Finding Franchot: Exploring the Life and Career of Franchot Tone Posted by Franchot Tone Fan on May 4, 2016

On television: Dangerous (1935) starring Franchot and Bette Davis will be airing on TCM on Tuesday, May 17 @ 12:00 AM (ET) On the blog: In addition to my regular posts, I'm participating in Movies Silently's Classic Movie Ice Cream Social blogathon at the end of the month. The blogathon...   read more

Finding Franchot: Exploring the Life and Career of Franchot Tone Posted by Franchot Tone Fan on May 2, 2016

Franchot as Dr. George Grover in Dark Waters Dark Waters is a 1944 gothic noir starring Merle Oberon, Franchot, Thomas Mitchell, Elisha Cook Jr., and Fay Bainter. The film was directed by Andre de Toth, who also directed Slattery's Hurricane and House of Wax. Although the video and sound quality...   read more

Finding Franchot: Exploring the Life and Career of Franchot Tone Posted by Franchot Tone Fan on April 24, 2016

Franchot & Christopher in the Alcoa production of Even the Weariest River, 1956.Source: www.fantasfilm.org Not too many years ago, Christopher Plummer published his autobiography, In Spite of Myself. I greatly admire Mr. Plummer, so much so that I wrote him a letter gushing to him just how much   read more

Finding Franchot: Exploring the Life and Career of Franchot Tone Posted by Franchot Tone Fan on April 22, 2016

Fresh from the New York stage and with only one film (The Wiser Sex with Claudette Colbert) under his belt, Franchot Tone was assigned the role of Ronnie in the 1933 war drama Today We Live. The leading lady of the picture would be Joan Crawford, flapper-turned-dramatic actress, who was...   read more

Finding Franchot: Exploring the Life and Career of Franchot Tone Posted by Franchot Tone Fan on April 19, 2016

Most famous for her role as Marie Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond, Doris Roberts (who passed away on April 17) made her Broadway debut in the Pulitzer Prize winning play The Time of Your Life starring Franchot Tone and Gloria Vanderbilt. Produced by the New York City Theatre Company, the...   read more

Finding Franchot: Exploring the Life and Career of Franchot Tone Posted by Franchot Tone Fan on April 15, 2016

Source: http://lantern.mediahist.org In a photo and caption from an old fan magazine that I've saved (but cannot identify the date at the moment), Franchot remarks, "I buy clothes about every three years, which accounts for the fact that I'm frequently shabby-looking." I beg to differ, Mr. Tone. Y   read more

Finding Franchot: Exploring the Life and Career of Franchot Tone Posted by Franchot Tone Fan on April 3, 2016

Source: Motion Picture Daily In the Good Old Days of Hollywood is hosting a Bette Davis Blogathon and I'm delighted to be contributing this post on the 1935 drama Dangerous starring Bette and Franchot Tone. Bette's performance garnered her first Academy Award for Best Actress. I've yet to uncover   read more

Finding Franchot: Exploring the Life and Career of Franchot Tone Posted by Franchot Tone Fan on April 1, 2016

Set your DVR! TV Listings for April Love on the Run (1936) starring Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, and Franchot Tone will air on TCM on Wednesday, April 6 @ 03:00 PM (ET). Phantom Lady (1944) starring Franchot Tone and Ella Raines will air on TCM on Friday, April 8 @...   read more

Finding Franchot: Exploring the Life and Career of Franchot Tone Posted by Franchot Tone Fan on March 31, 2016

Exclusive Story is a 1936 drama directed by George B. Seitz (who directed the Andy Hardy series as well as another Franchot film, Between Two Women). The film stars Franchot Tone, Madge Evans, Stuart Erwin, J. Farrell MacDonald, Joseph Calleia, and Robert Barrat. This is a film that I always...   read more

Finding Franchot: Exploring the Life and Career of Franchot Tone Posted by Franchot Tone Fan on March 25, 2016

Although he appeared in several plays before it, The Age of Innocence is often reported as Franchot's New York stage debut. The successful play ran for 207 performances between November 1928 and May 1929 at the Empire Theatre. Located at 1430 Broadway, the Empire Theatre was built in 1893 and...   read more

