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.

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

Private detective Easy Rawlins has been caught on the wrong side of the most dangerous secret in town.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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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

Carl Franklin appeared with Denzel Washington in Out of Time (2003).

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Goofs

When Easy gets paid by Albright the first time, the twenty dollar bills are not "Silver Certificate" twenties but "Federal Reserve Notes," which didn't come in until the '60s.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in Rush Hour: Prisoner of Love (2016)

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Soundtracks

PEACE BE STILL
Written by James Cleveland
Performed by James Cleveland & The Angelic Choir
Courtesy of Savoy Records

User Reviews

Why review a nine year old film?

Because Walter Mosley's stories are great and I was surprised that none of the other Easy Rawlins books have been filmed. A rich lode of ore , waiting to be mined.

AND, Don Cheadle. His acting as "Mouse" is stunning. In the 3 or 4 Easy Rawlins books that I've read, the character constructions of Easy, Mouse, and their relationship, is fascinating. I read Devil in a Blue Dress before I saw the movie and when I saw Mouse brought to life, I could barely wait for the credits to roll--"Who WAS that guy?"

Washington brings Easy to life too, and the recreation of Watts and L.A. in the late 40's/ early 50's is excellent (I was there).

The movie wasn't great, but way above ordinary, and I'd love to see a reprise with Washington and Cheadle.