---
name: "Gertrude Purcell"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/gertrude-purcell"
fi1m_id: "gertrude-purcell"
imdb_id: "nm0700717"
tmdb_id: 148850
wikidata_id: "Q18718157"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "14 June 1895"
died: "1 May 1963"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 82
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-25T02:51:03.818347+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Gertrude Purcell

## Identity

Gertrude Purcell

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/gertrude-purcell
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** gertrude-purcell
- **IMDb ID:** nm0700717
- **TMDB ID:** 148850
- **Wikidata ID:** Q18718157
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrude_Purcell, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18718157, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0700717/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/148850

Writer. Born 14 June 1895 in New York City, New York, USA. Died 1 May 1963.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 14 June 1895, New York City, New York, USA
- **Died:** 1 May 1963
- **Active:** 1937–1939
- **Average Fi1m score:** 82, as writer, over 2 titles
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrude_Purcell, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18718157, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0700717/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/148850

## Biography

Gertrude Purcell (14 June 1895 – 1 May 1963) was an American screenwriter, playwright and stage actress. Born in New York City, she attended Hunter College and Columbia University before writing several plays that reached Broadway in the 1920s, including *Voltaire* (1922).

She moved into film work in the early 1930s, initially under contract at Paramount and later as a freelancer for major studios. Her credits include the adaptation of *Stella Dallas* (1937), the screenplay for *Destry Rides Again* (1939) and the screenplay for *The Invisible Woman* (1940). She was married to producer Islin Auster.

In 1947 Purcell testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee about her earlier Communist Party membership. She attempted suicide shortly afterwards and largely retired from screenwriting, though she contributed a few later scripts.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Destry Rides Again* (1939), Fi1m 84, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/destry-rides-again.md)
- *Stella Dallas* (1937), Fi1m 80, Adaptation — [page](https://film.one/film/stella-dallas.md)

## Complete filmography (40)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Winter Wonderland* (1946), Screenplay
- *Paris Underground* (1945), Screenplay
- *Reckless Age* (1944), Screenplay
- *Follow the Boys* (1944), Screenplay
- *Ice Capades Revue* (1942), Screenplay
- *In Old California* (1942), Screenplay
- *A Close Call for Ellery Queen* (1942), Additional Dialogue
- *Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring* (1941), Screenplay
- *Arkansas Judge* (1941), Adaptation
- *The Invisible Woman* (1940), Screenplay
- *One Night in the Tropics* (1940), Screenplay
- *A Little Bit of Heaven* (1940), Screenplay
- *Destry Rides Again* (1939), Screenplay — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/destry-rides-again.md)
- *First Love* (1939), Story
- *The Lady and the Mob* (1939), Screenplay
- *Service de Luxe* (1938), Writer
- *Mother Carey's Chickens* (1938), Screenplay
- *Hitting a New High* (1937), Screenplay
- *Music for Madame* (1937), Screenplay
- *Stella Dallas* (1937), Adaptation — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/stella-dallas.md)
- *Super-Sleuth* (1937), Screenplay
- *Make Way for a Lady* (1936), Writer
- *The Witness Chair* (1936), Screenplay
- *Love Before Breakfast* (1936), Writer
- *If You Could Only Cook* (1935), Screenplay
- *The Girl Friend* (1935), Screenplay
- *Redheads on Parade* (1935), Story
- *The Human Side* (1934), as Additional Writing
- *She Was a Lady* (1934), Screenplay
- *Palooka* (1934), Screenplay
- *Another Language* (1933), Adaptation
- *Cocktail Hour* (1933), Screenplay
- *Child of Manhattan* (1933), Screenplay
- *No More Orchids* (1932), Screenplay
- *Vanity Street* (1932), Screenplay
- *The Night Mayor* (1932), Screenplay
- *The Girl Habit* (1931), Writer
- *The Royal Family of Broadway* (1930), Writer
- *Follow the Leader* (1930), Screenplay
- *The Sap from Syracuse* (1930), Screenplay

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/gertrude-purcell