Madam Satan 1930Danny Like BannerThe Particulars of the Picture

Madam Satan Kay Johnson Madam Satan Reginald Denny Madam Satan Roland Young
Angela …
Kay Johnson
Bob …
Reginald Denny
Jimmy Wade …
Roland Young
Madam Satan Lilian Roth Madam Satan Cecil B Demille
Trixie …
Lilian Roth
Madam Satan …
???
Directed by
Cecil B. DeMille

Madam Satan: Hell in a Handbasket

Who wants to go to hell with Madam Satan?

Cecil B. DeMille’s Madam Satan is many things, but ‘forgettable’ is not one of them. Its climax involves a song and dance number at a masquerade ball attended aboard a zeppelin full of debauchery and suggestive meanings with the titular Madam poking away at the morals of an immoral man with one of the worst French accents ever perpetrated on the screen. Can you even imagine.

The titular Madam Satan, as it turns out, is not so much the devil brought to alluring life (see the top picture for an idea of her getup), but the disappointed wife of a philandering no goodnick. Under her mask, she’s Angela, and, yes, naming the character ‘Angela’ is pretty much par for the course in a DeMille picture. She adores her rich playboy husband Bob, but he resents Angela for not putting out, as he spells out for her in remarkably candid terms. He’s taken up residence in the bed of Trixie in retaliation, and his best friend Jimmy must try to keep Angela’s suspicions from being confirmed.

Madam Satan Roth Johnson

Everybody run, Angela’s got a gun…

The film stampedes across genres as it stumbles along, beginning with a bedroom farce, moving onto Art Deco musical, and ending in a full fledged disaster movie. Bob and Jimmy try and trick Angela into believing that Trixie is actually Jimmy’s mistress, but Angela only lets them keep up their charade as it amuses her to see them so blatantly panicking. She later follows Jimmy back to Trixie’s place and those two must keep up the facade until Bob arrives and accidentally makes the truth plainly clear.

The plot may be recognizable to anyone who’s seen Ernst Lubitsch’s The Smiling Lieutenant, which similarly sticks its main character between two beautiful women, with the wife needing to learn to ‘jazz up [her] lingerie’. It was released a year after Madam Satan, but what Lubitsch’s film lacks in zeppelins and Satan, it makes up for in charm.

Unfortunately for Madam Satan, it’s made by Cecil B. DeMille and not Lubitsch. That means there’s a heavy hand moving us along, and the film’s 120 minute running time drags on as we careen on our way to the film’s centerpiece, the magnificent art deco zeppelin and its doomed voyage.

Did I say doomed? I meant delightful. Delightful voyage.

Did I say doomed? I meant delightful. Delightful voyage.

DeMille is well known for his Biblical epics (the Charlton Heston Ten Commandments is probably the one with the longest legs), and the fact that Madam Satan traffics in the same schtick of moral outrage while eagerly serving up sins for the audience to vicariously experience shouldn’t be much of a surprise.

The party aboard the zeppelin is kicked off with a musical number by a man portraying Electricity, and two dozen dancers carefully reenacting what a turbine and a generator to a bevy of costumed and lecherous guests. This pagan ceremony in no way will be punished later in the film, obviously.

Just as the masks come off, it’s time to auction the prettiest woman off. Whoever brings in the most money is the Queen of the Ball, and so Trixie, portraying a weird sort of peacock woman, is almost selected until Madam Satan makes her alluring entrance.

Are we not clocks?

Are we not clocks?

Bob, being the lout he is, is instantly smitten with Madam Satan, and pursues her until he realizes that under the mask is his wife. He blows up; the nerve of some people, pretending to be sexy Satan and all.

As noted before, the design of the zeppelin’s interior and the many costumes are luscious and incredible to take in. It’s difficult not to enjoy the outlandishness here, as costume designer Adrian, allowed to make these people as debauched as possible, really lets himself go wild. Don’t worry; I’ve got plenty of screenshots below to give you a case in point.

