Franchot Tone Archive

Welcome to Franchot Tone Archive! Franchot was born on this day 121 years ago, and lived a very full life of 63 years. With this account, we'd like to pay tribute to an incredible yet underrated actor, and hopefully can inspire a few more scrapbooks, too. An introductory thread:

@vivisleigh henry touched his knee under the table probably

@franchotarchive Why is jimmy laughing so ugly

Franchot Tone, Lorraine Gettman (Leslie Brooks), Mr. and Mrs. Henry Fonda, Betty Field and Burgess Meredith can't afford to lose Jimmy Stewart!

Franchot with Margaret Barker in The House of Connelly (1931), Group Theatre's first ever production. Burns Mantle, leading drama critic, called Franchot's "gentle and moodily introspective" performance "splendidly vibrant."

Today is also Henry Fonda’s birthday! Hank and Franchot were longtime friends ever since Hank arrived in Hollywood. They were in three films together in total – here’s Hank’s uncredited cameo as a surly waiter in Franchot’s independently-produced Jigsaw (1949).

Happy birthday to Margaret Sullavan! Franchot and Maggie costarred in Three Comrades (1938) and were highlighted by critics as the two standouts of the film. Fun fact: they both found Fitzgerald’s script too wordy and (along with MGM writers) took part in rewriting most of it 😈

Happy birthday to Katharine Hepburn! Franchot and Kate worked together in Quality Street (1937) and got on really well. They came from similar social backgrounds, and both of their mothers were prominent Northeastern suffragists. They might have even run into each other as kids!

Joan Bennett and Franchot Tone in She Knew All The Answers (1941).

From an ad for True to Life, in which Franchot starred with Mary Martin and Dick Powell. Another one of his wolf-ish playboy roles.

P.S. There is a quote on Coop’s IMDb page of him calling Franchot “the best” actor he’d ever played with (see below), but we were never able to trace its source. If you know where it’s from, please drop us a line!

Here’s a fun anecdote of Hollywood heartthrobs Gary Cooper and Franchot Tone going on a late night hunting excursion together (the details are vague). From Photoplay Magazine, January 1935.

Happy birthday Gary Cooper! Franchot met Coop in 1933 filming his first Hollywood movie, Today We Live, and their friendship deepened when they costarred in The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935). They had great fun on set, and it was one of Franchot’s favorite films he’d ever done.

Franchot behind the scenes on The King Steps Out (1936), an operetta in which he played Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph. For some mysterious reason, he has curls for the role.

Happy May! In May 1937, war movie/proto-noir They Gave Him a Gun was released. For the first time in his Hollywood career, Franchot was cast as the heavy, and gave us a humane and complex portrayal of a man transformed by the First World War. Have a watch if you'd like!

When famed socialist activist Upton Sinclair ran for governor of California in 1934, Hollywood studios pressured their stars to donate money to the Republican candidate. Franchot didn't.

In addition to the Scottsboro Defense Committee and Tom Mooney Defense, Franchot also supported: The Spanish Refugee Appeal; Citizens Committee Against Proposition No. 1 (anti-union bill); Los Angeles Negro Art Association; Motion Picture Artists' Committee; just to name a few.

In 1940, Franchot was accused of being a communist and had to testify before HUAC. He was cleared after questioning, but continued to devote considerable money and time to liberal and left-wing causes.

It's Shit on Franchot Tuesday and MGM kinda did! With Reginald Owen, Clark Gable, Joan Crawford and director Woody Van Dyke, on the set of Love on the Run, celebrating Joanie and Gable's partnership anniversary.

#FranQuotes Franchot listing his flaws. From Motion Picture Magazine, February 1935.

Franchot with Sylvia Sidney in The Gentle People (1939) on Broadway. The two first worked together on the stage in Cross Roads (1929), but unfortunately never had the opportunity to share the screen :(