It was 1935. Marlene Dietrich was already a goddess of the silver screen, but she was about to burn the whole house down. Honestly, when people talk about the devil is a woman movie, they’re usually talking about a fever dream of lace, shadows, and the kind of toxic romance that makes modern reality TV look like a Sunday school picnic. This wasn't just another flick; it was the explosive end of the most famous director-actor partnership in Hollywood history.
Josef von Sternberg and Dietrich had made six films together before this. They were the "it" duo. But by the time they got to The Devil is a Woman, the studio—Paramount—was sweating bullets. The budget was ballooning. The Spanish government was getting ready to ban the thing because they hated how it portrayed their Civil Guard. It was a mess. A beautiful, glittering, chaotic mess.
What Actually Happens in the Devil is a Woman Movie?
The plot is basically a trap. Set during the Spanish Carnival, we meet Antonio (played by Cesar Romero), who is young, hot-headed, and looking for trouble. He finds it in Concha Perez. That's Dietrich. She is a cigarette factory worker who spends her free time ruining men's lives for sport.
Antonio gets warned. His older friend, Pasqual, tells him to stay away. Pasqual is played by Lionel Atwill, and he delivers these long, agonizing flashbacks about how Concha basically dismantled his entire existence. He gave her money. He gave her jewels. He gave her his soul. She took it all and then laughed in his face. It’s brutal.
The weirdest thing? Antonio listens to the whole story and then goes, "Yeah, I'm still gonna try my luck."
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The Visuals Are Just... Wild
If you watch the devil is a woman movie today, the first thing you’ll notice isn't the dialogue. It's the lace. Von Sternberg was obsessed with textures. There are scenes where there is so much confetti, streamers, and veils in the way that you can barely see the actors' faces. It’s claustrophobic. It feels like you’re being smothered by a very expensive curtain.
He didn't care about realism. Not even a little bit. Spain in this movie isn't a real country; it's a Hollywood backlot filtered through a dream. Every frame is lit like a Renaissance painting. Dietrich looks less like a human and more like an architectural achievement.
The Controversy That Almost Buried the Film
The Spanish government absolutely lost it. They claimed the film insulted the Spanish Armed Forces because the characters in uniform were portrayed as "buffoons" or easily manipulated. They threatened to ban all Paramount films in Spain unless the studio pulled the devil is a woman movie from circulation globally.
Paramount actually blinked.
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They tried to recall the prints. They wanted it gone. For years, this movie was incredibly hard to find. It became a bit of a "lost" legend in cinephile circles. Dietrich, interestingly enough, kept her own personal copy because she reportedly thought it was her best work. She loved how she looked in it. And who could blame her? She was 33, at the peak of her powers, and playing a woman who held every man in the palm of her hand.
Why Does It Still Matter?
Most movies from the 30s feel "old." They have that fast-talking, snappy rhythm that feels distant. But The Devil is a Woman feels modern in its cynicism. It’s a movie about how love isn't always kind or "good." Sometimes it’s just an obsession that eats you alive.
Breaking Down the Dietrich Archetype
Concha Perez isn't a "girl next door." She’s the blueprint for the femme fatale. But unlike the noir characters of the 1940s, she doesn't really have a complicated scheme. She isn't trying to pull off a heist. She just wants to be free, and she uses men’s desires to pay for that freedom.
- The Costumes: Designed by Travis Banton, they were heavy, ornate, and totally impractical for a factory worker.
- The Lighting: Von Sternberg used "butterfly lighting" to make Dietrich’s cheekbones look like they could cut glass.
- The Power Dynamic: For once, the woman has all the cards. The men are the ones crying and begging.
It’s kind of refreshing, honestly. In an era where women were usually the ones being rescued, Concha is the one doing the rescuing—mostly of herself, from boredom.
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The End of an Era
This was the seventh and final collaboration between Von Sternberg and Dietrich. Their relationship was... complicated. Some say he "created" her. Some say she outgrew him. Either way, the tension on set was palpable. You can feel it in the movie. There’s a coldness to it that’s fascinating.
After this, Von Sternberg’s career never really hit the same heights. He became known as "difficult." Dietrich, on the other hand, went on to become an even bigger icon, eventually reinventing herself for Destry Rides Again and A Foreign Affair.
But she never looked quite like she did in the devil is a woman movie. No one ever did.
Actionable Insights for Classic Film Fans
If you’re planning to dive into this era of cinema, don’t just watch it on a tiny phone screen. You’ll miss the point.
- Seek out the restored version. The Criterion Collection and other high-end distributors have done wonders with the 35mm prints. The grain and the depth of the blacks are essential to the experience.
- Watch "The Blue Angel" first. If you want to see the "arc" of the Dietrich/Sternberg partnership, start with their first film (made in Germany) and then jump to this one. It’s a wild transition from a naive cabaret singer to a literal "devil."
- Ignore the "logic." Don't ask why there's a blizzard of confetti in a train station. Just let the atmosphere wash over you. It's a mood piece, not a documentary.
- Pay attention to the music. The use of Spanish folk motifs is heavy-handed but incredibly effective at building that "otherworldly" vibe that Von Sternberg was known for.
The legacy of the devil is a woman movie isn't just about the plot or the controversy. It's about a specific moment in time when Hollywood allowed a director to be a complete weirdo and create something that was pure, unfiltered art. Even if the studio hated it. Even if a whole country tried to ban it. It survived.