Gale Sondergaard

Gale Sondergaard

Birth : 1899-02-15, Litchfield, Minnesota, USA

Death : 1985-08-14

History

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Gale Sondergaard (February 15, 1899 – August 14, 1985) was an American actress. Sondergaard began her acting career in theatre, and progressed to films in 1936. She was the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her film debut in Anthony Adverse (1936). She played supporting roles in various films during the late 1930s and early 1940s, including The Cat and the Canary (1939), The Mark of Zorro (1940) and The Letter (1940). She was nominated for a second Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for Anna and the King of Siam (1946) but by the end of the decade her film appearances were fewer. Married to the director Herbert Biberman, Sondergaard supported him when he was accused of communism and named as one of the Hollywood Ten in the early 1950s, and her film career was destroyed as a result. She moved with Biberman to New York City and worked in theatre, and acted in film and television occasionally from late 1960s. She moved back to Los Angeles where she died from cerebrovascular thrombosis. Description above from the Wikipedia article Gale Sondergaard, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia

Profile

Gale Sondergaard

Movies

Echoes
Mrs. Edmunds
An artist is plagued by nightmares of a love triangle and murder. A psychic says the dream figure is his brother, a "troubled soul" from an ancient past life. Nearly born as his twin but miscarried, this past life rival now breaks through in nightmares in attempt to repeat history.
The Return of a Man Called Horse
Elk Woman
Lord John Morgan has returned to civilized life in England, but finds he has nothing but disdain for that life. Yearning to embrace the simplicity of the American West-and the Yellow Hands Sioux tribe he left behind, Morgan returns to the tribe's land only to discover that they've been decimated by ruthless, government-backed fur traders. Led by Horse, they fight to repossess their land.
The Cat Creature
Hester Black
When a rich man dies, some items from a collection of his are stolen- an ancient Egyptian gold amulet and the mummy that was wearing it. The police consult scholars from the local University to help with the investigation, which is taking a more serious turn as people connected with the case are killed by wounds that seem to be from a housecat.
Savage Intruder
Leslie
An enigmatic young man manipulates his way into working at the decaying mansion of a once prolific, but now reclusive and alcoholic, movie star named Katharine Packard. While the rest of the house staff become suspicious of Vic's intentions, the aging movie queen is smitten. But as Vic begins behaving in more and more erratic ways, it becomes clear that he's far more sinister than his demeanor implies.
Slaves
New Orleans lady
A Kentucky slave fights for his freedom from cruel overseer whose mistress eventually joins Davis and the other slaves in their revolt.
East Side, West Side
Nora Kernan
A vain businessman puts strains on his happy marriage to a rich, beautiful socialite by allowing himself to be seduced by a former girlfriend.
Road to Rio
Catherine Vail
Scat Sweeney, and Hot Lips Barton, two out of work musicians, stow away on board a Rio bound ship, after accidentally setting fire to the big top of a circus. They then get mixed up with a potential suicide Lucia, who first thanks them, then unexpectedly turns them over to the ship's captain. When they find out that she has been hypnotized, to go through a marriage of convenience, when the ship reaches Rio, the boys turn up at the ceremony, in order to stop the wedding, and to help catch the crooks.
Pirates of Monterey
Señorita de Sola
A woman journeys to Spanish California to marry a Spanish officer, but on the way she meets and falls in love with an American adventurer who is part of a movement to overthrow the Spanish in California.
The Time of Their Lives
Emily
Two ghosts who were mistakenly branded as traitors during the Revolutionary War return to 20th century New England to retieve a letter from George Washington which would prove their innocence.
Anna and the King of Siam
Lady Thiang
In 1862, a young Englishwoman becomes royal tutor in Siam and befriends the King.
Night in Paradise
Attosa
Aesop of fable fame poses as an old man and woos away a princess who wants a king for his gold.
The Spider Woman Strikes Back
Zenobia Dollard
A young girl goes to work as a live-in caretaker for a spooky old woman. She doesn't know that every night, the woman drains some blood from her to feed her strange plant.
Enter Arsène Lupin
Bessie Seagrave
A rich but naive young woman is in possession of some priceless jewels. She herself doesn't know it, but a gang of jewel thieves does.
