The devil is a woman
T. Alt.: Carnival In Spain / Caprice Espagnol; T. It.: Capriccio Spagnolo; Ass. R.: Richard Harlan, Neilwheeler; Sog.: Dal Racconto “La Femme Et Le Pantin” Dipierre Louys (1898) E Dal Racconto Omonimo Dipierre Louys E Pierre Frondaie (1910); Adatt.: John Dos Passos, S.K. Winston; F.: Joseph Von Sternberg, Lucien Ballard; Mo.: Sam Winston; Scgf.: Hans Dreier; Co.: A.E. Freudemann, Henry West; Co. Per Marlene Dietrich: Travis Banton; Su.: Harry D. Mills; Mu.: Leo Robin, Ralph Rainger, Andrea Setaro, Branitrattida “Capriccio Spagnolo” Dinikolaj Rimskj-Korsakov E Da Melodie Spagnole; Segr. Ed.: Evelyn Earle; Int.: Marlene Dietrich (Concha Perez), Llonel Atwill (Don Pasqual), Edward Everett Horton (Don Paquito), Alison Skipworth (Senora Perez), Cesar Romero (Antonio Galvan), Don Alvarado (Morenito), Tempe Piggott (Tuerta), Paco Moreno (Segretario), Morgan Wallace (Dottor Mendez), Jill Dennett (Maria), Lawrence Grant (Direttore), Luisa Espinal (Ballerina Zingara), Hank Mann (Capotreno Bloccato Dalla Neve), Donald Reed (Miguelito), Eddie Borden (Un Ubriaco); Prod.: Adolph Zukor, Joseph Von Sternberg Per Paramount Productions, Inc.; Distr.: Paramount Productions, Inc.; Pri. Pro.: 15 Marzo 1935 35mm. D.: 80′ A 24 F/S (Western Electric Noiseless Recording). Bn.
Film Notes
Paramount renamed the last of Sternberg’s seven films with Dietrich, originally titled Caprice espagnol. Sternberg photographed it himself, assisted by Lucien Ballard. Ado Kyrou: “Marlene is even more terrifying in The devil is a woman (based on Pierre Louys). It is a hymn to the femme fatale. Concha lives in a spain of the 19th century in which we recognize all of Sternberg’s obsessional elements. Her aim is love, to profit from her beauty to “have” every man she wants. In this ideal world, oneiric, the woman, outrageously attractive, makes every feeling disappear that is foreign to love. Cruel, disdainful, she changes lovers as often as dresses. The fierce romanticism of this film with no story but multiple flash- backs makes The devil is a woman Sternberg’s most perfect work. Everything – lighting, camera movements and angles, découpage, editing, deliberately anti-realistic acting – are aligned in the desperate expression of the erotic power of the woman.” Sternberg’s film was banned in spain; the story was re- made by Duvivier with Brigitte Bardot as La femme et le pantin