Cecil B. DeMille has again dipped into the Bible for his material, made appropriately dramatic revisions in the original, and turned up with a DeMille-size smash.
The scriptwriters have woven from the abbreviated biblical telling of the Samson legend [from original treatments by Harold Lamb and Vladimir Jabotinsky] a lusty action story with a heavy coating of torrid-zone romance. Dozens of bit players and extras in tremendous, sweeping sets give size to the picture.
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.
The picture is claimed to have cost $3 million and looks well like it might have run considerably more than that.
1950: Best Color Art Direction, Color Costume Design (Edith Head)
Nominations: Best Color Cinematogrphy, Scoring of a Dramatic Picture, Special Effects
