Known For
Acting
Born
Dec 07, 1920
Died
Jan 15, 1994
Place of Birth
Long Beach, California, USA
Credits
37 titles
Frances Gifford
Biography
Frances Gifford had a somewhat unorthodox introduction to the movie business. Born and raised in Long Beach, California, she had no ambition to be an actress, and in fact had applied to UCLA when, at age 16, she and a friend got to visit the Samuel Goldwyn Studios, where they watched a movie being shot. A studio exec saw her and asked if she would take a screen test. She did, the studio was impressed with the result and put her under contract. Nothing much came of it, however, other than bit parts, and she moved to RKO. Nothing much happened there, either. She had married actor James Dunn and decided to retire, which she did, in 1938. Off the screen for almost two years, she got a small part in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), and her career began to revive. She was signed by Paramount, which soon loaned her to Republic, where she made the film she is probably most remembered for: the serial Jungle Girl (1941), based on an Edgar Rice Burroughs story. Unfortunately, her career never really took off, and she bounced around among several studios. In 1948 she was involved in an auto accident in which she received severe head injuries. Although she seemed to recover physically, her career took a nosedive, and she made her last film in 1953. In 1958 newspaper stories reported that as a result of the injuries sustained in the accident, she was admitted to a California state mental hospital. Nothing further was heard from her or about her until 1983, when a writer for a film magazine found her in Pasadena. She had apparently fully overcome her physical and mental problems and was working for the city library. She died of emphysema in Pasadena in 1994.
Known For
Filmography
Walt Disney's Fables - Vol.6
Doris (voice) (archive sound) (uncredited)
Sky Commando
Jo McWethy
General Electric Theater
Evelyn Crewes
Riding High
Margaret Higgins
Luxury Liner
Laura Dene
Little Mister Jim
Jean Tukker
The Arnelo Affair
Anne Parkson
She Went to the Races
Dr. Ann Wotters
Our Vines Have Tender Grapes
Viola Johnson
Thrill of a Romance
Maude Bancroft
Marriage Is a Private Affair
Sissy Mortimer
Twenty Years After
(archive footage)
Cry 'Havoc'
Helen
Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour
Hilary Dane
Tarzan Triumphs
Zandra
American Empire
Abigail 'Abby' Taylor, Dan's Sister
My Heart Belongs to Daddy
Grace Saunders
The Glass Key
Nurse
Beyond the Blue Horizon
Charlotte (uncredited)
Tombstone: The Town Too Tough to Die
Ruth Grant
Star Spangled Rhythm
Frances Gifford (uncredited)
The Remarkable Andrew
Miss Halsey
Jungle Girl
Nyoka Meredith
West Point Widow
Daphne
The Reluctant Dragon
Doris
Border Vigilantes
Helen Forbes
Hold That Woman!
Mary Mulvaney
Forty Little Mothers
Granville Girl
Mercy Plane
Brenda Gordon
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Hopper Girl (uncredited)
Having Wonderful Time
Salesgirl (uncredited)
Maid's Night Out
Ticket Seller - Octopus Concession (uncredited)
Night Spot
Nightclub Patron
Living on Love
Bus Passenger (uncredited)
There Goes the Groom
Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Stage Door
Mary McGuire (uncredited)
New Faces of 1937
Showgirl