The Devil Is a Woman (1935)

Director:

Josef von Sternberg

Writers:

Pierre Louÿs (novel)
John Dos Passos (adaptation)

Release Date:

15 marzo 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Frase comercial:

Kiss me .. and I'll break your heart!

Plot:

Film told in flashbacks of an older man's obsession for a woman who can belong to no-one but can frustrate everyone...

Plot Keywords:

Beating | Betrayal | Bullfighter | Cafe | Carnival

Awards:

1 win

Comentarios de los usuarios:

A Richly Layered, Tauntingly Fascinating Spectacle!

Cast

Marlene Dietrich	...	Concha Perez
Lionel Atwill	...	Capt. Don Pasqual 'Pasqualito' Costelar
Edward Everett Horton	...	Gov. Don Paquito 'Paquitito'
Alison Skipworth	...	Senora Perez
Cesar Romero	...	Antonio Galvan
Don Alvarado	...	Morenito (bullfighter)
Tempe Pigott	...	Tuerta
Francisco Moreno	...	Alphonso (Paquito's secretary) (as Paco Moreno)
listado alfabético del resto del reparto:
Hank Mann	...	Foreman on snowbound train (scenes deleted)
Joel McCrea	...	Antonio Galvan (scenes deleted)

También conocida como:

Caprice Espagno (USA) (working title)
Carnival in Spain (Spain) [es]
Demonio es una mujer, El (Venezuela) [es]

Duración:

Portugal:80 min | Germany:75 min | USA:79 min

País:

USA

Idioma:

English | Español

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sonido:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Clasificación:

Portugal:17 | Portugal:(Banned) (original rating) | France:U | Portugal:M/12 | USA:Approved (PCA #538)

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivialidades:

The Spanish government threatened to bar all Paramount films from Spain and its territories unless the film was withdrawn from worldwide circulation. They protested the unfavorable portrayal of the Spanish police. Paramount destroyed the original print after its initial run, and it remained out of circulation until 1959.

Quotes:

Antonio Galvan: You're a very beautiful woman. It's easy to see why men should lose their heads over you.
Concha Perez: Is it easy?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sex at 24 Frames Per Second (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Capriccio Espagnol, Op.34

A Richly Layered, Tauntingly Fascinating Spectacle!

"The is a Woman" is a wholly artificial film, dealing with wholly artificial people, amidst wholly artificial surroundings. Like "The Scarlet Empress" with imperial Russia before it, "The is a Woman" takes the simple idea of old Spain during carnival, and exaggerates it into a fantastic world choking itself with an impossible amount of streamers, confetti, and grotesquely costumed revelers. Essentially to Spanish to possibly be Spanish, the atmosphere created gives a richly textured visual feel. It becomes a costume as garish as those the Spanish people wear, disguising a series of complex and controversial themes, which could never be used as open plot devices. Director Josef von Sternberg is obviously aware of the conventions and restraints set up by Hollywood, twisting them to his own good. Using the illusion of a typical Hollywood story, he thinly but potently veils these visual costumes, which in themselves hide his rich themes, creating a film so layered its staggering!

At the center of all this is a Dietrich so beautiful, it is not quite possible to believe she ever existed outside this fantastic world created for her. Impeccably lighted, and costumed in the most flamboyant trappings imaginable, she is a toyingly evil creature of film, more alive than ever. Is it any wonder her character ruins so many men, on film alone you could fall in love with her?!

"The is a Woman" is a completely visual film. It's themes and ideas do not come from what you hear, but what you see. The plot, which seems to hide them, is really needed only that these themes and visuals may gradually reach you. I think, essentially, that story for Sternberg was like the cherry flavor in cough medicine, designed only to help you swallow the truly important stuff. Perhaps we may never reach the center of a film like "The is a Woman." If we did would we find the key to everything, or merely emptiness?