Handbook for the Cecil B. DeMille Production "Samson and Delilah"

Typescript copy dated "October 21, 1948." Quarto. Approximately 160pp. Bradbound loose photomechanically reproduced sheets in yellow wrappers. Very good or better with wear at the corners and spine, and the front wrap pulled through the top brad along with a small chip. An enormous handbook used during preproduction and filming of Cecil B. DeMille's epic 1949 production of *Samson and Delilah*, starring Hedy Lamar, Victor Mature, George Sanders, and Angela Lansbury. The book contains an alphabetical list of everything: pronunciation keys to words in Hebrew and Egyptian; list of various weapons used in the film; mini histories of Assyria, Greece, and the Bible; descriptions of the various drinks and food consumed in the film; names of flowers and foliage; descriptions of hair styles, prayer postures, salutations, and more. An exhaustive and vital volume of reference material used to produce this Biblical epic and top box office earner raking in more than $11 million.