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| Frances Farmer: 1913 -1970 |
Frances Farmer never received a lobotomy. Also, (despite Hollywood) she was a quite successful stage actress and TV hostess until she lost her battle with cancer at the age of 56. Odd how these "minor" details were not mentioned in Frances (the so-called biopic about her life).
The two most well known books based on her life (WILL THERE REALLY BE A MORNING and SHADOWLAND) are more fiction than fact.
1. Frances was never raped by dozens of soldiers while she was in ANY mental hospital.
2. She was never a Communist.
3. She might have been an atheist during her youth, but eventually found faith in God.
4. Hollywood DID say she was as talented as Garbo, but started singing a different tune once Frances had her quite minor encounter with the police (a petty traffic violation).
5. She was not a "basket case" when she appeared on THIS IS YOUR LIFE in 1958. In fact, she was more than polite given how obnoxious the host of the program was to her (I would have slugged him).
6. Farmer's best movies: COME AND GET IT, RHYTHM ON THE RANGE, TOAST OF NEW YORK, SON OF FURY, and FLOWING GOLD.
7. Farmer's worst enemy was not Hollywood but her deranged mother.
8. Kurt Cobain helped to raise awareness about Frances Farmer's plight with his song: FRANCES FARMER WILL HAVE HER REVENGE ON SEATTLE.
Excellent post. Thanks for this, Dylan. Frances Farmer was a beautiful performer and all she owed the public was thespianic excellence. In that, she delivered admirably. Attempts by invasive sensationalists to sell fan magazines were summarily ignored by me and hopefully my generation. I was 20 when she died and thought the world somewhat less lovely because of it.
ReplyDeleteI thank you much for your kind words, dear Geo. Frances Farmer was a remarkable woman during a time when women were supposed to just look pretty and keep silent. Well, she was beautiful, but she also had a sharp mind that society did its best to silence. And Frances was not one to remain silent.
DeleteA great post, Dylan - and all of your observations about Frances Farmer are absolutely true. With the many fabrications that have been written about her life, it took me years to extract fact from fantasy.
ReplyDeleteFrances struggled with serious emotional problems, but most of them were caused by all the chaos around her - which eventually made her explode (I can personally relate to this).
In my opinion, she was never mentally ill - - but her mother definitely was. In essence, her mother destroyed her life.
I never heard of Frances Farmer until I was about 20 years old. I found her autobiography in a book store on Hollywood Boulevard and bought it out of curiosity. I immediately became a diehard fan. Around that time they began showing some of her films on the late show (on TV). I was mesmerized by her beauty, talent, and unusually lovely voice.
Later, after doing some research, I published an article about her for a Hollywood fan magazine. At that time Farmer was nearly forgotten and I merely wanted to revive her memory (that was before the film with Jessica Lang was made).
I still have her autobiography (which, I think, wasn't entirely written by her - it was "enhanced" by one of her friends after her death). I also used to have a copy of "Shadowland" but can't find it.
Anyway, thanks for this post.
Jon, thank you for such a thought provoking comment! I feel at a loss because you actually had an article about FF published! Is there any way I could read it online?
ReplyDeleteI saw Frances (the movie) before I ever read a single word about her in print. I'd just started therapy for my depression and anxiety, so after I read Roger Ebert's positive review about the film, I figured I might learn a thing or two about how other people lived with such a condition. The movie floored me.
It was only after 2-3 years of research (this was before the internet) that I figured out something was totally off about the film. The best thing I can say about the movie is Jessica Lange deserved an Academy Award for her performance. Instead, they gave it to her for Tootsie (of all movies!)
I don't know if you know this about Frances, but she was as fond of cats as we are. She often had several. and they seemed to calm her in ways that psych meds and alcohol never could. She was a gentle soul at heart (she wrote and published poems), but Hollywood was too brutal to her - so she freaked out as a result. I don't blame her.
If you are a poet at heart, stay as far away from Hollywood as you can :-)
P.S. The title of her "autobiography" (Will There Really be a Morning) is from a favorite Emily Dickinson poem she loved big time.
"Will there really be a morning?
ReplyDeleteIs there such a thing as day?
Could I see it from the mountains
If I were as tall as they....."
I remember the beautiful Dickinson poem, but I never knew that Frances Farmer liked cats. I'm not surprised.
I still have a copy of the magazine with my article, but I'll have to search for it (it's in a box somewhere, with my other publications). I admittedly haven't seen it in twenty years (at least)and I'm sure it's not very good. I wrote it without much research, during a time when I didn't have a computer and knew nothing about the Internet.
When I find it, I'll post something about it on my blog.
Much like you, the story of Francis Farmer gave me strength and inspiration when I was going through very difficult times.
By the way (off subject)-
I also published an article (in the movie magazine "Classic Images) about silent screen star Mary Miles Minter - who, ironically, was also destroyed by her insanely overbearing mother.
Jon, I still have copies of WILL THERE REALLY BE A MORNING? and SHADOWLAND. And you're right: WILL THERE REALLY BE A MORNING? was published after FF had died, and only after her close "friend" added a bunch of sensational garbage to increase interest in the book.
DeleteThe sad part is that many people still believe every word in the book is true. I believe the lobotomy rumor came about as a result of the many tall tales told in SHADOWLAND.
If you watch the FF documentary on YouTube - it makes it very clear that Farmer's family would have sued the hell out of Western State hospital if they even attempted to do such a horrific thing!
Also, the fact that she did successful stage and television work after her release makes it quite clear that no procedure was ever performed. Yet so many people still believe the myth.
I'd love to read your article! If you ever find it - please feel free to post it on your blog!
Hope your weekend was a really good one for you...
Very interesting post. I especially like your comment to Geo along the lines of how she lived in a time where women were expected to look pretty and keep their pretty little mouths shut. How true! Women were judged 99% by their appearance and no one wanted them to stress their pretty little heads by thinking or having an opinion. It took a special breed of female to speak her mind.
ReplyDeleteSusan, I'm so glad you know what I'm talking about! I don't think most women realize how the times have changed big time.
DeleteThey should be thanking FF for her independence and strength :-)
P.S. Something told me you would get this post :-)
Hi Dylan, since I know very little about Frances Farmer, I don't have anything to add really. I do, however, enjoy reading about topics where I learn new things, so many thanks for this informative post.
ReplyDeleteTake care !
Thanks Helga! Hope everything is going well for you! FF was somebody with a fierce spirit and independent soul. I think you would have liked her big time :-)
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