''Gideon and Samson'': ''Great Leaders of the Bible'' (or ''I grandi condottieri'') is a 1965

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

historical film A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swa ...

directed by

Marcello Baldi Marcello Baldi (1 August 1923 – 22 July 2008) was an Italian director and a screenwriter. Life and career Born in Telve, Telve Valsugana, from 1940 to 1954 Baldi worked as assistant director for, among others, Alessandro Blasetti, Lionello De F ...

and Francisco Pérez-Dolz. Consisting of two segments, the first half tells the story of

Gideon Gideon (; ) also named Jerubbaal and Jerubbesheth, was a military leader, judge and prophet whose calling and victory over the Midianites are recounted in of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. Gideon was the son of Joash, from the Abiez ...

, while the second the story of

Samson Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...

Plot

Israelites are faulted for worshipping

Baal Baal (), or Baal,; phn, , baʿl; hbo, , baʿal, ). ( ''baʿal'') was a title and honorific meaning "owner", "lord" in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during Ancient Near East, antiquity. From its use among people, it cam ...

instead of

Jehovah Jehovah () is a Latinization of the Hebrew , one vocalization of the Tetragrammaton (YHWH), the proper name of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible/ Old Testament. The Tetragrammaton is considered one of the seven names of God in Judais ...

. Jehovah is said to have abandoned the Israelites for worshiping

false god The phrase ''false god'' is a derogatory term used in Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, the Baháʼí Faith, and Islam) to indicate cult images or deities of non-Abrahamic Pagan religions, as well as other competin ...

s instead of Jehovah himself. Gideon chooses an army of 300 (Judges 7:8) to wage war against the Midianites. Gideon delivers Israelites from the hands of

Midian Midian (; he, מִדְיָן ''Mīḏyān'' ; ar, مَدْيَن, Madyan; grc-gre, Μαδιάμ, ''Madiam'') is a geographical place mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and Quran. William G. Dever states that biblical Midian was in the "northwest Ar ...

ite raiders. Gideon captures the kings of Midian Zebah and Zalmunna (Judges 8:10). After Gideon's son Jeter shies away from

decapitating Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...

the two Midianite kings, Gideon slays the kings personally (Judges 8:21).

Cast

Anton Geesink Antonius Johannes Geesink (6 April 1934 – 27 August 2010) was a Dutch people, Dutch List of judoka#Highest grades, 10th dan judoka. He was the first non-Japanese judoka to win gold at the World Judo Championship, a feat he accomplished in 1961 ...

as Samson *

Rosalba Neri Rosalba Neri (born 19 June 1939) is a retired Italian actress. Early life Born in Forlì, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Neri was regarded for her beauty even in youth, winning a beauty pageant when she was still young. Eventually pursuing an acting ca ...

as Delilah *

Ivo Garrani Ivo Garrani (6 February 1924 – 25 March 2015) was an Italian actor and voice actor. In films since 1952, Garrani is possibly best known for his role as Prince Vajda in Mario Bava's '' Black Sunday'' (1960). Biography Born in Introdacqua, ...

as Gideon * Maruchi Fresno as Gideon's wife * Fernando Rey as The stranger *

Giorgio Cerioni Giorgio may refer to: * Castel Giorgio, ''comune'' in Umbria, Italy * Giorgio (name), an Italian given name and surname * Giorgio Moroder, or Giorgio, Italian record producer ** ''Giorgio'' (album), an album by Giorgio Moroder * "Giorgio" (song), ...

as Gideon's son *

Luz Márquez Luz Márquez (born María de la O García Márquez Soler; 12 December 1935 in Madrid, Spain), is a Spanish actress whose brief but intense acting career lasted ten years from 1956 to 1966. She appeared in more than 35 films, including '' Manolo Gua ...

as Gaza *

Ana María Noé Ana María Noé (1914 – 9 July 1970) was a Spanish actress. Biography Ana María Noé began her artistic career in Barcelona and began to gain prominence after the Spanish Civil War. By 1940 she had her own company with which she performed ''Lo ...

as Samson's mother *

Mirko Ellis Mirko Ellis (4 September 1923 – 11 September 2014) was a Swiss-Italian film, stage and television actor. Born Mirko Korcinsky in Locarno to a family of Lithuanian origin, Ellis moved, after his studies, to Italy, where he made his film debut i ...

Piero Gerlini This is a list of male actors from Italy, which generally includes those who have resided in Italy or have largely appeared in Italian film productions. This list includes all actors from :Italian male actors. Persons are listed alphabetical ...

Paolo Gozlino Paolo is both a given name and a surname, the Italian language, Italian form of the name Paul (name), Paul. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Paolo Art *Paolo Alboni (1671–1734), Italian painter *Paolo Abbate (1 ...

as the Prince of Gaza *

José Jaspe José Jaspe ( gl, Xosé Jaspe Rivas) (10 August 1906 – 5 June 1974) was a Spanish film actor. He played Konev the conductor in '' Horror Express'' (1972), Ahmed in '' House of 1,000 Dolls'' (1967), Henneker in ''The Man Called Noon'' (1973), th ...

References

External links

* 1965 films 1960s Italian-language films Sword and sandal films Films about Samson Book of Judges Films directed by Marcello Baldi Films shot in Almería Peplum films 1960s Italian films {{1960s-Italy-film-stub