''Samson und Delila'' is an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

, premiered in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

on 25 December 1922. It was released in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in October 1923 as ''Samson and Delilah''. The film, the first to be made at the Rosenhügel Film Studios, which were still under construction at the time, was directed by Alexander Korda under the aegis of the

Vita-Film Vita-Film was founded in 1919 as the successor company to Wiener Kunstfilm-Industrie by Anton and Luise Kolm. By 1923 Vita-Film had built the Rosenhügel Film Studios in the Vienna suburbs, which still stand and are still used for film producti ...

company and was among the first

epic film Epic films are a style of filmmaking with large-scale, sweeping scope, and spectacle. The usage of the term has shifted over time, sometimes designating a film genre and at other times simply synonymous with big-budget filmmaking. Like epics in ...

s to be made in Austria.

Cast

María Corda María Corda (born Mária Antónia Farkas; hu, Korda Mária; 4 May 1898 – 15 February 1976) was a Hungarian actress and a star of the silent film era in Germany and Austria. Biography She began her acting career in the theatres of Budap ...

- Julia Sorel / Delila, *

Franz Herterich Franz Herterich (3 October 1877 – 28 October 1966) was a German actor. He was born in Munich and died in Vienna. Partial filmography * '' The Eye of the Buddha'' (1919) * ''Der Traum im Walde'' (1919) - alter Diener * ''Todestreue'' (1919) * ' ...

- Prince Andrei Andrewiwitch/Abimelech * Ernst Arndt - Cassari, Impresario * Oskar Hugelmann - Ship's cook * Alfredo Boccolini - Samson * Franz Hauenstein - Ebn Ezra, Samson's friend *

Paul Lukas Paul Lukas (born Pál Lukács; 26 May 1894 – 15 August 1971) was a Hungarian actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor, and the first Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama for his performance in the film ''Watc ...

- Ettore Ricco, tenor The leading roles were played by Korda's wife,

(Delila, and the opera singer Julia Sorel);

(Abimelech, King of the Philistines, and Prince Andrej Andrewiwitsch);

(Ettore Ricco, opera singer); and Ernst Arndt (Cassari, and theatre impresario). Samson himself, who features comparatively little, was played by Alfredo Galoar aka Alfredo Boccolini. Other parts were played by Oscar Hugelmann and Franz Hauenstein.

Crew

The director was Alexander Korda on one of his earlier films, subcontracting to

. He also contributed to the screenplay, on which other writers were Sydney Garrick and Ladislao Vajda.

Cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to focu ...

and camera work were under Nicolas Farkas, Maurice Armand Mondet, and Josef Zeitlinger.

Karl Hartl Karl Hartl (10 May 1899 – 29 August 1978) was an Austrian film director. Life Born in Vienna, Hartl began his film career at the Austrian Sascha-Film company of Alexander Kolowrat and from 1919 was assistant to the Hungarian director Alexande ...

, at the beginning of his career, was assistant director and also editor. The set builder was

Alexander Ferenczy Alexander Ferenczy (1895–1931) was a Hungarian art director.Tabori p.70 Selected filmography * ''Samson and Delilah (1922 film), Samson and Delilah'' (1922) * ''The Portrait (1923 film), The Portrait'' (1923) * ''Fadette'' (1926) * ''Attorney fo ...

and the special effects were provided by the

pyrotechnician Pyrotechnicians are people who are responsible for the safe storage, handling, and functioning of pyrotechnics and pyrotechnic devices. Although the term is generally used in reference to individuals who operate pyrotechnics in the entertainment i ...

Oscar Wallenbach, while the costume design and wardrobe were provided by Remigius Geyling and Alexander Konja.

Release dates

The film's

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...

release was in Vienna on 25 December 1922. It opened in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

on 10 September 1923, in the UK in October 1923 and at

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

on 18 June 1925. It was released in the United States in 1931, after being provided with a soundtrack.

Critics

Reception was reasonably positive, although the actor playing Samson was not thought to be convincing. More serious criticism was aimed at the film's structure, which was not considered to tie the modern storyline and the Biblical storyline together sufficiently. ''Film-Kurier'', Nr. 93, 21.4.1923
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References

Sources

External links

* * * {{Samson Austrian silent feature films 1922 films Austrian historical films 1920s historical films Religious epic films Samson and Delilah 1922 Films directed by Alexander Korda Samson Austrian black-and-white films Silent adventure films