Rent The Devil Is a Woman (1935)

Patchwork - The Devil Is a Woman review by CH

The last of the films which Marlene made with Von Sternberg is patchy, partly told in long flashbacks by one of the men whom she has led astray. It does not draw one in, although there are many moments in which one can relish the command of light and shadow. The previous one, The Scarlet Empress, is as preposterous but rather more beguiling.

Spanish melodrama. - The Devil Is a Woman review by Steve

Following the huge box office failure of The Scarlet Empress the previous year, Paramount slashed Josef von Sternberg's budget for his final release with his great muse, Marlene Dietrich. And it feels like the series is running out of time. The introduction of the Production Code in '34 undermined their dalliance with taboo themes...

And Dietrich looks a bit mature to still play the imperious goddess of love. Here she's a sex worker in turn of the century Seville who is so irresistible she destroys every man who loves her. Mostly Lionel Atwill as a blimpish aristocrat and Cesar Romero as a dashing freedom fighter. Naturally, they fight a duel over her.

And there are the usual signifiers of exotic Spain: with the flamenco and the bullfighters; the carnival and the hot passion. The staging of the masquerade with the grotesque costumes is the best and most characteristic part of von Sternberg's visual design. The story is familiar, basically a loose reshuffle of Carmen.

Dietrich sings a bawdy song which doesn't sound at all Spanish, and her German accent is a poor fit. Though no one goes to these films for authenticity. This marks the end of Marlene's tenure as one of the great Hollywood stars. Von Sternberg too was out of fashion. It is worth seeing for fans of their collaborations, but maybe best that this was the last.