Devil in a Blue Dress

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Devil in a Blue Dress

R

1995

1h 42m

Mystery & Thriller

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

124 Reviews

71%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

In late 1940s Los Angeles, Easy Rawlins is an unemployed black World War II veteran with few job prospects. At a bar, Easy meets DeWitt Albright, a mysterious white man looking for someone to investigate the disappearance of a missing white woman named Daphne Monet, who he suspects is hiding out in one of the city's black jazz clubs. Strapped for money and facing house payments, Easy takes the job, but soon finds himself in over his head.

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Critics Consensus

Humor, interesting characters, and attention to details make the stylish Devil in a Blue Dress an above average noir.

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Desson Thomson

Washington Post

Oct 27, 2021

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.

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Patricia Bibby

Associated Press

Oct 27, 2021

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.

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S. Renee Mitchell

Detroit Free Press

Oct 27, 2021

2/4

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.

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Chance Solem-Pfeifer

Willamette Week

Jan 29, 2026

Denzel Washington’s wildly underrated turn as a 1950s Los Angeles sleuth finds the two-time Oscar winner operating at peak charisma and weaving through a morass of noirisms—gangsters, political conspiracies, femmes fatales.

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Sharai Bohannon

A Nightmare On Fierce Street Podcast

May 23, 2025

4/5

'Devil in a Blue Dress' would have won so many Oscars if the Academy could have checked their biases. This movie is a masterpiece. Denzel Washington and Don Cheadle are the only duo that matters anymore.

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Todd James

Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Alberta)

Mar 29, 2024

4/5

The story unfolds slowly, but it's a script that will hook you from the start.

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revolver.0 8

@Revolver08 Mar 7, 2026

too old fashioned & overstuffed story

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thiago s

@Thiagostone Aug 15, 2025

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Jul 1, 2025

Success in 1 hour and 42 minutes.

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Darsou C

@RT09893534 Jun 26, 2025

Denzel is at his very best as his character evolves from rube to hero by necessity, in order to avoid that of “victim”—dead victim. And Don Cheadle positively excels in his role as an unleashed deadly force ready and willing to do whatever proves necessary to assist Denzel in that progression. The soundtrack and cinematography are exceptional, almost literally grabbing the viewer by the collar and depositing him right back into the middle of the 20th century. Worth watching more than once!

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Olivia J

@RT02808372 May 2, 2025

The story unfolds slowly, but it's a script that will hook you from the start.

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Alejandro E

@Alex970 Oct 25, 2024

No conozco el libro que sirvió de base, pero el resultado final es lo más parecido al género policiaco llamado hard boiled en el que, se diserta de paso los prejuicios raciales de aquel entonces. Lo más destacado: Denzel Washington

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Carl Franklin

Director

Denzel Washington

Ezekiel 'Easy' Rawlins

Tom Sizemore

DeWitt Albright

Jennifer Beals

Daphne Monet

Don Cheadle

Raymond 'Mouse' Alexander

Maury Chaykin

Matthew Terell

Devil in a Blue Dress: Official Clip - You Got Blood on My Coat

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Devil in a Blue Dress: Official Clip - The Color Line in America

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Devil in a Blue Dress: Official Clip - He's My Brother!

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Devil in a Blue Dress: Official Clip - Scaring Racists

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Devil in a Blue Dress: Official Clip - Meeting Daphne

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Devil in a Blue Dress: Official Clip - I'm Not Drunk

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Synopsis

In late 1940s Los Angeles, Easy Rawlins is an unemployed black World War II veteran with few job prospects. At a bar, Easy meets DeWitt Albright, a mysterious white man looking for someone to investigate the disappearance of a missing white woman named Daphne Monet, who he suspects is hiding out in one of the city's black jazz clubs. Strapped for money and facing house payments, Easy takes the job, but soon finds himself in over his head.

Director: Carl Franklin
Producer: Gary Goetzman, Jesse Beaton
Screenwriter: Walter Mosley, Carl Franklin
Distributor: TriStar Pictures, Columbia Tristar, Home Box Office (HBO) [us]
Production Co: Clinica Estetico, TriStar Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 29, 1995, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $15.9M
Runtime: 1h 42m
Sound Mix: Surround

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