometer Trophy as the producer of Samson and Delilah, the "highest-grossing picture of the year."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

At the 8th Golden Globe Awards, on February 28, 1951, Samson and Delilah was nominated for Best Color Cinematography (George Barnes).<ref name="Golden Globes" />

At the 23rd Academy Awards on March 29, 1951, Samson and Delilah won for Best Color Art Direction (art directors Hans Dreier and Walter H. Tyler and set decorators Samuel M. Comer and Ray Moyer) and Best Color Costume Design (Edith Head, Dorothy Jeakins, Elois Jenssen, Gile Steele, and Gwen Wakeling).<ref name="23rd Oscars" /> It was also nominated for three more awards: Best Color Cinematography (George Barnes), Best Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (Victor Young), and Best Special Effects (Cecil B. DeMille Productions).<ref name="23rd Oscars" />

In May 1951, British moviegoers voted Hedy Lamarr's Delilah the tenth "best screen performance by an actress."<ref name="Anna Neagle's Film Award">Template:Cite news</ref>

In June 1952, Samson and Delilah won the Film français Grand Prix for Best Foreign Film of 1951.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Guide to the Silent Years of American Cinema">Template:Cite book</ref> Presented to DeMille, the Grand Prix is a small bronze replica of the Winged Victory of Samothrace displayed at the Louvre Museum.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

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Home media

In 1979, Paramount Home Video released the film on VHS and Betamax as a two-tape set. The VHS was released again in 1981 as a single-tape release, and then again in 1988<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and 1990.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

MCA DiscoVision was originally set to release the film on LaserDisc as part of a set of titles from Paramount Pictures in 1978, but their version was scrapped for unknown reasons. The first LaserDisc edition of Samson and Delilah was finally released in 1982. Ten years later, Paramount released a new LaserDisc edition that featured digital video transferred from a new 35mm interpositive of the original 3-strip Technicolor negatives.<ref>Notes from the 1992 LaserDisc edition of Samson and Delilah.</ref> DiscoVision's transfer, however, was used in the 1979 VHS and 1980s home media releases.

In 2012, a digital restoration of Samson and Delilah was completed.<ref name="PHE Press Release: Samson and Delilah">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The original three-strip Technicolor camera negatives were scanned at 4K on a Northlight scanner and then registered, cleaned, and color corrected in 4K by Technicolor Los Angeles.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="PHE Press Release: Samson and Delilah" /> The original music overture was restored and the film's original audio track was cleaned.<ref name="PHE Press Release: Samson and Delilah" /> The restored version received its premiere at Cineteca Bologna's Il Cinema Ritrovato 2012.<ref name="Cineteca Bologna">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Paramount Home Media Distribution released the film on DVD (with English, French, and Spanish audio and subtitles) on March 12, 2013.<ref name="TCM Shop">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The film was released on Blu-ray Disc (with the original theatrical trailer) on March 11, 2014.<ref name="1949 Cecil B. DeMille film Samson and Delilah on Blu-ray March 2014">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

See also

References

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Bibliography

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