Angel Seduces Devil

Five years after the popular success of the erotic period comedy Anděl s ďáblem v těle (Angel Devil, 1983), director Václav Matějka made a sequel, whose story takes place just one year after the events of the first instalment. The 1930s have just begun and the upscale Riviéra brothel is prospering under its new owner, Renáta. The former boss, Gábi, known as Madam, has been relegated to the post of a mere manager and she decides to concoct a sophisticated revenge. Her main instrument in this venture is the charming womanising swindler Voženílek, who seduces the self-confident Renáta, thereby compromising her in the eyes of her rich, jealous husband. Madam, however, does not count on the fact that Voženílek is pursuing his own agenda and that not even murder will stand in his way… Thanks to its crime-based plot, Anděl svádí ďábla (Angel Seduces Devil) moves away from light entertainment toward a rather more “serious” spectacle anchored in the milieu of the 1930s. Despite this, however, it primarily offers an attractive diversion calculated to meet the basic needs of the widest possible audience. The no-holds-barred battle for power between two attractive women is set against the backdrop of the First Czechoslovak Republic using period details in a fashionable retro style. Once again there is no lack of musical numbers with a popular cast headed by Zdena Studénková (Renáta) and Božidara Turzonovová (Gábi). Josef Nedorost successfully complements his Slovak peers in the role of the professional seducer as does Dagmar Veškrnová as the salacious prostitute, Truda. This time, the story is based on the idea of “the end of the good old days,” in which Renáta’s ruthless predatory “her or me” approach wins out over an erstwhile semi-legal hedonism. The film’s finale lays the groundwork for another planned sequel, but this was never made.