Usually in these reviews I avoid spoilers, but I’m pretty sure the back of the box gives away the fact that the zeppelin is doomed. A lightning bolt breaks it free of its moorings and it soon spins it out of control.

MadamSatan zeppelin lightning

1.21 gigawatts of pure punishment.

I have no doubt that DeMille’s use of lightning here was meant to reflect back to the earlier musical number where the revelers danced in the praise of electricity. The false god they worshiped betrayed them; yawn, Cecil, we get it.

The fealty of the wife is also emphasized. As the disaster looms, Bob threatens Madam Satan (with rape, naturally) to reveal herself, and when she does, to say he’s bitterly disappointed is an understatement. I mean, if my wife dressed up as the Devil in a crazy attempt to out-whore the woman I was seeing behind her back, I would,  at the very least, be impressed with the stitch work on her dress. No such luck here, though.

The zeppelin, incredulously equipped with enough parachutes for the party goers, starts to unload them. Most of the guests leave in undignified positions, with much panicking and several funny landings. Bob gets the best of it, as the ship runs out of parachutes and he must, and I am not making this up, jump out of the crashing dirigible and land in the city reservoir. Luckily he emerges unharmed and even unfazed.

Madam Satan reveal

“Dammit, wife, why aren’t you at home being frigid like I told you you were!”

The couple makes up at the end, and Trixie finds a spa full of wealthy men who will take care of her. Jimmy’s business and zeppelin are ruined, but Jimmy’s the comic relief character so no one takes much stock in that.

This is a 1930 picture, so we’ve got a couple of trends to contend with. The most noticeable is the rather stiff acting, mostly coming from Johnson and Denny as the main couple. Their plight is also quite insane, as no one a generation later would dare advocate that Angela even try to assuage the pain of such a cad, but DeMille’s Biblical morality dictates that the man is the one to be pleased above all else. It would be more revolting if it weren’t so unremittingly silly on the surface.

Before it sounds like I’m taking too much of a piss out of DeMille, let me put in some positive notes. For a high budgeted motion picture, Madam Satan sees every dollar of it. DeMille packs the film full of stunts, special effects, and costumes. His staging is wonderful, and he knows how to use crowds of people to make a film feel alive and electric. This may be why the first section of the film drags since it contains none of the manic energy of the second half.

There’s a bevy of musical numbers, too, though each is less comprehensible than the last. Sound was introduced to film slowly over the 1920’s, and while The Jazz Singer was a big hit in 1927, one can hardly say it’s an aural masterpiece. This may be a cruel complaint, but often it seems that every song in a 1930 musical sounds identical to each other. Whether it was a symptom of the recording technology, the trends at the time, or just a rampant urge to copycat everything, the songs in Madam Satan constitute that dreaded cinematic white noise, with two notable exceptions.

MadamSatan70

Can this marriage be saved?? … unfortunately, yes.

Both numbers come from the supporting actors, and both of them handily walk away with the film. Roland Young, who you hopefully do not remember from Pleasure Cruise, and Lilian Roth, who I do not remember from Animal Crackers, are the two star attractions here. They both get a humorous number, and their interactions with the other characters are by far the film’s acting highlights. Roth in particular does some splendid dancing, and as well as a few things with her hips that Elvis could only dream of.

As a film, Madam Satan is often interminable but sometimes dazzling. The look of the film is top notch, and the humor, when present, is breezy and fun. Its first hour, however, the domestic comedy portion, limps on and retouches on the same jokes so many times it’s shocking more wasn’t cut. Everything beneath the look and dialogue creaks noisily, especially its wheezy morality which has dated the picture more than the art deco insanity and zeppelins ever could.

The editing here is rigid too, which give a film about free flowing madness the weird aura of a dirge. There’s a reason why DeMille’s name isn’t nowadays much associated with musical comedy, and this is probably Example A. These flaws end up making Madam Satan a lousy film, but still a one-of-a-kind experience.

