Frances (1982)

The true story of Frances Farmer's meteoric rise to fame in Hollywood and the tragic turn her life took when she was blacklisted.

Director:

Graeme Clifford

Writers:

Eric Bergren, Christopher De Vore,

Stars:

Jessica Lange, Kim Stanley, Sam Shepard

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jessica Lange	...	Frances Farmer
Kim Stanley	...	Lillian Farmer
Sam Shepard	...	Harry York
Bart Burns	...	Ernest Farmer
Jonathan Banks	...	Hitchhiker
Bonnie Bartlett	...	Studio Stylist
James Brodhead	...	Desk Sergeant
Jane Jenkins	...	Lady at Roosevelt Hotel (as J.J. Chaback)
Jordan Charney	...	Harold Clurman
Rod Colbin	...	Sentencing Judge
Daniel Chodos	...	'No Escape' director
Donald Craig	...	Ralph Edwards
Sarah Cunningham	...	Alma Styles
Lee de Broux	...	'Flowing Gold' Director
Jeffrey DeMunn	...	Clifford Odets

Storyline

The true story of Frances Farmer's meteoric rise to fame in Hollywood and the tragic turn her life took when she was blacklisted.

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Plot Keywords:

frances farmer | asylum | mental illness | one word title | police | 

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Taglines:

Her story is shocking, disturbing, compelling... and true.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 February 1983 (Argentina)

Also Known As:

Frances, mia adesmefti gymaika

Filming Locations:

Big Oaks Lodge, Saugus, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$5,000,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brooksfilms, EMI Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

140 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

About a year after this movie was made and released, actress Susan Blakely, who had been considered to play Frances Farmer in this film, portrayed Farmer in the 1983 CBS tele-movie, Will There Really Be a Morning?.

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Goofs

When Frances is at the party and is warned that she's being "bugged" by the Feds, a boom mic is clearly visible over her head.

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Quotes

Mr. Bebe: Come along with me, Fanny.
Frances Farmer: Frances. You know, I'm not the cookbook.
Mr. Bebe: You see, you've got to change that name.

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Connections

Referenced in The Fly Papers: The Buzz on Hollywood's Scariest Insect (2000)

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Soundtracks

"Piano Sonata in A major, K.331"
Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Chet Swiatkowsky

User Reviews

Great performances but largely false

Jessica Lange and Kim Stanley give remarkable performances in "Frances," but if you are looking for anything resembling the truth about this gifted actress, this is *not* the film to see--in fact, unfortunately, no factual account of Frances' life has yet been presented on either the movie or TV screen, with the possible exception of A&E's excellent Biography episode about her.

The film completely fictionalizes and sensationalizes several aspects of Frances' life, inventing characters out of whole-cloth and completely misrepresenting her institutionalization, including spuriously alleging she was lobotomized. There is ample documentary evidence proving Frances never underwent this horrible procedure; you can read the facts in my web article "Shedding Light on Shadowland," which is linked under the miscellaneous sites section on IMDb's Frances Farmer page (or do a Google for "Shedding Light on Shadowland").

In the recent DVD release, director Graeme Clifford can be heard commenting, in what is surely the understatement of the decade, "We didn't want to be nickel and diming the audience to death with facts." The *real* story of Frances Farmer is far more fascinating than this sad exercise in Hollywood "fictionalizing."