The Devil and Miss Jones (1941) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

The movie is set in New York City, primarily centered around Neely's Department Store where the workers organize and resist management. A key scene takes place at Coney Island, where a beach day provides contrast to the urban workplace tensions and allows personal relationships to develop.

• new york city
• coney island
• department store
• setting

Neely's Department Store is the central workplace and the catalyst for the film's conflict. It represents corporate power and wealth, where the wealthy owner John P. Merrick secretly controls the business while workers organize to demand fair treatment and job security.

• neely's department store
• workplace
• labor dispute

The film explores three interconnected themes: labor union solidarity and the risks of organizing against powerful employers, romance across social class boundaries, and identity deception where an undercover wealthy executive confronts his own biases about workers and power.

• labor union
• love and class
• identity
• deception
• themes

The movie portrays worker solidarity positively, showing workers organizing to protect jobs and secure fair treatment. When the wealthy owner goes undercover and experiences their struggles firsthand, he develops empathy and ultimately embraces more equitable views of workers' rights.

• labor unions
• workers rights
• organizing
• solidarity

The romance elements challenge class assumptions by pairing wealthy executive John P. Merrick with clerk Elizabeth Ellis, and union organizer Joe with clerk Mary Jones. These relationships become catalysts for personal change, showing how love can bridge social boundaries and reshape loyalties.

• romance
• class differences
• love story
• social boundaries

John P. Merrick disguises himself as a shoe clerk to infiltrate his own store and confront labor agitators. This ruse forces him to confront his biases about workers, blur the lines between employer and employee, and ultimately leads to moral awakening about power and integrity.

• disguise
• identity
• undercover
• deception
• moral awakening

John P. Merrick is the wealthiest person on Earth who secretly owns Neeley's Department Store. Disguising himself as shoe clerk Thomas Higgins, he seeks to quell worker unrest, but his experience with the workforce transforms him from a detached tycoon into someone who empathizes with labor concerns.

• john merrick
• thomas higgins
• owner
• tycoon
• protagonist

Mary Jones is a sweet-natured clerk at Neely's who becomes central to the union movement. She befriends both John and Joe, serving as an ally in the push for fair treatment while navigating her own relationship with Joe. Her courage and loyalty anchor the workers' solidarity.

• mary jones
• clerk
• union
• worker

Joe O'Brien is a labor union organizer who helps the workers resist management pressure. His principled approach, referencing the Bill of Rights, helps prevent trouble with authorities. His romance with Mary links worker activism to personal commitment.

• joe o'brien
• union organizer
• labor leader

Elizabeth Ellis is a clerk at Neely's who attracts John P. Merrick's affection. She represents a humane perspective within the store and embodies the possibility of a future where love and fairness coexist with ambition. Her relationship with John highlights trust and sacrifice.

• elizabeth ellis
• clerk
• love interest

Coney Island provides a contrasting backdrop of leisure that sharpens social tensions and sparks personal realizations. The beach outing allows relationships between characters from different social classes to develop outside the workplace setting, emphasizing the divide between corporate power and everyday workers.

• coney island
• beach
• setting
• social tension