SAMSON (1961)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *uncanny*
MYTHICITY: *poor*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *sociological*

In contrast to the moderately interesting plot of GOLIATH AND THE GIANTS, which Brad Harris completed in or around in 1961, SAMSON is entirely run-of-the-mill.

There's no attempt to follow any aspect of the Samson story from the Bible, except that late in the story the doughty hero pulls down a series of columns to destroy some enemies. Samson is just a wandering, unattached strongman who happens to return to the country of Sulan. The viewer later finds out that the hero once friendly relations with the former (blonde) queen Milla, but now Milla's been replaced by new (brunette) queen Romilda, with whom Samson had a dalliance of some sort. Romilda's not entirely evil, though, because she's another example of a weak ruler manipulated by an evil advisor, one Warkalla (celebrated singer Serge Gainsborough). 

I'm gathering that at this point a lot of raconteurs had grown contemptuous of their audiences, for there's very little originality to SAMSON. The girls are nice to look at, and Samson triumphs over some tests, like the usual spiked-device tug-o-war. The only fairly animated scene is an early fight between Harris's Samson and another strongman, dubbed as "Millstone," possibly with some waggish reference to Samson's experiences in a mill. The latter was played by Alan Steel, who would soon headline his own peplum adventures, the best of which is probably HERCULES AGAINST THE MOON MEN.