Madam Satan
Screening on Film
Directed by Cecil B. DeMille.
With Kay Johnson, Reginald Denny, Lillian Roth.
US, 1930, 35mm, black & white, 80 min.
With Kay Johnson, Reginald Denny, Lillian Roth.
US, 1930, 35mm, black & white, 80 min.
At the birth of film sound, noted director of the epic spectacle, Cecil B. DeMille made his first and only foray into the musical genre. In order to win the fading attention of her husband, a socialite decides to transform herself into Madam Satan, an alluring vamp who will win back her husband’s affections. At an elaborate masquerade ball aboard a zeppelin, the seductress puts her husband to the test. Featuring racy pre-Code dance routines with girls dressed in cat suits, this oddity from DeMille ran well over-budget despite the round-the-clock production schedule imposed by the despotic director.