Kay Francis Papers
 
Ref. #: Coll7
 
Wesleyan Cinema Archives
Wesleyan University
 
Contact Information:
Wesleyan Cinema Archives
Center for Film Studies
Wesleyan University
301 Washington Ter.
Middletown, CT 06459
(860) 685-3395
Email: jimiller*at*Wesleyan*dot*edu
 
Processed by: Leith Johnson
Encoding by: Leith Johnson


© 2007 Wesleyan University. All rights reserved.


Descriptive Summary

Creator:
Francis, Kay, 1905-1968

Title:
Kay Francis Papers

Inclusive dates:
1922-1953

Extent:
12 linear feet

Language of materials:
Materials are in English

Repository:
Wesleyan Cinema Archives, Wesleyan University


Administrative Information

Access:
Unrestricted access.

Source of acquisition:
Gift of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, 1986. Kay Francis left her papers to the Museum of the City of New York in 1968, who subsequently donated them to the Museum of Modern Art.

Preferred citation:
Kay Francis Papers, Wesleyan Cinema Archives, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn.

Copyright notice:
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendents, as stipulated by United States law.


Index Terms

Chevalier, Maurice, 1888-1972
Daves, Delmer, 1904-1977
Francis, Kay, 1905-1968
Lang, Fritz, 1877-1961
MacKenna, Kenneth, 1899-1962


Related Collections

None.


Biographical Note

Throughout the decade of the 1930s, Kay Francis was a top Hollywood star, her career a perfect example of the sort that once flourished in the studio system. A tall and sultry beauty, she wore clothes with style and grace, and her name became synonymous with glamour, fashion and modern womanhood. Although she starred in stylish comedies such as the Marx Brothers's The Cocoanuts (1929) and Ernst Lubitsch's Trouble in Paradise (1932), she is best perhaps remembered for her films in which a woman of poise and intelligence "faced life," such as Dr. Monica (1934), Living on Velvet (1935), In Name Only (1939), and House on 56th Street (1933). A contract dispute with Warner Bros. in 1937 relegated her to B-movies, even while she remained one of the most highly-paid actors in Hollywood. She had limited success in the early 1940s and, no longer able to land good roles, retired from film in 1946. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Francis turned to the stage, appearing with some success on Broadway in State of the Union and touring in various productions of plays old and new, including Windy Hill, The Last of Mrs. Cheyney, Let Us Be Gay, Favorite Strangers, Goodbye, My Fancy, The Web and the Rock, Mirror, Mirror, and Theatre. She also acted in two television programs. She died in 1968.

Francis was married three times, to James Dwight Francis (1922-25), William Gaston (1925-27), and Kenneth MacKenna (1931-34).

Filmography