In her eighteenth film in only two years,Gertrude Michael, having recently signed a long term contract with Paramount Pictures, was handed an assignment turned down by Carole Lombard, that of a lady jewel thief. Blonde, intelligent,sophisticated and edgy, Michael suited the role to a tee. Her performance opened her career to leads and costarring roles through the rest of the 1930s. The Catholic Church condemned this film for it glamorization of an amoral criminal. The audiences loved her easy chemistry with leading man Paul Cavanaugh, the scene-stealing Alison Skipworth,and the comic antics of Leon Errol. The film generated a series of two additional films which due to the puritannically revised code forced Sophie Lang to evolve into a rehabilitated criminal fighting evil. Still they were all good fun as Sophie Lang constantly appeared in different disguises and led the cops and the crooks on a merry chase. Several years ago this film was show in a 1930s Bad Girl retrospect at San Francisco's Roxie Cinema.Also on that program were Tala Birell in "She's Dangerous" and Claire Trevor in "Big Town Girl".
Review of The Notorious Sophie Lang
The Notorious Sophie Lang
(1934)
AS A LADY RAFFLES IN ONE OF THE LAST PRE-CODE FILMS
21 October 2003