Samson and Delilah

We’ve riffed pretty much every type of movie under the sun, but Samson and Delilah is our very first Biblical epic!

Except for the Thumbelina segment of Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny, of course; that’s gotta be in the Old Testament somewhere. 

Naturally, we wanted to pick something special and grand for our first foray into the genre, so we went with a TV movie from the 1980s. The production values may have you thinking it’s from the 60s, until you see a young Daniel Stern facing off against Philistines. Yes, before he was a Wet Bandit in Home Alone or a reflective baby boomer narrating The Wonder Years, he was a Biblical soldier guy! The movie also features the legendary Max von Sydow as a Philistine general, certainly the role he’s remembered most for today.

Daniel Stern’s friend is a guy named Samson, a big dumb chunk of muscle with a ponytail that gives him superpowers. Samson has a tendency to fall for women who betray him in complicated ways, starting with his wife and continuing with the seductive Delilah. Samson also has a tendency to fight his foes with unusual tools, including the jawbone of an ass and a bunch of foxes with their tails set on fire. Resourceful, maybe - but pretty weird, Samson!

Refresh yourself on this Sunday School classic done TV movie style. And try to avoid building false idols while you’re at it, that never seems to go well. Join Mike, Kevin and Bill for the barber-based drama of Samson and Delilah!

Written by Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett, Conor Lastowka, Sean Thomason, Jason Miller, and Zach Shatzer