The Devil Is a Woman (1935)

Director:

Josef von Sternberg

Writers:

Pierre Louÿs (novel)
John Dos Passos (adaptation)

Release Date:

1935 (Turkey)

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:

Spain | Cigarette Manufacturer | Pardon | Disguise | Beating

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 (replaced by Cesar Romero) (scenes deleted)

Also Known As:

Caprice Espagno (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

Germany:75 min | USA:79 min | Portugal:80 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) | UK:A (original rating) (1935) | UK:U (re-rating) (2006) | France:U | Portugal:M/12 | USA:Approved (PCA #538)

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

In Maximillian Schell's documentary "Marlene", Marlene Dietrich said that this was her favorite of her films.

Quotes:

Gov. Don Paquito 'Paquitito': If you catch a man stealing, shoot him. Less trouble afterwards.

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Capriccio Espagnol, Op.34

Did she ever appear more beautiful?

It may have been one of the flops of Dietrichs career upon its initial release in 1935 but that was mainly due to bad publicity, the Spanish government demanded that the film be banned and destroyed, thus making it such a rare treat to see for Dietrich fans. The film was also the only film that Marlene kept a personal copy of, Joseph Von-Sternbergs lighting and Dietrichs new eyebrows and make-up techniques make Marlene appear more beautiful than she ever did before or again. It is true that the films script is poor but one can forgive that, one can even forgive Dietrichs wooden acting and the poor songs she was forced to sing in the picture, we can forget about everything that is bad about the film because there is something so very impressive about it visually that when i watched it i couldnt take my eyes off the screen, today off course it is truly a masterpiece and the costumes that Dietrich wears are some of her most impressive, almost exceeding those marvellous costumes that she wore in Shanghai Express. It is sad to think that after this film Dietrichs career began to skid and never fully recovered.