The Devil Is a Woman (1935)

Director:

Josef von Sternberg

Writers:

Pierre Louÿs (novel)
John Dos Passos (adaptation)

Release Date:

15 March 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Kiss me .. and I'll break your heart!

Plot:

Film told in flashbacks of an older man's obsession for a woman who can belong to no-one but can frustrate everyone...

Plot Keywords:

Beating | Betrayal | Bullfighter | Cafe | Carnival

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Marlene Dietrich	...	Concha Perez
Lionel Atwill	...	Capt. Don Pasqual 'Pasqualito' Costelar
Edward Everett Horton	...	Gov. Don Paquito 'Paquitito'
Alison Skipworth	...	Senora Perez
Cesar Romero	...	Antonio Galvan
Don Alvarado	...	Morenito (bullfighter)
Tempe Pigott	...	Tuerta
Francisco Moreno	...	Alphonso (Paquito's secretary) (as Paco Moreno)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hank Mann	...	Foreman on snowbound train (scenes deleted)
Joel McCrea	...	Antonio Galvan (scenes deleted)

Also Known As:

Caprice Espagno (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

Portugal:80 min | Germany:75 min | USA:79 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

Portugal:17 | Portugal:(Banned) (original rating) | France:U | Portugal:M/12 | USA:Approved (PCA #538)

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The Spanish government threatened to bar all Paramount films from Spain and its territories unless the film was withdrawn from worldwide circulation. They protested the unfavorable portrayal of the Spanish police. Paramount destroyed the original print after its initial run, and it remained out of circulation until 1959.

Quotes:

Antonio Galvan: You're a very beautiful woman. It's easy to see why men should lose their heads over you.
Concha Perez: Is it easy?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sex at 24 Frames Per Second (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Capriccio Espagnol, Op.34

Once again, Marlene Dietrich plays the vamp,....not much of a stretch, huh?!

I must admit at the outset that I don't particularly like a style of film that was very popular in the 1920s and 30s--the "über-vamp" type of movie where a woman is so alluring and seductive that men fall at their feet--helpless! Both Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo became famous for such roles and frankly, they seem awfully silly in the 21st century. First off, no woman is THAT seductive. Second, with all the makeup and eyebrow plucking, if there WAS that type of woman, it certainly wouldn't look like either of these women! The bottom line is that this theme is one giant cliché and writing these films was pretty much "by-the-numbers" in most cases--in other words, it didn't require a whole lot of creativity or thought.

In this case, much of the story is told through flashbacks, as Lionel Atwill is trying to warn young Caesar Romero to stay away from Marlene. And, in these flashbacks, Ms. Dietrich does play an awful and totally selfish woman. But, at the same time, Atwill (and later, other male characters) plays the role of a weak and ineffectual man--more like a masochist in a sick relationship than a man. All this is meant to be very sensationalistic--I just thought it was all pretty silly.

If you MUST see this type of film, I suggest you see the Luis Buñuel film, THE OBSCURE OBJECT OF DESIRE--which is, in fact, a comedic takeoff on THE DEVIL IS A WOMAN. The overall plot is nearly identical but the film is played more for laughs and shock value--which is exactly how THE DEVIL IS A WOMAN should have been played! In other words, since the plot was so poor and old fashioned, lampooning it is probably the only thing to do with it! A silly film that is moderately interesting, but totally unbelievable and clichéd. It only merits a 6 because the production values are high and the actors do the best they can with this bilge.