Proof That It’s Pre-Code

  • So many lines are delivered with an eyebrow waggle and wink that it’s completely ludicrous.
  • The film’s premise is that the wife doesn’t put out (and is called almost explicitly ‘frigid’), but the mistress does. The mistress is also in it for the money, as she must be since the man is such a damn cad.
  • Some of these outfits are… suggestive, to say the least.

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  • It may be Prohibition, but that’s not stopping anyone from drinking to excesses beyond reason.
  • One man recognizes Trixie by her appendectomy scar. He’s dressed as Caesar, too, just in case anyone was momentarily worried that DeMille would try subtlety.

Gallery

Here are some extra screenshots I took. Click on any picture to enlarge!

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MadamSatan19 MadamSatan20 MadamSatan21 MadamSatan22

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MadamSatan28 MadamSatan29 MadamSatan30 MadamSatan32

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Trivia & Links

  • Judging from most of the reviews I’ve read of this, there seems to be a small but vocal subsection of movie writers who will watch any movie with an exploding zeppelin. I’ve heard of a dedication to exploding helicopters, but this is ridiculous.
  • The zeppelin scene in this film was apparently shot in Two-Strip Technicolor, but, because the film was already expensive (apparently budgeted at $1,000,000), it was decided to print it as black and white instead. I don’t quite get the rationale behind that– wouldn’t you want to increase your chance of getting butts in the seats?– but the film was a flop, so it doesn’t much matter.
  • Fashion blog Van Paris (maybe a bit NWS) has some great stills, as well as this original design of the Madam Satan dress. Apparently DeMille had to add flesh colored netting into the final version of the outfit to please the censors.

Madam Satan dress fashion template design Adrian

  • It’s always fun to find a blog entry that’s not a review, but here’s a breakdown from igetakickoutofyou of the early 1930’s fashion trend of the Snake Lady and how Madam Satan represented a culmination of that trend.
  • Burl from the blog Ha ha, it’s Burl! only speaks with exclamation points. It’s not a fantastic review or anything, but I couldn’t not share it as I’ve never seen someone censor the word as ‘rib*ld’ before, and probably will never see that again.
  • In considerably less weird blogging, here’s Jonas with All Talking! All Singing! All Dancing! who talks about the film’s lack of musical finesse and DeMille’s failed attempt to try something new.
  • One example of the expense of this film: the costume picture below was crafted from dozens of balls of silk. It took a costume designer a month to make, and in today’s money would run about $100,000. Wow.
That's a lot of moolah for something so lite and breezy.

That’s a lot of moolah for something so lite and breezy.

  • She Blogged By Night goes into a bit how paternalistic the film’s message and themes are, and is completely stupefied at how horrible everyone in the film are.
  • For more detailed background information, both the inscrutable Movie Diva and go into the film’s production and its stars’ history. She dotes upon Lilian Roth’s tragic life story; sadly, she followed this movie with eight divorces and a steady bout with alcoholism. Uh, Roth had the divorces, not Movie Diva.
  • You know, I’ve quoted Mordaunt Hall from the New York Times on many occasions before, but I think this may be the nastiest review of his I’ve seen. I’m also amused that “DeMillian” is an accepted adjective. Anyway, some choice quotes:

It is an inept story with touches of comedy that are more tedious than laughable.

In the earlier stages of this hodgepodge, Angela’s maid starts to give her advice about managing husbands, and after talking for sometime, the woman evidently decides that Angela will be more impressed if she delivers her counsel in song.

Although the characters are no more than DeMillean puppets, the players try their best, first to carry out DeMille’s instructions, then to act as well as they can in the circumstances. But every now and again they are called upon not to hear or see that which one thinks they ought to.

