Samson and Delilah (1949 film)
Samson and Delilah is a 1949 American film that depicts the biblical story of Samson and Delilah.
- Directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Screenplay by Jesse Lasky Jr. and Fredric M. Frank from original treatments by Harold Lamb and Vladimir Jabotinsky, based upon the history Samson and Delilah in the Holy Bible, Judges 13–16.
Narrator
[edit]- Before the dawn of history, ever since the first man discovered his soul, he has struggled against the forces that sought to enslave him. He saw the awful power of nature arrayed against him—the evil eye of the lightning, the terrifying voice of the thunder, the shrieking, wind-filled darkness enslaving his mind with shackles of fear. Fear bred superstition, blinding his reason. He was ridden by a host of devil gods. Human dignity perished on the altar of idolatry. And tyranny arose, grinding the human spirit beneath the conqueror's heel. But deep in man's heart still burned the unquenchable will for freedom. When this divine spark flames in the soul of some mortal—whether priest or soldier, artist or patriot, lover or statesman—his deeds have changed the course of human events and his name survives the ages. In the village of Zorah, in the land of Dan, 1,000 years before the birth of Christ, lived such a man. In him, the elements had fused greatness and weakness, strength and folly. But with these, was a bold dream—liberty for his nation. The man's name was Samson. For 40 years, the Philistines had held his people in bondage.
Samson
[edit]- [to Delilah] My eyes could never find more beauty than they see in you.
Delilah
[edit]- [to Samson] Come with me to Egypt. We'll not be Danite and Philistine there, only Samson and Delilah. In the Valley of the Nile, the air will be sweet with myrrh, and only the flight of the ibis will darken the sky. Will you come with me?
Dialogue
[edit]- Samson: Where's your husband?
- Delilah: I have no husband
- Samson: Then call your master.
- Delilah: I have no master.
- Samson: The table's laid for two.
- Delilah: I'm expecting a caller.
- Samson: Yes? Who?
- Delilah: You, Samson.
- Samson: What do you want with those green withes? Planning to snare a rabbit?
- Delilah: No... a lion.
- Samson: With those?
- Delilah: I'm weaving you a crown.
- Samson: A lion with lilies in his mane?
- Delilah: Hold these. This crown will have a secret power.
- Samson: For its wearer or its weaver?
- Delilah: Only a secret can buy a secret.
- Samson: I have no secrets left to tell.
- Delilah: You never told me why you're stronger than other men. Is it some herb you mix in your food or some charmed oil you rub into your body?
- Samson: What would you do if you knew the secret of my strength?
- Delilah: Bind you.
- Samson: Why?
- Delilah: So you could never leave me.
- Samson: Delilah...
- Delilah: No, I will not listen.
- Samson: But you asked me to...
- Delilah: I don't want to hear you.
- Samson: Three times you plagued me to tell you.
- Delilah: And three times you've lied to me. You said new ropes that had never been used would hold you.
- Samson: Who knows the strength of a rope that's never been used?
- Delilah: Then you told me your strength would go if I wove your hair to the web of my loom. Now look at my loom.
- Samson: Look about you, Delilah. The moon that lights this oasis by night and the sun that lights it by day are not there by chance. In the beginning, there was only darkness, until one power created light and shaped the Earth and all the things that live upon it.
- Delilah: Your invisible God.
- Samson: My strength comes from Him.
- Delilah: But how does His power reach you? Is He here with us now?
- Samson: He's everywhere. In the wind, in the sea, in the fire. In your heart if you believe in Him. His is the only power in the world that can break open a seed and raise it into that great tree. [Samson and Delilah look up at a palm tree.]
- Delilah: And can I share this power with you?
- Samson: Anyone can share it. It's a gift that makes men greater than themselves. With it, some can stir the soul with music. Others can read the truth in men's hearts and forgive them. To me, it's the strength to break any bonds that can be put upon me.
- Delilah: Will you always have this strength?
- Samson: As long as I keep faith with the Almighty. A long time ago, I was dedicated to Him. Many of the vows I've broken, but one I've kept.
- Delilah: A vow has made you strong?
- Samson: Oh, it's much more than that. [pauses] Do you remember the lion I killed?
- Delilah: I'll never forget.
- Samson: The strength of the lion makes him king of beasts. The great ruff of his mane is the mark of his power.
- Delilah: Go on, Samson.
- Samson: Men of the desert know that the long flowing mane of the stallion is the mark of his power. Among my people, they say that the strongest ram has the heaviest wool. But clip the mark of his power... shear him, and he becomes a thing to laugh at. The shield of his strength is gone. You've seen the eagle climb the sky. But pluck the two prime feathers from the tip of one wing, and the mighty eagle can no longer fly. The mark of his power is gone.
- Delilah: The mark of his power. Samson. [puts her hands on Samson's head and grabs his hair] This is the mark of your power. It's your hair. If it were shorn from your head...
- Samson: I'd be as weak as any other man.
- Delilah: You believe that this great God of yours has given you your power through your hair? You do believe that, don't you?
- Samson: From the beginning, my mother taught me so.
- Delilah: Your power is in your hair. What a beautiful power it is. Look how it curls around my finger. Black as a raven's wing and wild as a storm. Shall I pull it out and steal your power?
- Samson: You cannot steal what's yours already.
External links
[edit]- Samson and Delilah quotes at the Internet Movie Database