Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)

An African-American man is hired to find a woman, and gets mixed up in a murderous political scandal.

Director:

Carl Franklin

Writers:

Walter Mosley (book), Carl Franklin (screenplay)

Stars:

Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals

3 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Denzel Washington	...	Easy Rawlins
Tom Sizemore	...	Dewitt Albright
Jennifer Beals	...	Daphne Monet
Don Cheadle	...	Mouse Alexander
Maury Chaykin	...	Matthew Terell
Terry Kinney	...	Todd Carter
Mel Winkler	...	Joppy
Albert Hall	...	Odell
Lisa Nicole Carson	...	Coretta James
Jernard Burks	...	Dupree Brouchard
David Fonteno	...	Junior Fornay (as David Wolos-Fonteno)
John Roselius	...	Mason
Beau Starr	...	Miller
Steven Randazzo	...	Benny Giacomo
Scott Lincoln	...	Richard McGee

Storyline

It is 1948 in LA and Ezikeal "Easy" Rawlins, an African-American World War II veteran, is looking for work. At his friend's bar, he is introduced to a white man, DeWitt Albright, who is looking for someone to help him find a missing white woman assumed to be hiding somewhere in LA's Black community. This woman, Daphne Monet, happens to be the fiancée of a wealthy "blue blood," Todd Carter, who is currently the favorite in the city's mayoralty race. Daphne Monet is known to frequent the Black jazz clubs in LA. Easy, innocently, accepts Albright's offer; however, he quickly finds himself amidst murder, crooked cops, ruthless politicians, and brutalizing hoodlums. This is a Chandler-esque "who-done-it" with an African-American theme.

---

Plot Keywords:

african american | jazz club | private detective | missing person | jazz music | 

---

Taglines:

In a world divided by black and white, Easy Rawlins is about to cross the line.

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, sexuality and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 September 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

El demonio vestido de azul

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$27,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$16,030,096

Company Credits

Production Co:

TriStar Pictures, Clinica Estetico, Mundy Lane Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR SDDS (8 channels) Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jennifer Beals and Denzel Washington were also in The Book of Eli (2010).

---

Goofs

Easy has a telephone, which makes it very easy for him to communicate with various other characters in the movie. How does an unemployed black man in 1948 Los Angeles, who is two months behind on his mortgage payments, has other debts, and can barely afford a loaf of bread at 15¢, afford to keep up his payments on a telephone (still a fairly expensive luxury in 1948)?

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Easy Rawlins: It was summer 1948, and I needed money. After goin' door-to-door all day long, I was back again at Joppy's bar trying to figure out where I was gonna go looking for work the next day. The newspapers was goin' on and on about the city elections - like they was really gonna change somebody's life. But my life had already changed when I lost my job three weeks before.

---

Connections

Referenced in Melrose Place: Devil in a Wet Dress (1996)

---

Soundtracks

MESSIN' AROUND
Written by Floyd Hunt
Performed by Memphis Slim
Courtesy of Essex Entertainment, Inc.
By Arrangement with Celebrity Licensing, Inc.

User Reviews

The most under rated film of the Decade

Carl Franklin's adaptation of Walter Mosley's classic detective novel is a dark and funny tale of a detective with bad luck. Denzel Washington handles the material well. However, the star in the film is Don Cheadle as Mouse. This cold blooded killer steals several scenes away from Washington. The film also creates an accurate depiction of the racial climate in the late 40's. Issues of race and identity are displayed in the entire film. And Franklin does an incredible job of controlling the characters and narrative.

An incredible film.