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The Complete Kay Francis Career Record ![]()
Meet Kay Francis: I have always loved finding stars that have been publicly forgotten, it’s one of the main reasons I love classic film. My first introduction to Kay Francis was in early 2006 when Turner Classic Movies spotlighted Scott O’Brien’s Kay Francis- I Can’t Wait To Be Forgotten. They aired Confession (1937) -my first viewing of a Kay Francis film, and one of my favorite movies, though I’ve seen few, that I have seen her in. Mick LaSalle’s Complicated Women: Sex and Power in PreCode Hollywood helped further my knowledge of one of the most original stars, in my mind, that I have ever seen. The more I learn about Kay Francis, the more I like her. It amazes me that for someone so forgotten, like Norma Shearer, Kay’s name on a marquee drew in the larger audiences than Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich, Mae West, and the other more known classic stars. I wanted to spotlight her on my site because I feel she deserves it. Kay Francis was original. No matter how forgotten she became, she still reigns as one of the most unique stars in the era of Hollywood which specialized in personalities. Unlike today when sometimes we question whether or not our “stars” are all being crafted the same, the 1930s had more original Screen Goddesses than any other decade. Kay Francis was a top favorite for female moviegoers. On screen she had babies out of wedlock, got away with murder, and held her own in a professional world dominated by men. “They say medicine is a man’s game… I was just wondering what a man would have done in a case like this,” Kay says in 1933’s Mary Stevens M.D.. What happened towards the end of that wonderful decade with Warner Brothers remains a tragedy for true classic movie fans. But hey, she managed to leave behind some pretty damned good films!
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