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)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,422,385, 1 October 1995

Gross USA:

$16,140,822

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$16,140,822

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

David Alan Grier auditioned for the role of Mouse Alexander.

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Goofs

When Easy and Daphne enter Richard McGee's house, at around 4:00am, we hear the sound of a sitcom from the TV in the background. At the time a night back then, all stations were off the air.

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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 This Is Us: Number Three (2017)

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Soundtracks

ON A SLOW BOAT TO CHINA
Written by Frank Loesser
Performed by Kay Kyser
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

Heavy heat in the night.

Murder, politics, sex and scandal; and it is all about a girl in a blue dress. An out of work WWII vet(Denzel Washington)is trapped in a web of lies, backstabbing and flying lead when he agrees to look for a politician's girlfriend(Jennifer Beals). Some real good movie music by the likes of Memphis Slim, Duke Ellington, Roy Brown and Jimmy Witherspoon. Very apt support from:Tom Sizemore, Don Cheadle and Lisa Nicole Carson. One steamy sex scene scorches and redeems.