I saw this movie at least two times. Even as a child, I was enchanted by the warm, reddish color photography that made the actors' skin glow, especially Tondelayo's legs. The reddish tint was due to the reflection from the bronze weapons and implements of the Philistines. Even Delilah's mirror was bronze. The story happened during the Bronze Age and the Philistines were masters of bronze metallurgy.
But now tell me this: Why do I have a memory of Susan Hayward as Delilah?
You are probably remembering 'Demetrius and the Gladiators' released by 20th Century Fox, in 1954. The film starred Victor Mature and Susan Hayward. In this film, Susan played Messalina, the notorious wife of Claudius. Her character was very similar to that of Delilah, except she was actually married, and then went on to become an Empress of Rome. You actually were referring to Delilah, even though you first called Hedy Tondelayo?
Wiley Danforth-Bivens
aka
ThunderJaws
Aaah so! That's why I remember Susan Hayward as a femme fatale in a costume period film.
shareIt seems more likely you were thinking of "David and Bathsheba" (1951). Just 2 years after "Samson & Delilah" (1949). Susan (Bathsheba) dallied with Gregory Peck in that one. . . Lots of firelit and moonlit scenes, too.
shareStrictly speaking, Early Iron Age. Still, bronze armour, weapons, etc. would have been in use. The Philistines introduced iron into the Middle East around 1175 B.C. (when they conquered the Hittites and other peoples and began settling in Canaan, where the Israelites were). It is generally accepted that they came from Crete, and thus DeMille's head of research, Henry Noerdlinger, was astute enough to depict Minoan-style figures on the doors of Delilah's father's house. The columns are also Minoan-style, modelled on those found at Knossos, Crete, in the so-called "Palace of Minos."
shareThanks for the info. All the while I thought the Philistines were the same or related to the Phoenicians, one of the fierce "Sea Peoples" that disrupted Egyptian civilization. So in a sense, the Philistines were one of the Helenistic or Ionian peoples and now I find it ironic that the word came to be associated with low brow culture.
shareSince you appreciated the info. that I supplied, I hope you don't mind if I correct a slight error on your part. The Phoenicians (whose principal cities were Tyre and Sidon) were Semitic, not Indo-European like the Philistines and other Sea Peoples, among whom were the Denyen, whom Homer called "Danaoi" (anglicized as "Danaans" in English, seemingly an alternative name for the
"Akhai[w]oi/Achaeans" of The Iliad). "Phoenix" is a Greek word for "purple" and was applied to the country because their great wealth was built upon the crimson/purple dye ("Tyrian purple") which they obtained from a particular type of shellfish. The land was called "Kena`an" (Canaan) by the Israelites, and that name is, I believe (I am relying on memory), derived from Kinahhu, an Akkadian word referring to the same dye.
The illustration on the DVD case looks so much like Susan Hayward that I assumed she played the part. I was confused during the opening credits as to why she was not mentioned.
shareThe story happened during the Bronze Age and the Philistines were masters of bronze metallurgy.
Bronze Age is a term generally ascribed to the period prior to the Iron Age. The end of the Bronze Age was approx. 800 BC. Copper + tin make bronze, so the copper you noticed was generally used when the smelting of copper and tin weren't necessary for strength. In short, copper, tin and their mixtures were the go-to metals defining the Bronze Age.
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