Samson and Delilah (Rubens) was a Hebrew hero known for fighting the Philistines. Having fallen in love with Delilah, who has been bribed by the Philistines, Samson tells her the secret of his great strength: his uncut hair. Without his strength, Samson is captured by the Philistines. Rubens portrays the moment when, having fallen asleep on Delilah's lap, a young man cuts Samson's hair. Samson and Delilah are in a dark room, which is lit mostly by a candle held by an old woman to Delilah's left. Delilah is depicted with all of her clothes, but with her breasts exposed. Her left hand is
Samson and Delilah (1949 film) illustrator Henry Clive to paint his visualization of Delilah on canvas in spring of 1948. DeMille described his Delilah as "warm, soft, cunning" with a "dangerous capacity for vengeance." He further expressed her as a "combination of Vivien Leigh and Jean Simmons with a dash of Lana Turner." Adding to his dramatization of the biblical story, DeMille bought the rights to "Judge and Fool", a novel by Vladimir Jabotinsky which portrayed Delilah as the younger sister of Samson's wife. He felt the novel "made possible a connected drama" for the film. When DeMille first commenced production on the film in