Satan Met a Lady (1936)

Director:

William Dieterle

Writers:

Brown Holmes (screen play)
Dashiell Hammett (based on a novel by)

Release Date:

22 July 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Sardonic detective Shane, thrown out of one town for bringing trouble, heads for home and his ex-partner's detective agency...

Plot Keywords:

Horn | Train | Shot To Death | Widow | Spoof

Cast

Bette Davis	...	Valerie Purvis
Warren William	...	Ted Shane
Alison Skipworth	...	Madame Barabbas
Arthur Treacher	...	Anthony Travers
Marie Wilson	...	Miss Murgatroyd
Wini Shaw	...	Astrid Ames (as Winifred Shaw)
Porter Hall	...	Milton Ames
Olin Howland	...	Detective Dunhill
Charles C. Wilson	...	Detective Pollock (as Charles Wilson)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Alexander	...	Black Porter (uncredited)
J.H. Allen	...	Bootblack (uncredited)
May Beatty	...	Mrs. Arden (uncredited)
Barbara Blane	...	Babe (uncredited)
Billy Bletcher	...	Father of Sextuplets (uncredited)
Raymond Brown	...	Fourth City Fathers Committee Member (uncredited)
James P. Burtis	...	Detective (uncredited)
Frank Darien	...	Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
William B. Davidson	...	Spokesman - City Fathers Committee (uncredited)
Don Downen	...	Reporter (uncredited)
John Elliott	...	City Fathers Committee Member (uncredited)
Sol Gorss	...	Jackie Farrow (uncredited)
Kid Herman	...	Bootblack (uncredited)
Maynard Holmes	...	Kenneth - Barabbas's Young Gunman (uncredited)
Joe King	...	Detective (uncredited)
Alice La Mont	...	Mother of Sextuplets (uncredited)
Alphonse Martell	...	Headwaiter (uncredited)
Edward McWade	...	City Fathers Committee Member (uncredited)
Bert Moorhouse	...	Extra on Dance Floor (uncredited)
Edmund Mortimer	...	Extra on Dance Floor (uncredited)
John J. Richardson	...	Second Photographer (uncredited)
Cliff Saum	...	Patrol Officer (uncredited)
Francis Sayles	...	Detective (uncredited)
Eddie Shubert	...	Detective (uncredited)
Ray Turner	...	The Porter (uncredited)
Huey White	...	Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Leo White	...	Room Service Waiter (uncredited)
Douglas Williams	...	Dock Walloper (uncredited)
Jack Wise	...	Pushy Photographer (uncredited)

Directed by
William Dieterle

Writing credits
Brown Holmes		(screen play)
Dashiell Hammett		(based on a novel by)

Original Music by
Bernhard Kaun		(uncredited)
Heinz Roemheld		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Arthur Edeson

Film Editing by
Warren Low

Art Direction by
Max Parker

Costume Design by
Orry-Kelly		(gowns)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eugene Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	musical director (uncredited)
M.K. Jerome	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Other crew
Gene Lewis	....	dialogue director
Henry Blanke	....	supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1936) (USA) (theatrical)
• Vitaphone Corporation, The (1936) (USA) (theatrical) (as The Vitaphone Corp'n.)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (video)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

74 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate #1869)

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The second of three film adaptations of Dashiell Hammett's "The Maltese Falcon," this film has notable connections to both other versions. First, this film's screenwriter, Brown Holmes, was also credited as a screenwriter on the 1931 version, directed by Roy Del Ruth. Second, this film's cinematographer, Arthur Edeson, was also the director of photography for John Huston's version in 1941. Third, Warren William, who plays the Sam Spade character (Ted Shane) in this film, also played Perry Mason in a series of films beginning in 1934, but was replaced in 1936 by Ricardo Cortez - who had played Sam Spade in the 1931 "Maltese Falcon". Finally, Bette Davis filled in for Raymond Burr when he had to have surgery in "The Case of the Constant Doyle".

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): The sign at the site of the first murder is misspelled; it reads "Glen Lawn Cemetary."

Quotes:

Valerie Purvis:Do you mind very much, Mr. Shane, taking off your hat in the presence of a lady with a gun?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hollywood Mouth (2008)

Soundtrack:

I'd Rather Listen to Your Eyes

If you wanna stump it, bump it with a trumpet

Boy, once Warner Brothers bought a property, they did everything but serve it for dinner. 1936's "Satan Met a Lady" is yet another version of "The Maltese Falcon," which was finally given the classic touch by John Huston in 1941. This particular version is out of control but manages to be a lot of fun at the same time.

This time Sam Spade is named Shane, and he's played by '30s star Warren William. William was a tall, handsome man with sharp features and a refined speaking voice - by this time, he was the Warners version of William Powell, though he had started his career as an unsympathetic, precode villain. A more extroverted performer, he excelled at the William Powell-type vehicles. He even took over for Powell as Philo Vance. William was the movie Perry Mason, and if you think this is a wild "Maltese Falcon," you should see what was done to Perry before the TV series. Put it this way - Della Street wore diamonds.

In this version, the falcon is the Horn of Roland, a trumpet stuffed with jewels, and it's being sought by a young, pretty Bette Davis in the Bebe Daniels-Astor role, and now the Sydney Greenstreet character has had a sex change in the form of Madame Barrabas (Alison Skipworth). Though there's no doubt Barrabas a ruthless character. and the usual people have been murdered by the usual people, this version is pretty much played for laughs. It moves faster than the Cortez version, and while Cortez played Spade as a delightful rogue, William has a ball, laughing at the whole thing as he collects money from everyone. In the Cortez version, Spade had some feeling for Ms. Wonderly (Bebe Daniels); here, William clearly enjoys playing the field and never takes the Davis character seriously. Shane's secretary in "Satan Met a Lady" is played by Marie Wilson, whose part is quite large. She's very funny. Davis is okay, but her sincerity isn't believable - at this point in her career, she's still a little stagey.

The very tongue-in-cheek William runs this show, which is done in the style of "The Thin Man." Though it was a bomb when it was released, today it's of interest for Davis, its handling of the material, and also as a chance to see William, who died in 1948, in top form. After this film, he went into character roles.

Recommended.