The Devil Is A Woman

The Devil is a Woman (1935)

The Devil is a Woman stars Marlene Dietrich, Lionel Atwill and Cesar Romero. The story takes place in Spain during the turn of the century. The majority of the story is told in flashbacks by Lionel Atwill's character Capt. Don Pasqual 'Pasqualito' Costelar. The subject of his stories is that of a devil of a woman named Concha Perez played by none other than Marlene Dietrich.



Marlene Dietrich is absolutely stunning in this film. Concha is fun to look at, fun to watch and very devilish. She wraps Capt. Costelar around her finger and plays him like a piano. The story begins during a street carnival. The costumes and scenery are amazing. Even though this film won an Oscar for best cinematography, I believe it should of won for best costume design.








Also yearning for Concha's affection is Antonio Galvan played by a young and handsome Cesar Romero. Antonio, who is on the run from authorities for being a revolutionary and the Capt are old friends. The story begins with the elder Capt telling his story about Concha to warn the young man that the devil is indeed a woman. Of course Concha's beauty, charm and magnetism is very hard to resist which leads the two men into a duel.






Marlene Dietrich is absolutely amazing in this picture. She will sing, dance and charm her way into your home. Numerous sources have Marlene quoted as saying that this was her favorite picture. It was also directed by Joseph Von Sternberg, who was her mentor and good friend. Joel McCrea was originally cast for the role of Antonio but walked off the picture due to disagreements with Von Sternberg. It is hard to imagine anyone else but Romero in that role. Atwill is also very good as the used and abused Capt.


The pace of this film is fast and holds the viewers attention. When it is over, you actually wish there was more time to voyeur into the lives of these fascinating characters. It is also a very good period piece. The viewer gets to see what it would be like to live in turn of the century Spain. There is also a very good musical number. Marlene's voice is like non-other. This film should be shown in all film schools as a great example of use of costume, make up, props and scenery. It is hard to believe this film was made in 1935 because the print is exquisite.
Luckily The Devil is a Woman is available on DVD and VHS.

For more info goto:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026276/

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