The Notorious Gertrude Michael

One of the lesser known stars of the pre-code era has been featured in six of the films in the Balboa's Paramount series - and once you see Gertrude Michael, you immediately want to know more about her.

I first saw Gertrude Michael in "Search for Beauty" which plays the Balboa November 16th. Her sharp tongue, comic flair and somewhat manic energy make her a standout in the film. I soon discovered she had a long and varied career spanning the stage and screen, even scoring several lead roles while at Paramount in the 1930s. She appeared most often as a hard-edged woman who was not to be tangled with (see "Murder at the Vanities.") Perhaps her best starring role was the title character in "The Notorious Sophie Lang." She plays a glamorous master jewel thief trying to one up a male rival from across the pond. Good pacing, clever dialog, and a touch of risque humor made this comedy a big enough hit to spawn two sequels. "Sophie Lang" was the mystery feature mentioned in my last post, and I have a feeling Gertrude gained a few more fans after the screening. Though bouts with the bottle may have hurt her career, she continued to work into the '60s. A manuscript for a Michael bio exists, so let's hope that it will be published someday to shed some further light on this versatile performer.

Michael also appears in DeMille's "Cleopatra," playing this Saturday at the Balboa and turning up from time to time on TCM.