I had quite a Franchot day this past Friday. Enjoying a lazy day off work, I managed to squeeze in two films I had never seen before. First up was Mickey One, a 1965 drama starring Warren Beatty with Franchot as a minor, yet memorable character. Second was Here Comes the Groom, a 1951 musical comedy starring Bing Crosby and Franchot Tone, who playfully compete to win the affections of Jane Wyman. I will, of course, feature these two very different films in later, more detailed posts.
Viewing those two films would have made me happy enough, but then came a discovery! I use one room in my house as a library for all my classic film biographies, pictorial histories, encyclopedias, photographs, and memorabilia.As a great fan of coffee table-sized Hollywood compilation books, I pulled out an old one I haven't browsed in years. The title is Hollywood and the Great Fan Magazines and it is a collection of random movie star magazine articles from the 1930s. I purchased it for $2.00 at a used book store close to ten years ago.At the time, I remember skipping around to read the articles on Jean Harlow, Shirley Temple, and Greta Garbo. It's been in my bookcase all these years, but I've overlooked it for the expansive pictorial histories of Rita Hayworth, Audrey Hepburn, and many other lovely Old Hollywood ladies.
As I flipped through the pages, a familiar face grabbed my attention. I was delighted to discover that there is a lengthy biographical article on Franchot, written very early on in his Hollywood days. The article, "The Intimate Life of a Gentleman Rebel", is written by Walter Ramsey and includes quotes and details about Franchot's early background, college life, and theater experience before his big Hollywood break. In the future, I will definitely be including some of the quotes on this blog. Spanning multiple pages, the article also includes these fascinating photos of a very young Franchot in a variety of early acting performances.
I've owned this book for many years and never realized such a great piece of Franchot history was hidden within its pages!
Images Source: Levin, Martin. Hollywood and the Great Fan Magazines. New York: Arbor House, 1970. Print.
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