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

One of over 700 Paramount productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

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Quotes

Capt. Don Pasqual 'Pasqualito' Costelar: Aren't you afraid of anything, Concha? Have you no fear of death?
Concha Perez: No. Not today. I feel too happy. Why do you ask? Are you going to kill me?

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Connections

Referenced in Lost Emulsion (2016)

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Soundtracks

Capriccio Espagnol, Op.34
Music by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Played during the opening credits and as background music often

User Reviews

A Beloved Heartbreaker

In the carnival in Spain in the beginning of the Twentieth Century, the exiled republican Antonio Galvan (Cesar Romero) comes from Paris masquerade to enjoy the party and visit his friend Capt. Don Pasqual 'Pasqualito' Costelar (Lionel Atwill). However, he flirts with the mysterious Concha Perez (Marlene Dietrich) and they schedule to meet each other later. When Antonio meets Pasqualito, his old friend discloses his frustrated relationship with the promiscuous Concha and her greedy mother (Alison Skipworth) and how his life was ruined by his obsession for the beautiful demimondaine. Pasqualito makes Antonio promise that he would not see Concha. However, when Antonio meets Concha, she seduces him and the long friendship between Antonio and Pasqualito is disrupted.

"The Devil Is a Woman" is the last movie of director Josef Von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich together. The romance tells the story of a cold- hearted dancer that has a promiscuous life and is financially supported by her obsessive lover in an unrequited love. The man ruins not only his professional life, but also his long friendship with Antonio. Marlene Dietrich is beautiful in this film and the role seems to be tailored to her. The excellent cinematography in black and white is very impressive. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Mulher Satânica" ("The Satanic Woman")