Actors - Frances Farmer

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	Actors - Frances Farmer

Frances Elena Farmer (September 19, 1913, Seattle, Washington – August 1, 1970, Indianapolis, Indiana) was an American film actress.

Early life, career and marriage

Farmer was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. In 1931, at age 17, she entered and won $100 in a writing contest sponsored by Scholastic Magazine with her controversial essay God Dies about the diminishment of God in her life to nothing. In 1935, as a student at the University of Washington, she won a subscription contest for the leftist newspaper The Voice of Action. First prize was a trip to the Soviet Union, which she took despite her mother's strong objections. These two incidents led to accusations that Farmer was both an atheist and a Communist. Farmer studied drama at the University of Washington. During the 1930s its drama department productions were considered citywide cultural events and attended accordingly. While there she starred in diverse plays including Helen of Troy, Everyman and Uncle Vanya. In 1935 she starred in the school's production of Alien Corn, speaking foreign languages, playing the piano and receiving rave reviews in what was the longest running play in the department's history at the time.

Beginings of her Film Career

Returning from the Soviet Union in the summer of 1935 Farmer stopped in New York City, hoping to launch a legitimate theater career. Instead, she was referred to Paramount talent scout Oscar Serlin who arranged for a screen test. Paramount offered her a 7-year contract. Farmer signed it in New York on her 22nd birthday (September 19, 1935) and moved to Hollywood. She had top billing in two well-received 1936 "B" films and that same year was cast opposite Bing Crosby in Rhythm On The Range. Also in 1936 she was loaned to Samuel Goldwyn to appear in Come and Get It
, based on the novel by Edna Ferber. Her portrayals of both the mother and daughter were praised by the public and critics, some of whom wrote of her potential to become a major star. She also married her first husband, actor Leif Erickson, in 1936.

A rebellious star

Farmer was not entirely satisfied with her career, however. She felt stifled by Paramount's tendency to cast her in films which depended on her looks more than her talent and her naturally outspoken demeanor made her seem uncooperative and contemptuous. In an age when the studios dictated every facet of a star's life, Farmer rebelled against the studio's control and although she allowed herself to be put through cosmetic "makeovers" and photographed in bathing suits for publicity purposes, she resisted every attempt they made to glamourize her private life, refusing to attend Hollywood parties or to date other stars for the gossip columns. At the time, she was sympathetically described as being indifferent about the clothing she wore and was said to drive an older-model "green roadster," which according to a columnist, once broke down on Melrose Avenue, blocking traffic as Farmer pushed the stricken car to the side, much to the consternation of the studio's publicity department.

Hoping to enhance her reputation as a serious actress, she left Hollywood in 1937 to do summer stock on the East Coast, where she attracted the attention of Harold Clurman and Clifford Odets. They invited her to appear in the Group Theatre production of Odets' play Golden Boy
in a performance which at first received highly mixed reviews (Time magazine commented that she had been miscast), but which, due to Farmer's box office appeal, became the biggest hit in the Group's history. By 1938 when the production had embarked on a national tour, regional critics from Washington D.C. to Chicago gave her rave reviews.

Farmer also had an affair with Odets but he was married to actress Luise Rainer and didn't offer Farmer a commitment. Farmer felt betrayed when Odets suddenly ended the relationship, believing he had used her drawing power to further the success of his play. She returned to Hollywood, somewhat chastened, willing to continue her movie career but still on her terms. She arranged with Paramount to stay in Los Angeles for three months out of every year to make motion pictures, freeing up the remainder of her time for theater activities. However, her two subsequent appearances on Broadway had short runs and she found herself back in Los Angeles, often loaned out by Paramount to other studios for starring roles, while at her home studio she was consigned to costarring appearances, which she often found unchallenging.

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Actors - Frances Farmer

Early life, career and marriage

Beginings of her Film Career

A rebellious star

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