Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
82%RT Audience Score: 70%
Awards & Nominations: 3 wins & 13 nominations
Humor, interesting characters, and attention to details make the stylish Devil in a Blue Dress an above average noir
Devil in a Blue Dress is a movie that’s so cool, it’s like a jazz tune you can’t help but tap your foot to. The ’40s atmosphere is spot-on, and Denzel Washington is as smooth as ever. But let’s be real, Don Cheadle steals the show with his scene-stealing performance. The plot is intricate and well-written, but the real star of the show is the style. It’s a movie that’s effortlessly wise and entertaining, like a good friend who always knows the right thing to say. So sit back, relax, and let Devil in a Blue Dress take you on a ride you won’t forget.
Production Company(ies)
American Zoetrope Zoetrope Studios,
Distributor
Columbia Tristar, Home Box Office (HBO) [us], TriStar Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
S. Main Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for violence, sexuality and language
Year of Release
1995
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 42m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 29, 1995 Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 22, 2001
Genre(s)
Drama/Crime
Keyword(s)
starring Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals, Don Cheadle, Maury Chaykin, Terry Kinney, directed by Carl Franklin, written by Walter Mosley and Carl Franklin, drama, crime, mystery & thriller, $15.9M box office, R MPAA rating, reviewed by Desson Thomson, Henry Sheehan, Patricia Bibby, S Renee Mitchell, Jay Boyar, Dave Kehr, Sheila Reid, Quentin Crisp, Eleanor O’Sullivan, Linda Cook, Steve Persall, Bob Ross, above average noir, unemployed black World War II veteran, missing white woman, black jazz clubs, racial punches, period piece, race, ambition, civics, gun battle, Tak Fujimoto’s camera, Gary Frutkoff’s art direction, sequel, neo-noir genre
Worldwide gross: $16,140,822
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $31,738,664
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,527
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 3,461,141
US/Canada gross: $16,140,822
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $31,738,664
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,255
US/Canada opening weekend: $5,422,385
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $10,662,360
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 937
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $27,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $53,091,716
Production budget ranking: 751
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $28,589,889
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$49,942,941
ROI to date (est.): -61%
ROI ranking: 1,757
Tom Sizemore – DeWitt Albright
Jennifer Beals – Daphne Monet
Don Cheadle – Raymond ‘Mouse’ Alexander
Maury Chaykin – Matthew Terell
Terry Kinney – Todd Carter
Gary Goetzman – Producer
Jesse Beaton – Producer
Walter Mosley – Writer
Carl Franklin – Director
Director(s)
Carl Franklin
Writer(s)
Walter Mosley, Carl Franklin
Producer(s)
Gary Goetzman, Jesse Beaton
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
3 wins & 13 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (118) | Top Critics (45) | Fresh (108) | Rotten (10)
In Devil, folks like Easy Rawlins have long since learned to roll with the racial punches. It’s precisely that kind of offhand profundity that makes the movie so memorable. Franklin’s picture is effortlessly wise beneath its entertaining surface.
October 27, 2021
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
Thanks to screenwriter and director Carl Franklin, Devil has blossomed into a compulsively watchable mystery, a redolently atmospheric period piece, and a provocative meditation on race, ambition and civics.
October 27, 2021 | Rating: A
Henry Sheehan
Orange County Register
TOP CRITIC
It is a smart, sly film imbued with the rich subtle tones of a mournful blues saxophone piece, worthy of comparisons to some of the best noir films of decades past.
October 27, 2021
Patricia Bibby
Associated Press
TOP CRITIC
The film climaxes in a gun battle that’s as painfully predictable as they come and — as he did with the movie in general — Mouse saves the day. His departure from the screen brakes the film to a near halt.
October 27, 2021 | Rating: 2/4
S. Renee Mitchell
Detroit Free Press
TOP CRITIC
In Devil in a Blue Dress, the ’40s atmosphere is rich, but Franklin doesn’t make the mistake of laying it on too thick. He has a fine eye for detail… Virtually every scene contains something like that — something small yet telling.
October 27, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
There is much to admire in this handsome film, from the sinuous movements of Tak Fujimoto’s camera to the nicely understated art direction of Gary Frutkoff.
October 27, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
Dave Kehr
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
Don Cheadle steals the show whenever he is on the screen. The plot is intricate and well written, but Moseley needs to broaden his images of women.
May 13, 2022
Sheila Reid
Women in the Life
I will not unravel the story for you because that is half the fun of watching this kind of movie. Go see it.
April 4, 2022
Quentin Crisp
Christopher Street
Franklin has adapted Walter Mosley’s novel of the same title with an expert, humorous hand. He makes the movie look great: It has the burnished quality of old films and a melancholy tint, too.
October 27, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Eleanor O’Sullivan
Asbury Park Press (NJ)
Devil in a Blue Dress is more than just a whodunit in fancy clothes. It’s a well-directed, intelligent grownup whydunit, as well as an interesting period drama. And besides, it stars Denzel Washington, who just can’t seem to take a bad role.
October 27, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)
How many times have you left a theater hoping that a sequel is being planned? This critic did. Devil in a Blue Dress is a taut, ingenuous bit of Hollywood fantasy that deserves a follow-up.
October 27, 2021 | Rating: A-
Steve Persall
Tampa Bay Times
Carl Franklin gets it right. With an eye for atmosphere, an ear for excitement and a knack for narrative, the no-nonsense writer-director delivers the year’s most delicious detective yarn.
October 27, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
Bob Ross
Tampa Tribune…
Plot
It is 1948 in LA and Ezikeal “Easy” Rawlins, an African-American World War II veteran, is looking for work. At his friend’s bar, he is introduced to a white man, DeWitt Albright, who is looking for someone to help him find a missing white woman assumed to be hiding somewhere in LA’s Black community. This woman, Daphne Monet, happens to be the fiancée of a wealthy “blue blood,” Todd Carter, who is currently the favorite in the city’s mayoralty race. Daphne Monet is known to frequent the Black jazz clubs in LA. Easy, innocently, accepts Albright’s offer; however, he quickly finds himself amidst murder, crooked cops, ruthless politicians, and brutalizing hoodlums. This is a Chandler-esque “who-done-it” with an African-American theme.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Don Cheadle steals the show whenever he is on the screen.
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