Based on the 1899 play La Gioconda by Italian writer Gabriele D'Annunzio, this updated adaptation portrayed the story of vengeful woman—a "vamp"—who uses her beauty and sensuality to lure a young man to ruin, destroying both his marriage and his career as an artist.

Her flirtatious manner and enticing looks quickly captivate the artist, who is already married but falls hopelessly in love with her, so much so that he abandons his wife Silvia and their three-year-old daughter Beata.

[10][d] According to the film's 1915 copyright registration (LP6036), "scenarist" Joseph H. Trant based his storyline on the translated Broadway version of D'Annunzio's La Gioconda, which premiered in New York on November 4, 1902.

In fact, numerous sources in 1915 report that one of the conditions that D'Annunzio insisted on in selling the rights of his 1899 play to Fox was that the studio guaranteed Bara would star in its film.

[13] The Devil’s Daughter was filmed during the latter half of April and May 1915, with some interior and backlot scenes shot at Fox's studio facilities in New Jersey, which were located near the corner of Main Street and Linwood Avenue in Fort Lee.

[13] Trade publications in 1915 informed their readers that the actors and support personnel had to endure high temperatures and painful sunburns, as well as cope with poisonous snakes, sharks, and large sand crabs that were "liable to nip your toes off".

The theme of his talk, states the paper, would be "on how d'Annunzio's 'Gioconda,' now called 'The Devil's Daughter,' was made" and would be presented when the film opened "at the Grand [Opera House] in a few days".

Two states in particular, Ohio and Kansas, drew significant media coverage during the summer and early fall of 1915 for their efforts to prevent or limit the public's exposure to the film.

[20][g]Following the midnight screening at his theater, the Grand's manager and the secretary of Cincinnati's retail association traveled to Columbus on June 28 "to protest" the censors' cuts to the film and to ask authorities at the state capital "to reconsider" their order.

[25][26] According to Motography, the increasing restrictions placed on the content of various motion pictures by Kansas had been "bitterly condemned by film producers and exhibitors" but the state's total "ban on 'The Devil's Daughter' aroused the flame of resentment to white heat.

Like that film, The Devil's Daughter again showcased Bara as a femme fatale, a "vamp" who lures men with her exotic beauty and sexuality and then drains them—not of their actual blood like the vampire character developed by Irish novelist Bram Stoker—only of their will and complete ability to resist her control.

In assessing Bara's return to that role, the critic for Motion Picture News, George Proctor, recognizes in his review her screen appeal and its association with the film's artistry.

He also commends the performances of several other cast members:Theda Bara's physical charms and many scenes chosen for their photographic beauty give the picture considerable artistic value.

[27] The newspaper also sums up Bara's role, characterizing it as "a veritable daughter of the devil, breaking up homes, alienating husbands and wives and wrecking the lives of promising young men.

"[27] In Connecticut the Hartford Courant judged the film to be "one of the most sensational pictures ever made", while in Georgia The Atlanta Constitution viewed it as a "wonderful story" with an "exceptionally strong" cast.

In addition to admiring Bara's performance and her "French mannerisms", The Minneapolis Morning Tribune commended the production's overall screen presentation, noting that its "luxuriant tropical surroundings and Italian gardens make a surpassingly beautiful picture".

"[31] Certainly, in connection to the restrictions and bans being imposed on the film by some state authorities, there were a host of related negative comments about the melodrama, such as those made by one detractor in Ohio who deemed it "outrageous" and possessing no moral other than "illustrating the vile effects that a vampire has upon men's homes".

The Moving Picture World labeled it a "poor imitation" of A Fool There Was and hampered by a "wearisome" plot with overly dramatic scenes that at one point "brought a general laugh from the large audience at a private showing" in New York.