Opening Title Sequence: Devil in a Blue Dress

Conversations regarding creating the opening title sequence for Devil in a Blue Dress included many different ideas; someone suggested to embellish the film noir aspect of the genre. Director Carl Franklin wanted to try something less conventional and capture a feel for the times. WPA artist Archibald John Motley, Jr's "Bronzeville at Night" (1949) did exactly that. While the oil painting depicted a Chicago street scene, the filmmakers thought it could sub in for Los Angeles. Cinematographer Tak Fujimoto used his keen eye to languidly canvass the period slice of night life and thought it would be cool to end the sequence on, well, a girl in a blue dress. Or, er, well, a pantsuit, but notice how there's another woman at the bottom center of the forefront wearing a blue dress who seems to have lost something, while getting shown up by a hussy in red right behind her.

The song “Westside Baby” provided the 2 1/2 minute soundtrack. Musician Aaron T-Bone Walker worked various clubs on Central Avenue of Los Angeles where most of this film took place and recorded the song on Black & White Records in 1948. Its mellowness contrasts the "shout and jump" music that made him a huge star of that decade. A precursor to rock and roll stars of the 1950s, Walker would throw his guitar on his back and do the splits, while girls threw their underwear at him. Relaxed, understated, it's an enjoyable appetizer to this 90s neo-noir flic. Franklin has also directed such diverse projects as One False Move and One True Thing. The former helped make Billy Bob Thornton a known entity in Hollywood before he made his breakout Slingblade, the latter got Meryl Streep one of her many Oscar nominations in the 1990s.

Archibald Motley's "Bronzeville at Night"

Previous Editions:

Devil in a Blue Dress

Working Girl

The Addams Family

Beetlejuice

The Birdcage

My Best Friend's Wedding

To Die For

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo