DAGON Prop from SAMSON AND DELILAH |
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A cast plaster figure of the pagan god, DAGON, created for and seen in multiple scenes of Cecil B. DeMille's classic SAMSON AND DELILAH (PAR. 1949). This film is intertwined with Billy Wilder's classic film SUNSET BLVD., shot at PARAMOUNT at the same time. In the fictional story of faded silent queen, Norma Desmond, who yearns for a 'return' to film glory, she visits Mr. DeMille, her former mentor, while on the set of SAMSON AND DELILAH then in production, where he is shooting the hair cutting sequence. Mr. DeMille played himself in more than a cameo appearance. He even greets Gloria Swanson, who is playing Norma, as "Young Fellow", a nickname he had bestowed upon her in real life some 30 years earlier. The films also shared the same set designer, Hans Dreier, top man on the lot since 1929, who was nearing retirement. In an inside joke, he places a DAGON figure in SUNSET BLVD., that can be seen during the New Year's Eve party in 'Artie's' apartment, played by Jack Webb, next to the telephone. Later, at the 1950 Academy Awards, Dreier won Oscars for both pictures, as the Set Decoration category was divided between Color and B/W films. He soon retired. Three years later, images of DeMille's office showed he still had four DAGONs on display. There was also a gold one kept on his credenza at his home office. That one was sold in October 1988 (although DeMille himself died in Jan. 1959, his estate was not sold until after the death of his daughter in March 1988) at his Estate sale at Christie's East in NYC. Our DAGON has had black paint applied over the gold at some point. A few DAGONs were painted silver. These are the only two survivors we have seen in 18 years. |
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