Frances Farmer: The Life and Films of a Troubled Star

by Peter Shelley

Overview

Previous biographies of American actress Frances Farmer (1913-1970) have downplayed her professional achievements to emphasize her turbulent personal life, including several police arrests and repeated confinements in a state mental hospital. By focusing upon her acting career, this book endeavors to restore her position as a significant Hollywood player of the 1930s, '40s and '50s. An analysis of her film, radio and television work is offered, as well as assessments of the three Frances Farmer biopics and the documentaries in which she is featured. Each of her 16 films receives a chapter-length discussion. A very lengthy biographical chapter is included.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786447459
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	11/19/2010
Pages:	260
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Peter Shelley is a playwright, screenwriter and author of several film books. He lives in Gosford, Australia.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     
Preface     
Introduction and Biography     

THE FILMS
Too Many Parents (1936)     
Border Flight (1936)     
Rhythm on the Range (1936)     
Come and Get It (1936)     
Exclusive (1937)     
The Toast of New York (1937)     
Ebb Tide (1937)     
Ride a Crooked Mile (1938)     
South of Pago Pago (1940)     
Flowing Gold (1940)     
World Premiere (1941)     
Badlands of Dakota (1941)     
Among the Living (1941)     
Son of Fury (1942)     
No Escape (1943)     
The Party Crashers (1958)     

TELEVISION
Toast of the Town/The Ed Sullivan Show ( June 1957)     
Toast of the Town/The Ed Sullivan Show (October 1957)     
Playhouse 90—“Reunion” (1958)     
Matinee Theatre—“Something Stolen, Something Blue” (1958)     
This Is Your Life (1958)     
Studio One—“Tongues of Angels” (1958)     
Frances Farmer Presents (1958–1964, including Indianapolis special)     

BIOPICS AND DOCUMENTARIES
Frances (1982)     
Will There Really Be a Morning? (1983)     
Committed (1984)     
Broadway’s Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre (1988)     
Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies (1988)     
Hollywood Undressed (1991)     
E! Mysteries and Scandals (1998)     
A&E Biography—“Paradise Lost” (2000)     

Bibliography     
Index     

Editorial Reviews

beautiful and talented, actress Frances Farmer is best remembered for the horrific backstory of alcoholism, mental illness, and a lengthy stay in a sanitarium, marked by lurid tales of the filthy conditions and rumors of a lobotomy. The book’s best-executed section considers Farmer’s image in the popular media, notably the 1982 Jessica Lange film, Frances and Farmer’s famous 1958 appearance on the TV show, This Is Your Life”—Library Journal; “the work is even-handed, examining Farmer’s troubled life in a sensitive fashion”—Reference & Research Book News; “Shelley is to be congratulated on his research on Farmer’s career and his determination to finally get the book published. Where this volume is at its most interesting is the biographical section...a volume that the casual and fanatical Frances Farmer fan will want to own”—Scarlet.

From the Publisher

"Shelley is to be congratulated on his research on Farmer's career and his determination to finally get the book published. Where this volume is at its most interesting is the biographical section...a volume that the casual and fanatical Frances Farmer fan will want to own"

Scarlet

the work is even-handed, examining Farmer's troubled life in a sensitive fashion

Reference & Research Book News

beautiful and talented, actress Frances Farmer is best remembered for the horrific backstory of alcoholism, mental illness, and a lengthy stay in a sanitarium, marked by lurid tales of the filthy conditions and rumors of a lobotomy. The book's best-executed section considers Farmer's image in the popular media, notably the 1982 Jessica Lange film, Frances and Farmer's famous 1958 appearance on the TV show, This Is Your Life

Library Journal