Frances Gifford
Acting
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
After the death of a United States Senator, idealistic Jefferson Smith is appointed as his replacement in Washington. Soon, the naive and earnest new senator has to battle political corruption.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.
General Electric Theater
Humorist Robert Benchley attempts to find Walt Disney to ask him to adapt a short story about a gentle dragon who would rather recite poetry than be ferocious. Along the way, he is given a tour of Walt Disney Studios, and learns about the animation process.
The Reluctant Dragon
A spirited heiress wishing to break into theatre on her own merit arrives at a boardinghouse where aspiring young actresses and showgirls are brought together through their cynicism and disappointments.
Stage Door
Richard Dix as Dan Taylor and Preston S. Foster as Paxton Bryce are two longtime friends seeking their fortune in Texas after the war. The two men decide, not without problems, to establish a cattle empire. Paxton becoming too ambitious, distances himself from Dan and Abby, Paxton's wife. It will only be after a personal tragedy that he will come back to his senses.
American Empire
A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.
The Glass Key
Teddy Shaw, a bored New York office girl, goes to a camp in the Catskill Mountains for rest and finds Chick Kirkland.
Having Wonderful Time
A horse trainer who has fallen on hard times looks to his horse, Broadway Bill, to finally win the big race.
Riding High
The Army nurses on Bataan need help badly, but when it arrives, it sure isn't what they expected. A motley crew, including a Southern belle, a waitress, and a stripper, show up. Many conflicts arise among these women who are thrown together in what is a desperate and ultimately hopeless situation.
Cry 'Havoc'
Pop, a security guard at Paramount has told his son that he's the head of the studio. When his son arrives in Hollywood on shore leave with his buddies, Pop enlists the aid of the studio's dizzy switchboard operator in pulling off the charade. Things get more complicated when Pop agrees to put together a show for the Navy starring Paramount's top contract players.
Star Spangled Rhythm
A distinguished professor finds his well-ordered life tospy-turvy after he is forced to take in a pregnant widow.
My Heart Belongs to Daddy
A man and a woman, who have never met, are forced by pecuniary circumstances to share the same basement apartment in shifts.
Living on Love
Zandra, white princess of a lost civilization, comes to Tarzan for help when Nazis invade the jungle with plans to conquer her people and take their wealth. Tarzan, the isolationist, becomes involved after the Nazis shoot at him and capture Boy: "Now Tarzan make war!"
Tarzan Triumphs
A crooked producer makes money from Broadway flops by selling more than 100% interest to multiple parties. He only fails if it makes a profit.
New Faces of 1937
Two classic animated shorts from the Disney studios. In 'The Reluctant Dragon' (1941), a young boy and a famous dragon fighter team up to teach a docile dragon the art of being a force to be reckoned with. In 'Mickey and the Beanstalk' (1947), Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Donald Duck confront the fearsome Willie the Giant to try to retrieve the magical singing harp to Happy Valley.
Walt Disney's Fables - Vol.6
Uneven version of Wyatt Earp vs. the Clanton Gang with a little romance thrown in haphazardly.
Tombstone: The Town Too Tough to Die
An out-of-work professor gets a break from an old college buddy to teach at an exclusive girl's school. But events conspire against him: he finds an abandoned child which he takes under his wing, despite the school's rules against teachers having a family; and the girls in the school resent his replacing a handsome and popular teacher, and do everything in their power to get him fired.
Forty Little Mothers
A young girl's parents are killed on a tropical island, and the girl is raised and protected by the jungle animals. When she is found, as a grown woman, she is taken back to the United States to claim her inheritance. There are several people, with vested interests, who stand to gain something if she is shown not to be the missing heir.
Beyond the Blue Horizon
This short celebrates the 20th anniversary of MGM. Segments are shown from several early hits, then from a number of 1944 releases.
Twenty Years After
A soldier falls in love with a newly-married woman after her husband abandons her for a business meeting on their honeymoon.