Indeed, his page-to-projector adaptation of the Samson saga starring Victor Mature as Samson, Hedy Lamarr as Delilah, and based upon Judges 13-16 (4) was a "watershed film" (Schatz 1997, 394) that triggered the 1950-60s rash of Hollywood biblical epics. Not surprisingly, he was subsequently tagged "King of the epic Biblical spectacular" (Finler 1985, 32), the "high priest of the religious genre" (Holloway 1977, 26) and the "arch apostle of spectacle" (Clapham 1974, 21) amongst many other honours, titles and awards (see Essoe and Lee 1970, 245-247).Īs Hollywood's leading cinematic lay preacher who utilised the silver screen as his sermonising tool, DeMille deserved these critical and industry accolades. (3) Not only did DeMille help institute "the Age of Hollywood" (Paglia 1994, 12), but this pioneering " auteur of auteurs" (Vidal 1995, 303) became the master of the American biblical epic with such indelible classics as The Ten Commandments (silent), The King of Kings, Samson and Delilah and The Ten Commandments (sound). DeMille (2) (1881-1959), affectionately known as CB, was a co-founder of Hollywood, a progenitor of Paramount studio and an unsung auteur who helped turn an obscure Californian orange grove into a major movie centre that became the synonym for commercial filmmaking worldwide. DeMille's Samson and Delilah (1949)ĮXPLORING THE SUBTLE VARIETIES OF LOVE WITHIN CECIL B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah (1949) Subtle Varieties of Love within Cecil B.
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