An African-American man is hired to find a woman, and gets mixed up in a murderous political scandal.
Director:
Carl Franklin
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Title: Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
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3 wins & 13 nominations.
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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 | |
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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. Written by Joel Schesser <joelsd@aol.com>
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. See more »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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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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Written by Roy Brown
Produced and Performed by Brian O'Neal
Courtesy of Rattlesnake Venom Records
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Director Carl Franklin reunited with Denzel Washington for the thriller [linktt0313443], which was also a murder mystery also involving corruption and deception involving public officials in a small town in Florida. See more »Goofs
Several of the cars used in the background are post-1948 models including one with fins. See more »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.
See more »
Soundtracks
GOOD ROCKIN' TONIGHTWritten by Roy Brown
Produced and Performed by Brian O'Neal
Courtesy of Rattlesnake Venom Records
See more »
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
29 September 1995 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Le diable en robe bleue See more »Edit
Box Office
Budget:
$27,000,000 (estimated)Opening Weekend USA:
$5,422,385, 1 October 1995Gross USA:
$16,140,822Cumulative Worldwide Gross:
$16,140,822Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Devil In A Blue Dress takes the classic Raymond Chandler mystery form and uproots it just a smidge, setting it in the African American community of 1948 Los Angeles, with terrific results. Noir takes on a double meaning (naughty pun) as WWII vet turned private eye Ezekial "Easy" Rawlins (Denzel Washington) finds himself mired in the quick sands of corruption, coersion and murder most foul after taking on a job that's led him straight to the dirtiest little secret in town. After he accepts a missing persons inquiry from mysterious DeWitt Allbright (Tom Sizemore, first shady and then downright scary when we see what he's really about), he finds himself searching for a girl named Daphne (Jennifer Beals) a runaway with ties to a very powerful politician (Maury Chaykin makes your skin creep and crawl) with some seriously disturbing extra curricular activities. Rawlins recognizes danger when he sees it and tries to back out, but by then he knows too much and it's way late in the game. Now he must navigate the scene like the pro he to escape not only with answers, but perhaps his life. Washington gives him the underdog treatment, a worn out gumshoe who still has some grit left, enough for one last ride in any case. There's an L.A. Confidential type feel to the plot in the sense that it ducks some conventions in order to service true surprise from its audience. Sizemore is a charming viper as the kind of dude you never want to trust (isn't he just the best at playing that?) and Beals subverts the damsel in distress archetype by injecting her performance with a jolt of poison. In terms of L.A. noir this baby is fairly overlooked, but holds its own to this day. Watch for Don Cheadle as well.