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.

Most Known For

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

as Hopper Girl (uncredited)

Stage Door

as Mary McGuire (uncredited)

The Reluctant Dragon

as Doris

Mercy Plane

as Brenda Gordon

General Electric Theater

as Evelyn Crewes

Tarzan Triumphs

as Zandra

Twenty Years After

as (archive footage)

Star Spangled Rhythm

as Frances Gifford (uncredited)

The Glass Key

as Nurse

Tombstone: The Town Too Tough to Die

as Ruth Grant

Luxury Liner

as Laura Dene

Walt Disney's Fables - Vol.6

as Doris (voice) (archive sound) (uncredited)

Thrill of a Romance

as Maude Bancroft

Cry 'Havoc'

as Helen

Riding High

as Margaret Higgins

The Remarkable Andrew

as Miss Halsey

Our Vines Have Tender Grapes

as Viola Johnson

American Empire

as Abigail 'Abby' Taylor, Dan's Sister

Marriage Is a Private Affair

as Sissy Mortimer

The Arnelo Affair

as Anne Parkson