Frances Gifford
Encyclopedia
Mary Frances Gifford was an American
actress who played leads and supporting roles in many 1930s and 1940s movies.
and at the age of 16 had applied to UCLA School of Law
with no intention of pursuing an acting career. With a friend, she visited the studios of Samuel Goldwyn
to watch a film being made and while there was spotted by a talent scout who brought her to the attention of Goldwyn, who signed her for an acting contract. After only receiving minor roles, she moved to RKO where she was cast in several uncredited supporting roles in films of the late 1930s, including Stage Door
(1937) starring Katharine Hepburn
and Ginger Rogers
.
In 1938 at the age of 18, she married character actor James Dunn
and in 1939 landed her first leading role, in the low-budget Mercy Plane, opposite her husband. A planned retirement was interrupted briefly when she played another uncredited role in James Stewart
's break-out film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
(1939). She played several more minor roles before she was, in 1941, loaned to Republic Pictures
and cast in the role which would arguably produce her most enduring fame: as the semi-clad Nyoka in Jungle Girl
, a 15-chapter movie serial
, based very loosely on the novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs
. The role was the first time since Pearl White
in the silent era that an actress had played the lead in the movie serial genre. The following year, Republic made a sequel Perils of Nyoka
but Gifford was no longer available and the heroine's part was played by Kay Aldridge
. With Gifford's film career gaining momentum and Dunn's on the decline, partly due to his battle with alcoholism
, the marriage had failed by 1942. She left RKO for Paramount Pictures
where she acted in several films including The Glass Key
(1942). In 1943 she made another jungle movie, co-starring with Johnny Weissmuller
in Tarzan Triumphs
at RKO. That year she also left Paramount and moved to the prestigious Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
studio with the sponsorship of an MGM executive.
At MGM there was more success playing leading roles in such films as Our Vines Have Tender Grapes
(1945) and She Went to the Races (1945) and the more notable The Arnelo Affair (1947). She also played in supporting roles including Thrill of a Romance (1945) with Esther Williams
, and Luxury Liner
(1948) with Jane Powell
.
(1950). However, during the 1950s her mental and physical health declined to the point where she was placed into Camarillo State Mental Hospital
in 1958. She would spend almost the entire next 25 years in and out of various institutions.
In 1983 a journalist found her working in the Pasadena, California
city library having apparently recovered. Gifford spent her final years in quiet obscurity and died of emphysema
in a convalescent center in Pasadena on January 16, 1994 at the age of 73. Despite reports that she is the sister of football star Frank Gifford
(also from southern California), the latter clearly indicates in his autobiography that his 'clan' consisted of a brother Waine and a sister Winona. Frances, evidently, was no relation.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress who played leads and supporting roles in many 1930s and 1940s movies.
Career
Gifford was born and raised in Long Beach, CaliforniaLong Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
and at the age of 16 had applied to UCLA School of Law
UCLA School of Law
The UCLA School of Law is the law school of the University of California, Los Angeles. It has been approved by the American Bar Association since 1950. It joined the Association of American Law Schools in 1952.- History :...
with no intention of pursuing an acting career. With a friend, she visited the studios of Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn was an American film producer, and founding contributor executive of several motion picture studios.-Biography:...
to watch a film being made and while there was spotted by a talent scout who brought her to the attention of Goldwyn, who signed her for an acting contract. After only receiving minor roles, she moved to RKO where she was cast in several uncredited supporting roles in films of the late 1930s, including Stage Door
Stage Door
Stage Door is a RKO film, adapted from the play by the same name, that tells the story of several would-be actresses who live together in a boarding house at 158 West 58th Street in New York City. The film stars Ginger Rogers, Katharine Hepburn, Adolphe Menjou, Gail Patrick, Constance Collier,...
(1937) starring Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
and Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
.
