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.
Hopper Girl (uncredited)
电影 1939
Abigail 'Abby' Taylor, Dan's Sister
电影 1942
Doris
电影 1941
Anne Parkson
电影 1947
Salesgirl (uncredited)
电影 1938
Nurse
电影 1942
Helen Forbes
电影 1941
Helen
电影 1943
Zandra
电影 1943
Jo McWethy
电影 1953
Frances Gifford (uncredited)
电影 1942
Ticket Seller - Octopus Concession (uncredited)
电影 1938
Mary McGuire (uncredited)
电影 1937
Viola Johnson
电影 1945
Jean Tukker
电影 1947
Mary Mulvaney
电影 1940
Nyoka Meredith
电影 1941
Bus Passenger
电影 1937
Showgirl
电影 1937
Hilary Dane
电影 1943
Ruth Grant
电影 1942
Charlotte (uncredited)
电影 1942
Grace Saunders
电影 1942
Brenda Gordon
电影 1939
Laura Dene
电影 1948
Granville Girl
电影 1940
Undetermined Role (uncredited)
电影 1937
Miss Halsey
电影 1942
(archive footage)
电影 1944
Doris (archive sound)
电影 2004
Evelyn Crewes
Tv 1953