Frances (1982)

The 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 2 wins & 7 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

Frances Farmer, a precocious Seattle teenager, takes unpopular social and political positions, to the mixed reactions of her parents. Frances becomes an actress and has some strong success in New York, but her refusal to bend her convictions and her outspoken (but sometimes naive) political expressiveness cause her difficulties, especially after she accepts a Hollywood contract. Torn between new-found success and intense feelings that she does not deserve the riches and fame she gains from the phoniness of Hollywood, Frances butts heads with studio executives and with her own mother, who revels in Frances's fame but provides Frances no emotional support. When drunken fights and arrests derail her career, Frances is sent to a psychiatric hospital with the acquiescence of her mother. What follows is a nightmare of poor treatment and psychological trauma, augmented by the increasing determination of Frances's mother to control her daughter's life.

---

Plot Keywords:

female lead | female mental patient | bad temper | courtroom | actress | 

---

Taglines:

Beautiful. Talented. Intelligent. Courageous. She Was Frances Farmer. She Should've Been The Silver Screen's Greatest Star.

---

Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 February 1983 (Argentina)

Also Known As:

Frances, a Filha da Fúria

Filming Locations:

Big Oaks Lodge, Saugus, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,624, 26 December 1982, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$5,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brooksfilms,EMI Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

140 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard fell in love while working on the movie and subsequently had two children together, Hanna and Walker.

---

Goofs

Among the framed portraits of actresses under contract to Paramount Pictures hanging on Mr. Bebe's office walls is one of Joan Crawford. But Crawford was an MGM contract player at the time portrayed in the scene and never worked for Paramount.

---

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.

---

Connections

Referenced in In Treatment: Frances: Week Three (2010)

---

Soundtracks

It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
Music by Duke Ellington
Lyrics by Irving Mills
Arranged and Performed by Mood Indigo

User Reviews

Madness as a result of being haunted by the media because you are honest.

'Frances' is a highly touching reconstruction of the life of fifties actress Frances Farmer, from Seattle. Jessica Lange did a miraculous job in playing Frances, with paranoia in her rolling eyes, which -I must admit- makes her look like a madwoman indeed. The movie shows how someone can be completely destroyed by misunderstandings, enlarged by a ridiculous amount of media attention. The most beautiful part is that, where Frances returns to Seattle, now a star. The people who used to scorn her, are now kissing her butt to gain her sympathy. She stands still in the middle of the hallway, and with all eyes on her she starts to scream they are hypocrites. After that, she is of course again considered crazy, like before. Even when she only wants to be left alone, she is haunted and harassed by those who feel called upon 'helping her'. This, combined with a rather sensitive and unstable character, makes her paranoid and finally leads to her destruction.

I first heard about Frances Farmer through an interview with Kurt Cobain, who admired her courage and was experiencing the same as she had. Courtney got married in one of her dresses and even though their baby wasn't named after her but after a male Frances, they both thought of her later. Cobain also wrote a song about her, 'Frances Farmer will have her revenge on Seattle', which appeared on the second Nirvana studio album 'In Utero'.