In 1938 at the age of 18, she married character actor James Dunn
James Dunn (actor)
James Howard Dunn was an American film actor.-Biography:Born in New York City of Irish descent, Dunn was the son of a Wall Street stockbroker who, according to Dunn, "either had a million or nothing." He joined his father in his business for three years...
and in 1939 landed her first leading role, in the low-budget Mercy Plane, opposite her husband. A planned retirement was interrupted briefly when she played another uncredited role in James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
's break-out film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a 1939 American drama film starring Jean Arthur and James Stewart about one man's effect on American politics. It was directed by Frank Capra and written by Sidney Buchman, based on Lewis R. Foster's unpublished story. Mr...
(1939). She played several more minor roles before she was, in 1941, loaned to Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures was an independent film production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959, and was best known for specializing in westerns, movie serials and B films emphasizing mystery and action....
and cast in the role which would arguably produce her most enduring fame: as the semi-clad Nyoka in Jungle Girl
Jungle Girl (serial)
Jungle Girl is a 15-Chapter Republic Pictures Serial starring Frances Gifford. It was directed by William Witney and John English based on the novel Jungle Girl by Edgar Rice Burroughs...
, a 15-chapter movie serial
Serial (film)
Serials, more specifically known as Movie serials, Film serials or Chapter plays, were short subjects originally shown in theaters in conjunction with a feature film. They were related to pulp magazine serialized fiction...
, based very loosely on the novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:...
. The role was the first time since Pearl White
Pearl White
Pearl Fay White was an American film actress, the so-called "Stunt Queen" of silent films, most notably in The Perils of Pauline.-Early life:...
in the silent era that an actress had played the lead in the movie serial genre. The following year, Republic made a sequel Perils of Nyoka
Perils of Nyoka
Perils of Nyoka is a 1942 Republic Movie serial directed by William Witney. It starred Kay Aldridge as Nyoka the Jungle Girl, a character who first appeared in the Edgar Rice Burroughs-inspired serial "Jungle Girl."-Plot:...
but Gifford was no longer available and the heroine's part was played by Kay Aldridge
Kay Aldridge
Kay Aldridge was an American model and actress. She is best known for playing feisty and frequently-imperiled heroines in black and white serials during the 1940s.-Life and work:...
. With Gifford's film career gaining momentum and Dunn's on the decline, partly due to his battle with alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
, the marriage had failed by 1942. She left RKO for Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
where she acted in several films including The Glass Key
The Glass Key
The Glass Key is a novel by Dashiell Hammett, said to be his favorite among his works. It was first published in 1931, and tells the story of gambler and racketeer Ned Beaumont, whose devotion to crooked political boss Paul Madvig leads him to investigate the murder of a local senator's son as a...
(1942). In 1943 she made another jungle movie, co-starring with Johnny Weissmuller
Johnny Weissmuller
Johnny Weissmuller was an Austro-Hungarian-born American swimmer and actor best known for playing Tarzan in movies. Weissmuller was one of the world's best swimmers in the 1920s, winning five Olympic gold medals and one bronze medal. He won fifty-two US National Championships and set sixty-seven...
in Tarzan Triumphs
Tarzan Triumphs
Tarzan Triumphs is a 1943 adventure film in which Tarzan fights the Nazis. Johnny Weismuller had portrayed the popular Edgar Rice Burroughs character in six films with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, but this was his first with the producer Sol Lesser at RKO Pictures...
at RKO. That year she also left Paramount and moved to the prestigious Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
studio with the sponsorship of an MGM executive.
At MGM there was more success playing leading roles in such films as Our Vines Have Tender Grapes
Our Vines Have Tender Grapes
Our Vines Have Tender Grapes is an American drama film released in 1945, directed by Roy Rowland and starring Edward G. Robinson and Margaret O'Brien.-Background:...
(1945) and She Went to the Races (1945) and the more notable The Arnelo Affair (1947). She also played in supporting roles including Thrill of a Romance (1945) with Esther Williams
Esther Williams
Esther Jane Williams is a retired American competitive swimmer and MGM movie star.Williams set multiple national and regional swimming records in her late teens as part of the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team...
