The Devil Is a Woman

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

1935 1h 20m EN

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 77

ComedyDramaRomanceHistory

Synopsis

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In the carnival in Spain in the beginning of the Twentieth Century, the exiled republican Antonio Galvan comes from Paris masquerade to enjoy the party and visit his friend Capt. Don Pasqual 'Pasqualito' Costelar. However, he flirts with the mysterious Concha Perez and they schedule to meet each other later. When Antonio meets Pasqualito, his old friend discloses his frustrated relationship with the promiscuous Concha and her greedy mother and how his life was ruined by his obsession for the beautiful demimondaine. Pasqualito makes Antonio promise that he would not see Concha. However, when Antonio meets Concha, she seduces him and the long friendship between Antonio and Pasqualito is disrupted

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

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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
Tempe Pigott
Tuerta (as Tempe Piggott)
Francisco Moreno
Alphonso (as Paco Moreno)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Josef von Sternberg
Writers: David Hertz, Oran Schee
Languages: English, Spanish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

80 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

91 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Josef von Sternberg, shot by Lucien Ballard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

AWARDS

Did you know

Editor Sam Winston shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Marlene Dietrich and Lionel Atwill and Edward Everett Horton carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Kiss me .. and I'll break your heart!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0026276 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Josef von Sternberg directs. Lucien Ballard behind the camera. Sam Winston cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

180 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
291 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
4Directed by Josef von Sternberg, shot by Lucien Ballard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Sam Winston shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Marlene Dietrich and Lionel Atwill and Edward Everett Horton carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Kiss me .. and I'll break your heart!".
8IMDB entry: tt0026276 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 77 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Lucien Ballard
Editing: Sam Winston
Costume design: Travis Banton
Makeup / hair: Dot Ponedel
Runtime: 80 min · 1h 20m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Devil Is a Woman (1935)

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Josef von Sternberg

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Community reviews

What people are saying

talisencrw2016-08-05
★ 9/10
Very few aesthetic delights of the post-Code era tantalize and linger long afterwards in the mind as much as films from the Marlene Dietrich/Josef Von Sternberg partnership, and this, thankfully kept in Dietrich's vault as it was the favourite of her films, is no exception. Though anyone who knows me will readily recall I prefer the twice-Oscar nominated (for 'Morocco' and 'Shanghai Express'), Viennese expert craftsman's silent pictures to those made with the sexpot, this saga of vengeance is also superlative and well worth both purchasing and re-watching. Paramount caved in to pressure by the Spanish government, who hated the way Pierre Louÿs' novel portrayed the Spanish police, and actually destroyed the original print. Thankfully Dietrich's fear that her favourite film would otherwise be lost meant it was extremely well-preserved, and I saw my copy as part of a superlative DVD boxed set of six of her films that I've had for a few years now.
CinemaSerf2022-06-25
★ 7/10
Marlene Dietrich is on great form as the manipulative "Concha" in this engaging, risqué, comedy drama set in Spain at the turn of the 20th century. It is related by Lionel Atwill's "Pasqualito" who regales the young "Galvan" (Ceśar Romero) with tales of her beauty - and of her selfishness; with a solid warning that he ought to give her a wide berth. Promising to do so, he promptly falls into her web of temptation much to the chagrin of his friend and, ultimately, himself! This is a different take on the femme fatale role. "Concha" is not duplicitous, she is clearly untrustworthy and unreliable - but she still manages to captivate this young man as easily as she did his older friend many years earlier. What is about her that makes her so alluring, that makes men so vulnerable to her charms? As ever with Josef von Sternberg's direction of this actress, the camera lingers on her expressions, her mannerisms and her smile - and it loves it. The whole thing is lit to show the lustre from her skin, her smile and the glint in her character's eye that ought to signal to any sane person to stay well clear (even when she is dressed as a nun!). Alison Skipworth chips in well as her mother and the fact that there are few others in this film further intensifies the potency of the efforts from the leading three for a relatively short, but tightly packed, 80 minutes. Her dance is the stuff of cinema legend (even if the censors got to it) and I really quite enjoyed this film.