  • There are some flippin’ great posters for this one. Turns out when you tell someone, ‘hey, I have a movie named Madam Satan, go all out’ they really do:

madamsatanposter1 madamsatanposter2

Awards & Accolades

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Danny

Danny is a writer who lives with his lovely wife, adorable children, and geriatric yet yappy dog. He blogs at pre-code.com, a website dedicated to Hollywood films from 1930 to 1934, and can be found on Twitter @PreCodeDotCom.

20 Comments

Grand Old Movies · March 22, 2013 at 11:20 am

Madame Satan’s pantsuit outfit in the first poster is even more of a wow than the one in the film (not to mention the suggestive pose that goes with it). You’re right, the film’s 1st half drags, and Kay Johnson gets some bad songs to sing. The dirigible episode makes the film, however, while giving a new meaning to the word ‘Excess.’ If the whole film had been staged aboard the dirigible, DeMille may have had something.

    Danny · March 22, 2013 at 1:30 pm

    I find it really weird that no one at the studio thought to toss most of the first hour rather than the technicolor sequence. I don’t think it was exactly like today where runtime is (often erroneously) conflated with quality, and I think it just keeps harping on the same three or four points. Start the movie at Trixie’s apartment and you’re set!

Cliff Aliperti · March 22, 2013 at 1:44 pm

I only first saw this one when Warner Archive released it, I guess it was last year. Huge disappointment. All of that wonderful pre-Code era weirdness, but a chore to keep your eyes open reaching the good stuff. That said I was so let down that I’m hoping the hype got to me and am very willing to give it a second try some day. Not today though.

    Danny · March 22, 2013 at 1:59 pm

    Ha! I won’t lie, Cliff, I had the same reaction the first sixty minutes of the movie as well. “I thought this was supposed to be strange as all get out.” And then the zeppelin shows up and the musical number kicks in, and the world made sense (?) once more. Like I said to GOM above, start the movie when Trixie shows up and you save a lot of bull crap.

    I should note that I also watched this with a bunch of friends who had no idea what they were getting into going in; they were a little restless at first, but got into the movie as soon as Madam Satan threw off her cape. I think this may be one that seeing with friends improves immeasurably.

shadowsandsatin · March 30, 2013 at 8:06 pm

I haven’t seen this film yet, so I’m going to come back to comment after I do — I just wanted to say I checked out Ha Ha, It’s Burl, and it was hilarious. I mean, hilarious!

    Danny · March 30, 2013 at 10:45 pm

    You have to admire for someone for finding the weirdest schtick and sticking with it through some really obscure movies. …!

    Evelyn Danielle · October 19, 2015 at 8:09 am

    I thought it was rather “fo*lish”!

Kimberly Garrison · April 4, 2013 at 11:34 am

The funniest scene is when they end up in the bathhouse of guys when the dirigible goes down. The costumes and subject matter of this movie really were outstanding. The script not the greatest but still an enjoyable movie.

    Danny · April 4, 2013 at 11:59 am

    That scene is great; Roth really looks like she’s just having a blast hanging out. It’s not anything near what I’d call a ‘good’ movie, but it certainly is enjoyable!

Joe Kerrigan · May 28, 2014 at 5:51 am

I had the great pleasure of seeing Madam Satan at the British Film Institute in London this week. I knew it was quirky but wasn’t prepared for how absolutely bonkers it was! True, the first half is a tad slow but the Zeppelin party was a hoot. And Lilian Roth’s legs…!

    Danny · May 29, 2014 at 1:39 pm

    Lilian Roth’s legs would be the most memorable thing about the movie if it weren’t for the second half! And I’m definitely jealous that you got to see it on the big screen, that had to be a treat. Thanks for coming by!

Robert Sorrell · October 16, 2014 at 6:06 am

I think I have a great piece of trivia for all the fans of Mme. Satan.
If you look very carefully at Cecil B DeMille’s1934 Cleopatra with Claudette Colbert – in the scene where she is deciding what to wear and her ladies open the wardrobe trunks they hold up several choices of garments for the queen to choose from.

