''Samson'' is a 1908 play by the French writer

Henri Bernstein Henri-Léon-Gustave-Charles Bernstein (20 June 1876 – 27 November 1953) was a French playwright associated with Boulevard theatre. Biography Bernstein was born in Paris. His earliest plays, including ''La Rafale'' (1905), ''Le Voleur'' (1907) ...

. It is a

melodrama A melodrama is a Drama, dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on ...

in which a poor man rises to become a wealthy tycoon. He marries a daughter of an aristocratic family whose impoverished relatives pressure her to wed him. The marriage proves a disaster for the protagonist, as his power is destroyed. The plot and title are a reference to the story of

Samson SAMSON (Software for Adaptive Modeling and Simulation Of Nanosystems) is a computer software platform for molecular design being developed bOneAngstromand previously by the NANO-D group at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science an ...

and

Delilah Delilah ( ; , meaning "delicate";Gesenius's ''Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon'' ; ) is a woman mentioned in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. She is loved by Samson, a Nazirite who possesses great strength and serves as t ...

Adaptations

The play was adapted into four film versions:Goble p.38 * ''

'', a 1915 American silent * '' Shackles of Gold'', a 1922 American silent * ''

'', a 1923 Italian silent * ''

'', a 1936 French film

References

Bibliography

* Goble, Alan. '' The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999. 1908 plays French plays adapted into films {{1900s-play-stub