The Climax
Luise
Dr. Hohner, theatre physician at the Vienna Royal Theatre, murders his mistress, the star soprano when his jealousy drives him to the point of mad obsession. Ten years later, another young singer reminds Hohner of the late diva and his old mania kicks in. Hohner wants to prevent her from singing for anyone but him, even if it means silencing her forever.
Gypsy Wildcat
Rhoda
In an unspecified Renaissance kingdom, no sooner has Anube's gypsy tribe encamped near Baron Tovar's village when Count Orso is found murdered. The wicked baron blames the gypsies and imprisons them all in his castle. Meanwhile, a mysterious stranger on a white horse has hidden the murder arrow and won the heart of gypsy belle Carla, to the discomfiture of her erstwhile fiancée Tonio. Baron Tovar is also fascinated by Carla...especially when he notices her heraldic pendant.
Christmas Holiday
Mrs. Manette
Don't be fooled by the title. Christmas Holiday is a far, far cry from It's a Wonderful Life. Told in flashback, the story begins as Abigail Martin marries Southern aristocrat Robert Monette. Unfortunately, Robert has inherited his family's streak of violence and instability, and soon drags Abigail into a life of misery.
The Invisible Man's Revenge
Lady Irene Herrick
A fugitive, dangerous madman reaches an English village where he confronts his former partner who left him for dead in the jungle after their discovery of a diamond mine. When the former partner also claims to have since lost the mine and all its wealth, which he took all for himself, and though the partmer is still living in a state of luxury , the madman takes up an offer from a crazed scientist to make him invisible, something the scientist has already done with experimental animals, so that he can take revenge.
Follow the Boys
Gale Sondergaard (uncredited)
During World War II, all the studios put out "all-star" vehicles which featured virtually every star on the lot--often playing themselves--in musical numbers and comedy skits, and were meant as morale-boosters to both the troops overseas and the civilians at home. This was Universal Pictures' effort. It features everyone from Donald O'Connor to the Andrews Sisters to Orson Welles to W.C. Fields to George Raft to Marlene Dietrich, and dozens of other Universal players.
The Spider Woman
Adrea Spedding
Sherlock Holmes investigates a series of so-called "pajama suicides". He knows the female villain behind them is as cunning as Moriarty and as venomous as a spider. Based on "The Sign of Four" and the short stories "The Dying Detective", "The Final Problem", "The Speckled Band" and "The Adventure of the Devil's Foot".
Crazy House
Cameo Appearance
Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson are Broadway stars who return to Universal Studios to make another movie. The mere mention of Olsen and Johnson's names evacuates the studio and terrorizes the management and personnel. Undaunted, the comedians hire an assistant director and unknown talent, and set out to make their own movie.
The Strange Death of Adolf Hitler
Anna Huber
A man who is a dead ringer for Adolf Hitler plans to murder him and take over his identity.
Isle of Forgotten Sins
Marge Willison
An evil sea captain and the forces of nature threaten two divers' search for a fortune in gold in the South Pacific.
Appointment in Berlin
Gretta Van Leyden
The "war of nerves" which gripped the European continent in 1938, is the background for this war thriller starring George Sanders.
A Night to Remember
Mrs. Devoe
A woman rents a gloomy basement apartment in Greenwich Village thinking it will provide the perfect atmosphere for her mystery writer husband to create his next book. They soon find themselves in the middle of a real-life mystery when a corpse turns up in their apartment.
Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen
Mrs. Van Dorn
Detective Ellery Queen aids Free Dutch agents battle Nazi spies over a prize of industrial diamonds.
My Favorite Blonde
Madame Stephanie Runick
Larry Haines, a mediocre vaudeville entertainer, boards a train for Los Angeles. Aboard, he meets an attractive, blonde British agent carrying a coded message hidden in a brooch—and is being pursued by Nazi agents.
Paris Calling
Colette
Marianne Jannetier, a well-to-do Parisian, engaged to Andre Benoit, a high-ranking government official, flees the city when the goose-stepping Nazi storm-troopers arrive. When her mother dies on the road to Bordeaux as a result of Nazi bombing, she returns to Paris and joins the underground movement. Nicholas Jordan, an American member of the RAF, stranded in Paris after the evacuation is also working with the Paris underground. Marianne kills her former fiancée, a pro-Nazi informant, for the traitorous state papers he is carrying, and she and Jordan try to flee over a French seaport...
