Updates

I'm still waiting to scan two things before I publish my post on Franchot and Sylvia Sidney (my scanner is currently down so I have to scan elsewhere) and it's been awhile since I posted a general "Where to Find Franchot on the Web" list, so here you go:

Finding Franchot Fansite
I've added many more photos from my collection and from old screen star magazines on the fansite. I still have more to scan and add, but you'll find there's much more than there was a few months ago. You can view those by clicking on:
Portraits/Photos
Candid Photos
Film Stills/Publicity
Newspaper/Magazine Photos
Selected Screenshots
Television Photos
Theater Photos
I've also started adding film summaries on the films page there and will continue to work on that. Eventually, I'd like to compose a full biographical sketch for the Life section on the fansite, but I haven't had the time yet. Hoping to make great strides in all areas of the site before winter.

Watching Franchot
Here are the movies/tv appearances available for online viewing that I've come across lately:
Alfred Hitchcock Hour: Final Performance (1964) on Daily Motion
Jigsaw (1949), Lost Honeymoon (1947), Trail of the Vigilantes (1940), This Woman is Mine (1941), I Love Trouble (1948) on Youtube
Suspense: All Hallow's Eve (1952), Shadow Over Elveron (1968), Award (1955), Bonanza: Denver McKee (1960) on Youtube
The Man on the Eiffel Tower (1949), Without Honor (1949), Phantom Lady (1944) on Internet Archive
Studio One: Twelve Angry Men (1954), Wagon Train: The Malachi Hobart Story (1962) on Internet Archive
She Knew All the Answers (1941), True to Life (1943), Moulin Rouge (1934), and The Wife Takes a Flyer (1942) on Rarefilmm.
Jigsaw (1949) and Dark Waters (1944) are free to watch if you have Amazon Prime.
Twilight Zone: The Silence (1961) is free to watch if you have Netflix.

The most recent DVD release has been the 2018 re-release of Dark Waters (originally on DVD in 2012). Unfortunately, I don't see anything slated to release in the coming months. UPDATE: I missed an important DVD release and want to thank the commenter who pointed out that The Girl Downstairs is being released on August 21st! I am so happy about this revelation as this is one of my absolute favorite romantic comedies. (I wrote about it here.) You can pre-order the DVD on WBShop and Amazon today!

Since Universal Vault Series released Nice Girl? (1941) about two years ago, I was hoping to see a follow-up release of Franchot and Deanna Durbin's second film and a personal favorite His Butler's Sister (1943). I have also been hoping for a DVD release of The Stranger's Return (1933) ever since it was first shown at a TCM Film Festival and on the TCM Network in 2014. I'm crossing my fingers that 2019 brings us more DVD releases as there are still many Franchot films not commercially available.

If you have the American cable channel TCM, look for Franchot in the upcoming showings of:
Man-Proof (1938) on August 2nd at 11:45 a.m. Eastern
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935) on August 11th at 9:30 a.m. Eastern
The Stranger's Return (1933) on August 16th at 6:00 a.m. Eastern
Without Honor (1949) on August 27th at 11:00 a.m.

Franchot at 420 Layton Drive

Mystery solved! In May, I wrote about Franchot's World War II draft card (here)and pondered the address that was included as his residence: 420 Layton Drive, Los Angeles, California. At that time, I wrote:

When I Google his address, all that gets returned is the alternate address of 470 Layton Way in Los Angeles, a plantation-style mansion designed by architect John Byers for wealthy Phillip Ilsley, who lived in it beginning in 1937. Actor Wayne Morris and his wife Leonora "Bubbles" Hornblow lived there after their marriage in 1939, but divorced soon after in 1940. I don't know how Franchot could've lived in this house at the time, logistically, but with its immaculate landscaping (it included a waterfall, tennis court, and pool) it certainly seems like the type of house Franchot might occupy, short or long term. It is probably that Google is leading me in the wrong direction since a lot of streets change over time. When he registered to vote the same year, Franchot listed his address as 10333 Wilshire Boulevard. 1940 was an interesting year for Franchot. He was fresh from his recent return to the stage and only made one film that year, the western comedy Trail of the Vigilantes. He was single and seen around town with many gorgeous and talented Hollywood ladies (including Carole Landis and Olivia deHavilland) during that time. My point is that he was playing the field in romance and his career at the time, so it is very likely that he was also not settled in one residence or another.

Well, Google was not leading me in the wrong direction. Franchot did live at 420 Layton Drive (or Way) in 1940! I found an article about the romance between Paulette Goddard and Franchot's buddy Burgess Meredith and it mentions the house:

Source: "Paulette's in Love". Photoplay.
Jan-Jun 1943. www.archive.org

The writer refers to the house as the "Pandemonium", ha! This confirms that Franchot did indeed live in the house and used it as a bachelor pad with his friend Burgess Meredith. If you'd like to virtually explore the house, please visit Paradise Leased (here) which has a full detailed post on it with photographs, but no mention of Franchot. Sadly, the house was demolished in 2000.