, and Luxury Liner
Luxury Liner (film)
Luxury Liner is a 1948 romantic musical comedy film made by MGM. It was directed by Richard Whorf, and written by Richard Connell, Karl Kamb and Gladys Lehman...
(1948) with Jane Powell
Jane Powell
Jane Powell is an American singer, dancer and actress.After rising to fame as a singer in her home state of Oregon, Powell was signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer while still in her teens...
.
Later years
In 1948 Gifford was almost killed in a car accident, receiving severe head injuries, an event which sidelined her career and caused a decline in her health. She attempted a comeback in two early 1950s films, Sky Commando (1953) and Riding HighRiding High (1950 film)
Riding High is a black and white musical racetrack film featuring Bing Crosby and directed by Frank Capra in which the songs were actually sung as the movie was being filmed instead of the customary lip-synching to previous recordings. The movie is a remake of an earlier Capra film called...
(1950). However, during the 1950s her mental and physical health declined to the point where she was placed into Camarillo State Mental Hospital
Camarillo State Mental Hospital
Camarillo State Mental Hospital, also known as Camarillo State Hospital, was a psychiatric hospital for both developmentally disabled and mentally ill patients in Camarillo, California. The hospital closed in 1997. The site has been redeveloped as the California State University, Channel Islands...
in 1958. She would spend almost the entire next 25 years in and out of various institutions.
In 1983 a journalist found her working in the Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
city library having apparently recovered. Gifford spent her final years in quiet obscurity and died of emphysema
Emphysema
Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary...
in a convalescent center in Pasadena on January 16, 1994 at the age of 73. Despite reports that she is the sister of football star Frank Gifford
Frank Gifford
Francis Newton "Frank" Gifford is a Hall of Fame former American football player and American sportscaster.-Early life:Gifford was born in Santa Monica, California, the son of Lola Mae and Weldon Gifford, an oil driller....
(also from southern California), the latter clearly indicates in his autobiography that his 'clan' consisted of a brother Waine and a sister Winona. Frances, evidently, was no relation.
Filmography
- Sky Commando (1953)
- Riding HighRiding High (1950 film)Riding High is a black and white musical racetrack film featuring Bing Crosby and directed by Frank Capra in which the songs were actually sung as the movie was being filmed instead of the customary lip-synching to previous recordings. The movie is a remake of an earlier Capra film called...
(1950) - Luxury LinerLuxury Liner (film)Luxury Liner is a 1948 romantic musical comedy film made by MGM. It was directed by Richard Whorf, and written by Richard Connell, Karl Kamb and Gladys Lehman...
(1948) - The Arnelo Affair (1947)
- Little Mister Jim (1946)
- She Went to the RacesShe Went to the RacesShe Went to the Races is a 1945 American comedy film directed by Willis Goldbeck and starring James Craig, Frances Gifford and Ava Gardner. A team of scientists discover a seemingly foolproof way of discovering the winner of horse races.-Cast:...
(1945) - Our Vines Have Tender GrapesOur Vines Have Tender GrapesOur Vines Have Tender Grapes is an American drama film released in 1945, directed by Roy Rowland and starring Edward G. Robinson and Margaret O'Brien.-Background:...
(1945) - Thrill of a RomanceThrill of a RomanceThrill of a Romance was an American romance film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1945, starring Van Johnson, Esther Williams and Carleton G. Young, with musical performances by opera singer Lauritz Melchior...
(1945) - Marriage Is a Private Affair (1944)
- Cry 'Havoc'Cry 'Havoc'This article is about the 1943 motion picture. For the board game see Cry Havoc.Cry 'Havoc' is a 1943 American drama film, produced by MGM and directed by Richard Thorpe...
