The Devil Is a Woman (1935)

A young man is warned by a captain about a temptress; nonetheless, he finds himself falling in love with her.

Director:

Josef von Sternberg

Writers:

Pierre Louÿs (novel) (as Pierre Louys), John Dos Passos (adaptation)

Stars:

Marlene Dietrich, Lionel Atwill, Edward Everett Horton

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited 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
Tempe Pigott	...	Tuerta (as Tempe Piggott)
Francisco Moreno	...	Alphonso (as Paco Moreno)

Storyline

Film told in flashbacks of an older man's obsession for a woman who can belong to no-one but can frustrate everyone. The backdrop is SternbergÍs surreal and fantastic Carnaval in Spain. In a café the older man details his encounters with the heart breaker that his younger friend has only just met at the parade. Forewarned, the young man swears he will avoid the fate of his friend, but rushes all the same to his evening rendezvous. A dreamlike story of frustrated, lost romance, spoken in the past tense, never really resolved.

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Plot Keywords:

red wine | champagne | gold coin | spain | flashback | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

1935 (Turkey)

Also Known As:

Caprice Espagno

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch - 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$800,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"(If It Isn't Pain) Then It Isn't Love" by Ralph Rainger and Leo Robin was recorded for this movie but cut from the final print.

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Quotes

Gov. Don Paquito 'Paquitito': Here! Where are you going?
Concha Perez: Good morning, Paquitito.
Gov. Don Paquito 'Paquitito': Oh. I should have known. You're the only woman in town worth fighting for. I'm sorry, Concha. I'll have to arrest this gallant gentleman.
[to the police]
Gov. Don Paquito 'Paquitito': Arrest him, I said! Take him away!
[to Concha]
Gov. Don Paquito 'Paquitito': If only you knew how willingly I'd exchange places with either one of them for your smile.
Concha Perez: Do you still like me, Paquito?
Gov. Don Paquito 'Paquitito': Concha, I haven't slept for seventy-two hours. This carnival has been purgatory. I'm about to go home to my wife, which does ...
[...]

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Connections

Version of The Woman and the Puppet (1929)

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Soundtracks

Three Sweethearts Have I
Music by Ralph Rainger
Lyrics by Leo Robin
Sung by Marlene Dietrich and chorus in the cafe

User Reviews

The one thing everyone seems to miss

The one thing everyone seems to miss Is that Lionel Atwill looks a lot like Sternberg. Looking at the Dietrich/Sternberg collaborations it's hard not to notice that Adolph Menjou, Herbert Marshall, and Lionel Atwill seem to be Sternberg surrogates, which knowing about the Dietrich/Sternberg relationship, adds a perversity and depth to viewing the films.

If you look at the screen test for Blue Angel available on the blue angle DVD, you can already see Dietrich's disdain that seems an enormous part of her screen character in their collaborations. The Devil is a Woman is a story of a man who ruins his career in pursuit of a woman. Pretty hard not to see parallels to Sternberg's career. This was his last big budget film and one that remains a lasting testament to "l'amour fou."