Samson and Delilah (1984 film)

Samson and Delilah
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Genre	Adventure Fantasy Action
Written by	Eric Linkletter (Book) John Gay
Directed by	Lee Philips
Starring	Max von Sydow Belinda Bauer Antony Hamilton Daniel Stern Victor Mature
Music by	Maurice Jarre
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
Production
Executive producer(s)	Gregory Harrison
Producer(s)	Franklin R. Levy
Cinematography	Gerry Fisher
Editor(s)	George Jay Nicholson
Running time	95 mins.
Production company(s)	Catalina Productions
Distributor	ABC
Release
Original network	ABC
Original release	April 1, 1984

Samson and Delilah is a 1984 television movie adaptation of the biblical story of Samson and Delilah, starring Max von Sydow, Belinda Bauer, Antony Hamilton, Daniel Stern and Victor Mature. Mature played Samson in the 1949 film and had a small cameo as the father of Antony Hamilton's Samson. This was his final acting role. Based on the novel Husband of Delilah by Eric Linkletter, Samson and Delilah originally aired on ABC.

Plot

Mostly the same as the original biblical story, but with notable differences such as, once again, the expanded role of Delilah (Bauer), the introduction of the garrison commander (Stern) who is friends with Samson (Hamilton), more focus upon Samson's relationship with his first wife, a different handling of the 30 garments bet, and, perhaps the most crucial alteration is to the climax. In the original story, maintained in the 1949 film and the 1996 TV remake, is that Samson only regains his strength after his hair has grown long again, thus allowing him to tear down the Philistine temple. Here, however, Samson is taken to the Philistine temple just after his hair has been cut short, and he prays to God to restore his immense strength despite his short hair, and God complies, allowing Samson enough strength to tear down the stone pillars, thus destroying the temple.

Unlike the 1949 and 1996 adaptations, Delilah survives to mourn Samson alongside his followers.

Cast

• Antony Hamilton.....Samson
• Belinda Bauer.....Delilah
• Angélica Aragón.....Nija
• David Byrd.....Elon
• David S. Eisner.....Arin
• José Ferrer.....The High Priest
• Jennifer Holmes.....Varinia
• Stephen Macht.....Maluck
• Victor Mature.....Manoah
• Clive Revill.....Raul
• Rene Ruis.....The Temple Man
• Maria Schell.....Deborah
• Brandon Scott.....The Magician
• Daniel Stern.....Micah
• Max von Sydow.....Sidka

Award nominations

Year	Award	Result	Category	Recipient
1984	Emmy Award	Nominated	Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling	Jan Van Uchelen
1985	BAFTA Award		Best Short Film	Mark Peploe

External links

• Samson and Delilah at IMDb
• Samson and Delilah at AllMovie