(1943) - Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour (1943)
- Tarzan TriumphsTarzan TriumphsTarzan Triumphs is a 1943 adventure film in which Tarzan fights the Nazis. Johnny Weismuller had portrayed the popular Edgar Rice Burroughs character in six films with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, but this was his first with the producer Sol Lesser at RKO Pictures...
(1943) - Star Spangled RhythmStar Spangled RhythmStar Spangled Rhythm is a 1943 all-star cast musical film made by Paramount Pictures during World War II as a morale booster. Many of the Hollywood studios produced such films during the war, generally musicals, frequently with flimsy storylines, and with the specific intent of entertaining the...
(1942) - American Empire (1942)
- The Glass KeyThe Glass KeyThe Glass Key is a novel by Dashiell Hammett, said to be his favorite among his works. It was first published in 1931, and tells the story of gambler and racketeer Ned Beaumont, whose devotion to crooked political boss Paul Madvig leads him to investigate the murder of a local senator's son as a...
(1942) - Beyond the Blue HorizonBeyond the Blue HorizonBeyond the Blue Horizon is a 1971 studio album by American guitarist George Benson, released by CTI Records.- Track listing :# "So What" – 9:15# "The Gentle Rain" – 9:09...
(1942)
- Tombstone, the Town Too Tough to DieTombstone, the Town Too Tough to DieTombstone: The Town Too Tough to Die is a Western film released in 1942, starring Richard Dix and Kent Taylor, and directed by William McGann.-Plot:...
(1942) - My Heart Belongs to Daddy (1942)
- The Remarkable Andrew (1942)
- The Reluctant DragonThe Reluctant DragonThe Reluctant Dragon is an 1898 children's story by Kenneth Grahame , which served as the key element to the 1941 feature film with the same name from Walt Disney Productions. The story has also been set to music as a children's operetta by John Rutter, with words by David Grant...
(1941) - Jungle GirlJungle Girl (serial)Jungle Girl is a 15-Chapter Republic Pictures Serial starring Frances Gifford. It was directed by William Witney and John English based on the novel Jungle Girl by Edgar Rice Burroughs...
(1941) - West Point Widow (1941)
- Border Vigilantes (1941)
- Hold That Woman!Hold That Woman!- Cast :*James Dunn as Jimmy Parker, a Skip-Tracer*Frances Gifford as Mary Mulvaney*George Douglas as Jewel Thief Steve Brady*Rita La Roy as Lulu Driscoll, Brady's Girlfriend*Martin Spellman as Mike Mulvaney*Eddie Fetherston as Conroy...
(1940) - Mercy Plane (1939)
- Mr. Smith Goes to WashingtonMr. Smith Goes to WashingtonMr. Smith Goes to Washington is a 1939 American drama film starring Jean Arthur and James Stewart about one man's effect on American politics. It was directed by Frank Capra and written by Sidney Buchman, based on Lewis R. Foster's unpublished story. Mr...
(1939) - Having a Wonderful Time (1938)
- Night Spot (1938)
- Living on Love (1937)
- Stage DoorStage DoorStage Door is a RKO film, adapted from the play by the same name, that tells the story of several would-be actresses who live together in a boarding house at 158 West 58th Street in New York City. The film stars Ginger Rogers, Katharine Hepburn, Adolphe Menjou, Gail Patrick, Constance Collier,...
(1937) - New Faces of 1937New Faces of 1937New Faces of 1937, aka Young People is a black and white 1937 American musical film.-Cast:*Joe Penner - Seymore Seymore*Milton Berle - Wallington 'Wally' Wedge*Harry Parke - Parkyakarkus 'Parky'...
(1937) - Woman Chases ManWoman Chases ManWoman Chases Man is a 1937 romantic comedy film starring Miriam Hopkins and Joel McCrea. The plot concerns a former millionaire and his wealthy son Kenneth. The millionaire enlists the help of a young female architect named Virginia to con money out of his son in order to start up a housing project...
(1937)
External links
- Frances Gifford bio
- Allmovie bio
- Obituary from the New York Times