hdemaio Some things are so awful they are fascinating. This movie is right up there with the best of the worst. I am not a Cecil B. DeMille fan but I have to wonder whether the epic meister was just having everyone on. I truly hope he wasn't being serious. But who knows? If your taste runs to the truly inept on a grand scale as only DeMille can do grand scale, the film is for you. I was especially enthralled by the idea of a dirigible being the setting for a 1930's brand of orgy. Not exactly the Hindenburg disaster but close enough for government work. Don't look for logic, consistency or any kind of rationality. Just sit back and chortle. The acting is as bad as the plot which is as bad as the singing which is as bad as the dancing. The dirigible is so bizarre it's a classic unto itself. Do you realize how few movies are based in dirigibles? This may be the reason why! See it to establish firmly in your mind the true meaning of the word - bad.

Ron Oliver A desperate wife disguises herself as the mysterious MADAME Satan in order to entice the attentions of her wayward husband.In 1928, movie magnet Cecil B. DeMille, usually associated with Paramount Studios, signed a three-picture contract with mighty MGM. The most exuberant result of this new association--the others were DYNAMITE (1929) and THE SQUAW MAN (1931)--was this bizarre, florid, highly unusual and very entertaining musical-comedy-soap opera which almost defies categorization in any other way than to simply say it is a 'DeMille Picture.'It was also the only musical he attempted (1930 was a year replete with singing stars enjoying--or abusing--the new sound technology) and perhaps that is a good thing, as the tunes here don't warble too well and are a bit of an embarrassment. Although the tale of marital infidelity which dominates the film's first half grows rather mawkish, DeMille awakes the audience in the second half by staging a naughty masquerade ball in a luxurious dirigible, no less, harbored high above New York City. Never one to let bad taste stand in his way, DeMille invites the viewer to wallow in Pre-Code purulence, before ending on a more moralistic note.Kay Johnson, a very talented & lovely actress who is now sadly forgotten, gives a lively performance as the abandoned wife determined to win back her fickle spouse. She deftly weaves between drama & spoofery, making her dynamically diabolic appearance as the title character at the airship ball both mysterious and alluring. As her husband, Reginald Denny comes across as much more one-dimensional and unsympathetic, but then his role is supposed to register as rather bland when compared to that of Miss Johnson.Owlish Roland Young is humorous, as always, this time playing Denny's best friend; his meek persona must hide a streak of wildness, however, to be able to host the truly bizarre zeppelin party. As Denny's young lover, Lillian Roth is all shrill, uncultured brashness--if this is what the director wanted, she hits the bulls-eye.Movie mavens will recognize DeMille's own voice as the radio announcer at the end of the film.

tricialu While this movie leaves a lot to be desired in the plot department, the costumes more than make up for it for any viewers interested in costume design, or 1930's fashion in general. Basically, the plot goes like this: a playboy husband (Bob) thinks his virtuous, classy wife (Angela- get it?) is "frigid," so he leaves her for saucy girlfriend Trixie. Determined to get her husband back, Angela attends an elaborate costume party held on a blimp, disguised as the incredible Madam Satan, a totally sexy mystery woman. Bob falls in love with her all over again even though he doesn't realize her true identity, just as the blimp is damaged and going to crash. Marital problems solved, and they jump to safety in parachutes. The special effects of people jumping to safety are totally cool, in a similar way to the 1933 King Kong's. It's totally worth sitting through the turgid plot for the classic Cecil B. DeMille scene at the costume party, and the amazing costumes were done by a young Adrian, the best Hollywood designer of all time, who also costumed The Wizard of Oz, The Women, Dinner at 8, and many other famous movies for silver screen goddesses like Crawford, Harlow, Garbo, and Norma Shearer.

drednm2004 Way too long, but bizarre enough to keep you interested. Madam Satan is domestic drama, musical, disaster film, and comedy all rolled up together.Elements of The Boy Friend and I Married an Angel along with the Hindenburg disaster. Kay Johnson, Roland Young, and Lillian Roth are fun, but Reginald Denny is a dud in a role better suited to Robert Montgomery or William Haines. All the famous DeMille excesses are here but to no great effect. As in all DeMille films, every scene seems to long, and this 1930 talkie demonstrates that DeMille never quite got the hang of pacing a scene in a talkie. Still, it's entertaining on several levels, and Kay Johnson is fascinating. She came to films to star in DeMille's 1929 talkie, Dynamite, and had a so-so starring career for a while. Lillian Roth is the real surprise here tho, funny, energetic, and sexy. See this one.