One of those garments is quite evidently and obviously the Cape that K Johnson wears as Mme. Satan when she makes her entrance into the party scene on the famous exploding dirigible.

It is just another example of the way sometimes studios would recycle costumes props and sets-which of course makes perfect sense economically. Look for it it’s there!

    Danny · October 29, 2014 at 2:39 pm

    That’s great! I’ll have to look for that next time I check out Cleopatra. Thanks!

Evelyn Danielle · October 19, 2015 at 8:12 am

I’ll watch absolutely any movie in which ADRIAN has designed the gowns. What a genius!

shadowsandsatin · October 9, 2017 at 2:30 pm

I just did a write-up on Madam Satan after seeing it for the first time, so naturally I had to come and see what you thought of it. I loved your review, but I found this to be especially hilarious: “I mean, if my wife dressed up as the Devil in a crazy attempt to out-whore the woman I was seeing behind her back, I would, at the very least, be impressed with the stitch work on her dress. No such luck here, though.” I am on the floor.

mjm · October 19, 2017 at 12:01 pm

Wow, pre code nuttiness at its finest. Doesn’t seem like a DeMille picture, but it is. I think I spotted an uncredited Ann Dvorak, Mary Carlisle and Ann Sothern among the partygoers on the zeppelin.

Sweet Sue · September 24, 2018 at 5:03 pm

The worst movie I’ve ever seen. Quite possibly the worst movie ever made.

Mark N. · May 23, 2019 at 6:24 am

I have recently become obsessed with this movie. While I would in no way call it great, it is so utterly bizarre that I cannot stop thinking about it. I even went so far as buying the DVD. I agree that the first half drags, though there are some funny moments between Bob and Jimmy. But that masquerade ball sequence on the dirigible makes it all worthwhile (at least for me). Adrian’s costume design is incredible, and the whole thing (from the moment the partygoers enter the dirigible until they parachute down to earth) is just gloriously nutty.

Clate · June 10, 2019 at 7:18 am

Recently ordered this one after not having seen it for about a decade. I remember Kay Johnson being more bearable than she was in Dynamite. Saw that one a year ago, and couldn’t stand her acting! Also, she looked borderline homely for a DeMille leadiny lady. Nice to see that Reginald Denny made three films for MGM after his time at Universal ended. It’s a pity that he was relegated to character roles after 1930; he was the same age as Ronald Colman, but I guess that he just didn’t have enough of “it” to transition from his silent derring-do persona.

I’ll have to look-out for that lady with the costume that has multiple arms. That looks SO odd.

Danny Sullivan · March 27, 2021 at 4:17 pm

Thank you for this great post. I first saw Madam Satan in 1986. We rented the movie (16 mm) from a Hollywood film rental place-

The way I came to hear of this film is due to renting a penthouse floor of a beautiful Art Deco building in Downtown LA which opened in 1929.

In the elevator lobby of the penthouse was a ceramic ashtray about 3’ tall, the kind with sand in it to put out a smoke before jumping in the elevator can.

While preparing to re tile the floors to a deco checkerboard look, I slid the heavy ashtray but it tipped over as it was top heavy. The ashtray broke open and it turned out that the bottom part of the ashtray (3/4) was filled with bunched up newspapers from 1929-1930, do that the sand would only be on top and not make the heavy ashtrays even heavier.

I took the wads of newspaper and dipped them
Into a bucket of water and then layer them
Out flat to dry.

In the entertainment section of the paper was ads for this movie and a critics review.

A year later we planned our Madam Satan party for my birthday, asking guest to dress up for the occasion- we rented the movie and had it screening in one area while guest danced and carried on in vintage costumes.

This was happening 56 years after the film came out and now it’s 35 years since the party-

I recall telling people about this film and no one at the time had heard of it- I was happy to read your great piece on the film and review and the many thoughtful comments.

Maybe one day a director would attempt to remake this film with an updated theme- what a challenge that would be-

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