Noel Francis

Noel Francis
Born (1906-08-31)August 31, 1906
Temple, Texas, U.S.
Died October 30, 1959(1959-10-30) (aged 53)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation Actress
Years active 1925–1937

Noel Francis (August 31, 1906 – October 30, 1959) was an American actress of the stage and screen during the 1920s and 1930s. Born in Texas, she began her acting career on the Broadway stage in the mid 1920s, before moving to Hollywood at the beginning of the sound film era. Originally cast in films for her song and dance abilities, when musicals began to fall out of favor, she became better known for her tough girl characters. However, by the mid-1930s, she was being typecast into smaller roles, and made an attempt at a comeback on Broadway. When that failed, she returned briefly to Hollywood to make several B films, before retiring in 1937.

Early life

Francis was born on August 31, 1906, in Temple, Texas,[1] and grew up in Dallas. After high school, Francis moved to New York City, where she attended Columbia University.[2]

Career

Her break came when she was 19 years old, when she was cast as a Ziegfeld girl in the Broadway production, Ziegfeld Follies of 1925.[3] For the remainder of the decade she would work constantly for Florenz Ziegfeld, appearing in three more of his productions in featured roles,[4] including a major role in the musical comedy, Rio Rita, which starred the comedy duo of Wheeler and Woolsey.[5] Curiously, when Wheeler and Woolsey reprised their stage roles in a very successful 1929 film of the same name, Francis would not be cast in the film, most likely because she was one of the stars in the Broadway production of Show Girl, which also starred Jimmy Durante, Eddie Foy, Jr., and Ruby Keeler.[6]

While appearing in Show Girl, talent scouts from Fox Film saw her song and dance ability and signed her to a contract, intending for her to appear in musicals.[1] Her debut film was in a featured role in the Fox's big budget musical of the year, New Movietone Follies of 1930, which stars El Brendel and Marjorie White.[7] Her performance garnered good reviews by the New York Times,[8] even though the film did not due well at the box office, due to flagging audience interest in these type of musical reviews.[9] She would have featured roles in two more films that year, including the John Ford comedy Up the River, which starred Spencer Tracy and Humphrey Bogart in their film debuts.[10]

Due to the lack of success of Fox Movietone Follies of 1930, Fox dropped Francis' contract,[9] but she quickly switched studios to Warner Bros., where she would have her biggest film successes playing tough no-nonsense women.[1] During this period in the early 1930s she would have significant roles in several notable films. She would have featured roles in two films with James Cagney in 1931, Smart Money (also starring Edward G. Robinson) and Blonde Crazy (also starring Joan Blondell).[11][12] 1932 would see her appear in supporting and featured roles in numerous films, including what some would say was her best role, as Linda in I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, which starred Paul Muni.[13] Both the film and Muni would be nominated for an Academy Award.[14]

However, after Fugitive, the roles offered to Francis began to be smaller, and in smaller films, although she continued to be quite active through the mid 1930s.[15][9] In early 1935, she would have one of her few starring roles, in Stone of Silver Creek, which also starred Buck Jones, with whom she would develop a friendship.[16] Not satisfied with the caliber of work she was getting, Francis attempted to resurrect her Broadway career,[1] returning to New York, where she starred in a very short-lived production, Satellite, which lasted a single performance in November of 1935.[17] After her failure to re-launch her stage career, she would return to Hollywood, where she would star in two more westerns with Jones in 1937, before retiring.[9]

Filmography

(Per AFI database)[15]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Noel Francis profile". Moviema.org. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Noel Francis profile". listal. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Ziegfeld Follies of 1925". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Noel Francis". Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Rio Rita". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Show Girl". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Fox Movietone Follies of 1930". American Film Institute. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  8. ↑ Hall, Mordaunt (June 21, 1930). "Dash and Fun. Boisterous Fun". New York Times. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Noel Francis". AllMovie. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Up the River". American Film Institute. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Smart Money". American Film Institute. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Blonde Crazy". American Film Institute. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  13. ↑ "I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang". American Film Institute. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  14. ↑ "The 6th Academy Awards (1934) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 2011-08-07.
  15. 1 2 "Noel Francis". American Film Institute. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Stone of Silver Creek". American Film Institute. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Satellite". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved February 6, 2015.

External links

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