The Black Cat
Abigail Doone
Greedy heirs wait in a mansion for a rich cat lover to die, only to learn her cats come first.
The Letter
Mrs. Hammond
After a woman shoots a man to death, a damning letter she wrote raises suspicions.
The Mark of Zorro
Inez Quintero
Around 1820 the son of a California nobleman comes home from Spain to find his native land under a villainous dictatorship. On the one hand he plays the useless fop, while on the other he is the masked avenger Zorro.
The Blue Bird
Tylette (the cat)
An ungrateful girl and her little brother are transported in their dreams by a fairy to a wonderland, tasked with finding the mythical blue bird of happiness, meeting friends and foes along the way.
The Llano Kid
Lora Travers
Lora Travers is the only person who can identify hold-up artist The Llano Kid and she persuades him to come in on a scheme with her and her husband. They have been searching for the long-lost son of a rich Mexican widow and they get the Kid to claim it is him. All goes according to plan until greed and jealousy raise their heads.
The Cat and the Canary
Miss Lu
Ten years after the death of millionaire Cyrus Norman, his will is to be read out to his six relatives, including Joyce Norman and Wally Campbell. Organized by Norman's lawyer, Crosby, the six meet at Norman's eerie New Orleans Gothic mansion. During the reading, the superstitious housekeeper declares that someone will be dead by midnight. Wally fears for Joyce when she is declared the sole inheritor, but all are alarmed when Crosby turns up dead.
Juarez
Empress Eugenie
The newly-named emperor Maximilian and his wife Carlota arrive in Mexico to face popular sentiment favoring Benito Juárez and democracy.
Sons of Liberty
Rachel Salomon
Set during the American Revolution, this colorful 2 reel short tells the story of Haym Salomon, American patriot and financier of the American Revolution.
Never Say Die
Juno Marko
Bob Hope is being stalked by a predatory widow who is a widow of wealthy husbands many times over. Martha Raye is a Texan heiress who wants to marry her boyfriend Andy Devine, but her father is determined that she marry into royalty. To solve both their problems, Martha Raye and Bob Hope decide to marry, but will they ever find love together?
Dramatic School
Madame Therese Charlot
Aspiring actress Louise Muban attends the prestigious Paris School of Drama during the day and works at a dreary factory assembling gas meters at night. She daydreams and "acts" her way through life, and her fellow students at school begin to suspect her stories are just that - fabrications. After Louise begins to weave an actual meeting with a debonair playboy into a fantasy of club dates and romance, her classmate Nana discovers the lie when she too meets the playboy. Nana sets a trap for Louise, and the result is an end to one fantasy and the realization of another.
Lord Jeff
Doris Clandon
Spoiled child Geoffrey Bramer teams up with a pair of small time crooks to pose as an aristocrat and steal jewelry from exclusive shops. During a a caper, Geoffrey is caught and is sentenced to a reformatory where young men are trained to be sailors. He is befriended by model in-mate Terry O'Mulvaney but soon starts to get them both in trouble.
The Life of Emile Zola
Lucie Dreyfus
Biopic of the famous French writer Emile Zola and his involvement in the Dreyfus Affair.
Seventh Heaven
Nana, Diane's Sister
A Parisian sewer worker longs for a rise in status and a beautiful wife. He rescues a girl from the police, lives with her in a barren flat on the seventh floor, and then marches away to war.
Maid of Salem
Martha Harding
When a young woman named Barbara Clarke has an affair with adventurer Roger Coverman, it causes a scandal in the Puritanical town of Salem, Massachusetts. After a meddling girl arouses their suspicions, the town's elders accuse Barbara of being a witch. She is tried, convicted of sorcery and sentenced to death. As the townspeople prepare to burn Barbara at the stake, Roger tries desperately to save the woman he loves.
Anthony Adverse
Faith Paleologus
Based on the novel by Hervey Allen, this expansive drama follows the many adventures of the eponymous hero, Anthony Adverse. Abandoned at a convent by his heartless nobleman father, Don Luis, Anthony is later mentored by his kind grandfather, John Bonnyfeather, and falls for the beautiful Angela Giuseppe. When circumstances separate Anthony and Angela and he embarks on a long journey, he must find his way back to her, no matter what the cost.
The Making of a Great Motion Picture
Narrated documentary of the making of Anthony Adverse (1936), featuring many clips from the actual film.