Sigrid Gurie

Legend has it that producer Samuel Goldwyn, under the impression that actress Sigrid Gurie was born in Norway, eagerly promoted his discovery "the new Garbo" and "the Sweetheart of the Fjords"--only to furtively retract his publicity campaign when it was revealed that Gurie hailed from Brooklyn. While Gurie was indeed born in Flatbush, she was raised in Norway and Sweden by her Scandinavian parents, returning to Brooklyn upon reaching adulthood. She was introduced to filmgoers in the 1938 Goldwyn epic The Adventures of Marco Polo; the blame for the failure of this film is often placed on the inexperienced Gurie's lovely shoulders, but in fact Marco Polo would have been an embarrassment no matter who filled the leading-lady slot. She went on to give worthwhile performances in such films as Algiers (1938), Three Faces West (1940) and Voice in the Wind (1944), but she never caught on with the public. Sigrid Gurie had been retired for over 20 years when she died of an embolism at the age of 58.

~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide