public domain
Frances Marion was one of the most important, influential, and well-paid screenwriters in Hollywood. Her films moved audiences to tears and brought out the best in every actor for whom she ever wrote. And when the switch to ‘talking pictures’ left most other silent film writers in the dust, Frances continued to astonish, creating dozens of the most famous and beloved films of the first half of the 20th century. So how come nobody remembers her name?
Our guest Pam Munter takes us on a whirlwind tour of the dramatic, cinema-worthy life of this remarkable woman.
The full version of one of Marion’s most famous films, The Love Light, is available on YouTube (watch for Fred Thomson as Mary Pickford’s co-star!), as is her 1917 Poor Little Rich Girl, and a short clip from her prison drama, The Big House.
photo by Jack Luden
photo by R.P. Moody
Pam Munter is the author of Fading Fame: Women of a Certain Age in Hollywood and many other books. She is a former clinical psychologist, a performer and a writer.
Music featured in this episode included:
“Roundup on the Prairie”
Episode 89 Frances Marion
“Gaiety in the Golden Age”
Episode 89 Frances Marion
“Empty Bottle, Empty Bed”
Episode 89 Frances Marion
“Evening Glow”
Episode 89 Frances Marion
“Comic Plodding”
Episode 89 Frances Marion
“Fig Leaf Rag”
Episode 89 Frances Marion
“By The Light of the Silvery Moon”
Episode 89 Frances Marion
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