Run for Your Life: Tell It Like It Is (1967)

Franchot stars as Judge Taliaferro Wilson in season 3, episode 10 of the popular television drama Run for Your Life. Run for Your Life ran from 1965-68 on NBC. In each episode, an attorney with a terminal illness (Ben Gazzara) encounters different people and situations, often helping them out. This great show is sadly not on commercial DVD at the moment and is rarely shown on television. I hope that changes in the future. It was shown on COZI television network years ago and that's how I've taken these screenshots. COZI network is still around so maybe the episode will come on again at some point.

A candid of Franchot on the set of Run For Your Life, 1967.
Source: my collection.

The episode is called Tell It Like It Is because that's what Terry Haines, a shock jock-type television host, says that he is doing on his syndicated show. As he humiliates his guests in person and via phone and even embarrasses his audience members over their looks and intelligence, Haines keeps saying that they have no right to be mad because he is just "telling it like it is." When Paul Bryan (Ben Gazzara) learns that his former colleague Judge Taliaferro Wilson (Franchot Tone) has agreed to appear on Haines' show, he knows that he must intervene.

At his home, Wilson is happy to see Bryan. The judge explains that the show will be harmless and that he needs the publicity to sell his recent memoir. Wilson says there is no dirt about him to uncover and that he appreciates Bryan's concern and asks him to attend the taping with him.

The taping goes exactly as Bryan fears. Host Haines starts off by praising the judge, telling him he loves the book, and going on about what a respected man the judge is. Quickly though, the interview turns nasty. Haines accuses Judge Wilson of sending innocent men to their deaths, drunkenness on the stand, and lying in his book. Wilson is stunned by the accusations. He refutes the claims and Bryan, having been at the trials and knowing Wilson personally, grabs a microphone in the audience and backs him up.

Haines then brings forth a traffic ticket saying it's for intoxication, but Wilson reads the ticket and it's a citation of unsafe lane changing. Bryan knows the judge never performed his duties intoxicated, but Wilson, a man defined by his dignity, is clearly shaken by the ugliness of Haines' and his audience's behavior. He is utterly humiliated.

Here's a clip of that scene that Youtube user Windesong posted to Youtube:

Bryan later approaches the host and says that if he doesn't retract his statements on the following night's show that Bryan will represent the judge in a slander suit against Haines. If he doesn't, Paul tells him he will represent the judge himself in a slander suit against Haines. Bryan tells the host that he may have won briefly on his own turf, but that if he gets Haines in a courtroom for just a few minutes, Haines will know what true humiliation is.

Then the episode switches to real time. The episode, you see, began with Haines being shot in a parking garage and then quickly led to Bryan "telling it like it is" (truthfully) to the police as he recounted the day's events. The police and Bryan try to phone the judge to let him know of the shooting (Haines is hospitalized but not in critical condition), but he doesn't answer. Bryan is surprised when Wilson knocks on his door. Warning: Spoilers ahead and a video clip that makes me cry.

Wilson, defeated and still in shock, confesses to Bryan that he pulled the trigger. He says it felt like an out-of-body experience and never thought he could do it.  Wilson asks if he can get some sleep before he makes a full confession at the police station. Bryan goes to the hospital and confronts a smug and eternally classless Haines. Bryan tell hims that he is going to represent Wilson in court and that Wilson will fully "tell it like it is." Bryan reminds him that the respected judge will not be the only one on trial. He says:

Judge Wilson's going to be on trial, but so will you. The real you. It will all be in the legal record now, the way you tell it like it is. The kind of liar you are—the worst kind—a public liar. And when it's over, I don't think anybody's going to buy a Jerry Haines at any price, so I think you'd better start looking for a rock to crawl under.

Here's a tiny clip of Franchot's much longer confession that I shared on my Instagram account devoted to Franchot:

Just spending my morning off letting Mr. Tone break my heart into a million pieces. This is from a '67 episode of Run for your Life. This is one of Franchot' s final roles (he died ten months after it aired) and his entire performance in it is powerful stuff. Can you pass me a tissue? #franchottone

A post shared by Franchot Tone (@franchot_tone_fan) on Jun 1, 2018 at 8:31am PDT

I cannot express how sincerely moving Franchot's performance is throughout the entirety of this episode. This is a first-rate example of what a talented actor Franchot was and how captivating he could be. It's a rare performance in color and also one of his final parts. I think it's beautiful in every possible way. He's raw and emotional and still very handsome. It honestly makes me cry every time I watch it. Judge Wilson is a perfect role for Franchot and Tell It Like It Is is an episode I wish was more readily available to view.