Finding Franchot: Exploring the Life and Career of Franchot Tone Posted by Franchot Tone Fan on March 14, 2016

Today marks what would've been the 100th birthday of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and Academy Award-winning screenwriter Horton Foote. Foote wrote the teleplay for The Shape of the River, in which Franchot Tone played Mark Twain in 1960. On page 208 of his memoir titled Beginnings, Foote talke   read more

Finding Franchot: Exploring the Life and Career of Franchot Tone Posted by Franchot Tone Fan on March 8, 2016

After several years of endless searching, wishing, and hoping, I was finally able to see the 1934 film Gentlemen are Born! Turner Classic Movies aired the film in January. I don't have cable television at the moment, but I was able to subscribe to SlingTV so that I could watch...   read more

Finding Franchot: Exploring the Life and Career of Franchot Tone Posted by Franchot Tone Fan on March 3, 2016

TV Listings for March: The Girl From Missouri: Thursday, March 3 @ 05:15 PM (ET) on TCM Sadie McKee: Wednesday, March 9 @ 06:00 AM (ET) on TCM Stage Mother: Tuesday, March 29 @ 02:15 PM (ET) on TCM On the blog: I'm working on upcoming posts about the films...   read more

Finding Franchot: Exploring the Life and Career of Franchot Tone Posted by Franchot Tone Fan on March 1, 2016

My birthday falls just a few days after Franchot's, so here's a little personal Franchot-related info about me. First FT movie I ever watched: Either Bombshell or The Girl From Missouri. I can't remember which one, but it was definitely a Harlow film when I was younger. First FT movie...   read more

Finding Franchot: Exploring the Life and Career of Franchot Tone Posted by Franchot Tone Fan on February 27, 2016

Franchot was born on this day in 1905. It's hard to believe that he would be 111 years old. Even though I was born years after his death, I always think of Franchot as someone who hasn't been gone that long. I suppose it is because he comes across as...   read more

Finding Franchot: Exploring the Life and Career of Franchot Tone Posted by Franchot Tone Fan on February 26, 2016

Franchot and brother Jerry congratulate their father Dr. Frank J. Tone on receiving the Acheson Award in 1935. The award was named for Edward Goodrich Acheson who invented carborundum (Frank J. was the president of the Carborundum Company). I always feel bad for the people who get x'd out on...   read more

Finding Franchot: Exploring the Life and Career of Franchot Tone Posted by Franchot Tone Fan on February 24, 2016

Source: Wikipedia "I remember, too, how I used to imitate Charlie Chaplin. After I had seen him for the first time on the screen, I proceeded to make everyone's life miserable. I would dress up like Charlie and go waddling down the street. I carried a cane and woe unto...   read more

Finding Franchot: Exploring the Life and Career of Franchot Tone Posted by Franchot Tone Fan on February 23, 2016

Franchot was born on February 27, 1905 in Niagara Falls, New York. His father Frank Jerome Tone was the Works Manager and President of the Carborundum Company and made many scientific and technological contributions. There's an impressive bio on Frank J. Tone here. Franchot's mother was Gertrude Fra   read more

Finding Franchot: Exploring the Life and Career of Franchot Tone Posted by Franchot Tone Fan on February 22, 2016

In honor of the anniversary of Franchot's birth on February 27th, I'm posting daily this week instead of my usual twice-a-week posts. Today, I want to highlight Franchot's final film, Nobody Runs Forever. Nobody Runs Forever (also known as The High Commissioner) is a late Sixties political thriller   read more

Finding Franchot: Exploring the Life and Career of Franchot Tone Posted by Franchot Tone Fan on February 21, 2016

Even though Katharine Hepburn had apparently ordered that all reporters be kept off the set of Quality Street, Franchot smuggled Ben Maddox of Screenland into his dressing room. Maddox reported that Franchot was "secretly amused at such temperament". With Maddox, Franchot shared: This mold I've   read more