Art film
Andre Sennwald, daily reviewer at "The New York Times" in 1935, defended Sternberg, calling the movie "one of the most sophisticated ever produced in America" and praising its "sly urbanity" and "the striking beauty of its settings and photography." Museum of Modern Art film curator Charles Silver regards "The Devil Is a Woman" as a veiled confessional of Sternberg's complex relationship with Dietrich. The leading male protagonists bear a striking physical resemblance to the director.