Devil in a Blue Dress is a 1995 American neo-noir mystery thriller film written and directed by Carl Franklin, based on Walter Mosley's 1990 novel of the same name and features Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals, and Don Cheadle.

[2] Set in 1948, the film follows World War II veteran Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins who, desperate in need of a job, becomes drawn into a search for a mysterious woman.

In the Summer of 1948 in Los Angeles, Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins is laid off from his job at Champion Aircraft and needs money to pay his mortgage.

Explaining that Monet's disappearance led her wealthy fiancé, Todd Carter, to drop out of the Los Angeles mayoral race, Albright pays Easy to find Daphne, who is known to frequent the juke joints along Central Avenue.

Daphne then asks Easy to drive her to meet Richard McGee (the white man ejected from the club), who delivered a letter of hers to the wrong place.

Questioned again by the detectives, who found a note with Coretta's name on it in McGee's pocket, they accuse Easy of double homicide, and give him until the following morning to clear his name.

Easy and Mouse confront Junior – the owner of the cigarettes – who admits to driving McGee home and taking a letter from him to Coretta to deliver to Daphne, but denies killing him.

They visit Dupree in Compton where, inside Coretta's Bible, Easy finds the contents of a letter and incriminating photographs of Terell with naked children.

Carl Franklin wrote and directed the neo-noir because he liked the novel by Walter Mosley, who in turn served as an associate producer on the film.

Rather it's the film's glowing visual qualities, a striking performance by Denzel Washington and the elegant control Carl Franklin has over it all that create the most exotic crime entertainment of the season.

The explanation, when it comes, tidies all the loose ends, but you're aware it's arbitrary – an elegant solution to a chess problem, rather than a necessary outcome of guilt and passion.

"[8] In a positive film review, critic James Berardinelli discussed Devil in a Blue Dress from a sociological viewpoint, especially one involving the 1990s.

Finding the guilty parties isn't as involving as learning their motivation, which is buried in society's perception of racial interaction.

[10] In Variety, film critic Todd McCarthy wrote, "Entering the main flow of the story relatively late, Don Cheadle steals all his scenes as a live-wire, trigger-happy old buddy of Easy’s from Texas, while Sizemore and Mel Winkler, as colorful underworld figures, make strong impressions.

The website’s critical consensus reads: "Humor, interesting characters, and attention to details make the stylish Devil in a Blue Dress an above average noir.

[13] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade A− on scale of A to F.[14] The first week's gross was $5,422,385 from 1,432 screens and the total receipts in the United States and Canada were $16,004,418.