DeMille's legendary status led him to play himself in Billy Wilder's film noir "Sunset Boulevard". The film is about a fictional silent film star named Norma Desmond (played by Gloria Swanson) who, no longer active, once worked as an actress for DeMille. For the scene in which Desmond visits DeMille at Paramount, an actual set of "Samson and Delilah" was reconstructed to show the director at work. The first day scheduled to shoot the scene was May 23, 1949, months after filming on "Samson and Delilah" had ended. After the scene was shot in a total of four days, Wilder patted DeMille on the back and humorously told him, "Very good, my boy. Leave your name with my secretary. I may have a small part for you in my next picture." Wilder later said that DeMille "took direction terrifically. He loved it. He understood it. He was very subtle." "Samson and Delilah" received its televised world premiere on December 21, 1949, at two of New York City's Broadway theatres, the Paramount and the Rivoli, in order to "accommodate the 7,000,000 movie-goers in the greater New York area." Notable people who attended the event included Mary Pickford, Buddy Rogers, and Barney Balaban. It was successfully re-released in November 1959 following the box office triumph of Joseph E. Levine's "Hercules". "Samson and Delilah" received rave reviews upon its release in 1949. "Showmen's Trade Review" wrote that the film "bids fair to stand as this veteran showman's most impressive and magnificent spectacle since that history-making 1923 religious epic ["The Ten Commandments"]." The "Harrison's Reports" review says, "Mr. DeMille has succeeded, not only in keeping the story authentic, but also in presenting it in a highly entertaining way. Its combination of spectacularity and human interest will grip the attention of all movie-goers." The "Modern Screen" reviewer remarked, "It's tremendous, impressive, and beautiful to look at." "Boxoffice" considered it the "most prodigious spectacle ever conceived," while "The Film Daily" stated that it "[s]tands monumental alongside any contender." "The Exhibitor", a trade magazine, declared: "This will be classed with the big films of all time." "Variety" appreciated the film's cast by writing, "Victor Mature fits neatly into the role of the handsome but dumb hulk of muscle that both the Bible and DeMille make of the Samson character.