The Notorious Sophie Lang

1934 1h 4m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 6

ComedyCrimeDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After an extended stay in England, Sophie Lang returns to America. She is beautiful, sophisticated--and a notorious jewel thief. A New York police detective who's been trying to nail her finally comes up with what seems a foolproof scheme--to catch her off guard by having her fall for a handsome and suave jewel thief who happens to be in the U.S. traveling under an assumed name.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Gertrude Michael
Sophie Lang
Paul Cavanagh
Max Bernard, a.k.a. Sir Nigel Crane
Alison Skipworth
Aunt Nellie
Arthur Byron
Inspector Stone
Leon Errol
Stubbs
Ben Taggart
Capt. Thomson
Ferdinand Gottschalk
Augustus Telfen
Dell Henderson
House Detective

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ralph Murphy
Writers: Anthony Veiller
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 64-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

92 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Sophie Lang Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ralph Murphy, shot by Alfred Gilks. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor James Smith shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Gertrude Michael and Paul Cavanagh and Alison Skipworth carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0025577 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 6 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ralph Murphy directs. Alfred Gilks behind the camera. James Smith cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 64-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
292 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Part of the "Sophie Lang Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Ralph Murphy, shot by Alfred Gilks. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor James Smith shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Gertrude Michael and Paul Cavanagh and Alison Skipworth carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0025577 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 6 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
9Classified under 16 themes, including "hotel", "detective", "rivalry", "romance".

The technical file

Cinematography: Alfred Gilks
Editing: James Smith
Costume design: Travis Banton
Runtime: 64 min · 1h 4m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Notorious Sophie Lang (1934)

Part of

Sophie Lang Collection

Paramount Pictures

Also by

Ralph Murphy

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-12-30
★ 6/10
Gertrude Michael is quite good as this quirky comedy hits the ground running. She's the eponymous jewel thief returning to the United States after a lengthy visit to the UK. Finally, "Insp. Stone" (Arthur Byron) hopes he will have his chance to apprehend his elusive antagonist, so he tries to stitch her up, unwittingly, with fellow thief "Max" (Paul Cavanagh) and hopefully catch them both red handed with a priceless set of pearls. "Lang" is way to savvy to fall for this obvious ruse, smells a rat, and is soon doing most of the policeman's sleuthing for him in order to detect the real criminal mastermind in their midst whilst simultaneously not being outdone by her new, competitive, would-be beau. The detection elements of the plot here are really neither here nor there. What makes this a bit more notable is the provocative fashion in which Michael plays her role. "Sophie Lang" is a clever, wily and sexual creature and plays to her strengths - and to men's weaknesses - well as the story develops. As a comedy it falls rather flat, but as a movie that delivers a more substantial role for an actress in the early 1930s, it does a little better.

Production companies