CineMaven Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Well I had to get your attention somehow, didn't I? This is my second time seeing "Meet the Stewarts" an innocuous little comedy from 1942. And I am stunned, enthralled and in love with Frances Dee. Yeah, she played a silly little housewife, but there was something underneath that...something about Dee that has totally captivated me. She was luminescent, enchanting and straightforward. You know, to be honest with you folks, I can't quite put my feelings into words on the effect she had on me. It made me seek her out in "I WALK WITH A ZOMBIE" and "LOVE IS A RACKET" and "KEEP 'EM ROLLING." I will force myself to take another look at "LITTLE WOMEN" to catch her. I'll have to find "OF HUMAN BONDAGE" becuz she's in it. There's something about her (and Margaret Lindsay) that really touch me. There was a shot of Dee in "SO ENDS OUR NIGHT" that defies any close up Leigh got in "GWTW" or Novak in "VERTIGO" or even the great Garbo in "QUEEN CHRISTINA." I'm sure I haven't scratched the surface of the oeuvre of Dee. Okay...go on. I deserve it. I dared wear my heart on my sleeve on this wacky and wild west Message Board. Go on. Slap some good sense into me. Tell me your thoughts on Frances Dee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lzcutter Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 CM, She's in the earlier TCM doc on pre-codes. I can't remember the name of it but it shows up on TCM fairly regularly. I think she died shortly after she was interviewed for the doc. She still had that beautiful face. I don't much about her but I hope she and Joel McCrea had a good life together. They seemed made for one another when you watch them together in his early films. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visualfeast Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Two more with Frances Dee that are worth watching are: Wheel Of Fortune, with John Wayne and Happy Land with Don Ameche. I never could figure out why she didn't achieve the star status she deserved. Possibly she was happy being Joel McCrea's wife. Must admit, she had a magnificent face. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coopsgirl Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 I like Frances too and *I Walked With a Zombie* is one of my faves. She bought her mom a new car with the money she made making that one. Here are some pics I found of her. Frances and Joel McCrea on their honeymoon in '34. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CineMaven Posted March 28, 2008 Author Share Posted March 28, 2008 Well...well now. Those pix are lovely. I sing her praises. I sing of Dee. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scsu1975 Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 She had such a lovely face. She and McCrea appeared together in Wells Fargo, which I have not seen in years. I also remember them appearing at the Academy Awards one year when famous "couples" were presenting. I think it was the same year that Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon presented an award. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scsu1975 Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feaito Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 Of the films I've seen Frances Dee in I'd say that my current favorite is William Wyler's "*The Gay Deception*" (1935); delightful from start to finish. She was a true beauty, a very classy lady, who aged incredibly well. She looked stunning even in her 80s. I still have lots of films of her yet to see, especially "*Blood Money*" (1933), "*An American Tragedy*" (1931) and "*I Walked with a Zombie*" (1942). She only had a couple of scenes in the great anti-fascist film "*So Ends Our Night*" (1941), but she was mesmerizing and her face and expression stayed with me after watching it. BTW, there's a huge thread dedicated to Frances Dee, somewhere buried in this Forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scsu1975 Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 Here is the link to the Frances Dee forum: http://forums.tcm.com/jive/tcm/thread.jspa?messageID=8021383 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrinceSaliano Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 Frances Dee and Joel McCrea...too much beauty under one roof! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CineMaven Posted March 29, 2008 Author Share Posted March 29, 2008 Thank you for citing that site. I will go there and get my full of her. But can I ever get enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deborahwakid11 Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 Dear CineMaven: I also adore Frances Dee. I have purchsed several of her films, even her first starring role in "Playboy of Paris." Frances was an original, as was her husband, Joel McCrea. I you have Fox Movie Channel, look out every so often for both "Blood Money" and "Half Angel." With the latter, you have to be careful that it is the 1936 version, since there are several movies of the same name. The name of the precode special was called "Complicated Women." She talked about making "Blood Money" right after "Little Women." No characters could be more different than Meg and Elaine. As Frances said, "Quite a departure. Also, the Frances Dee website has reopened as "Remembering Frances Dee." Take care. Deborah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackFavell Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissGoddess Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 What an adorable little "playsuit" or outfit she has on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CineMaven Posted April 27, 2010 Author Share Posted April 27, 2010 WoW!!!! I totally forgot I embarassed myself in front of my fellow-Ramblers of the cyberworld with my effusive musing on Frances Dee. So give me forty lashes with a wet film strip. Thanks Jackaaaaaay for the photo. She's so pretty...and with a full and loving private life, Frances Dee looks like she had the best of both worlds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackFavell Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 > {quote:title=MissGoddess wrote:}{quote} > What an adorable little "playsuit" or outfit she has on! At first I thought she had on a little teddy, but then I saw the shorts underneath.... isn't it great? I want one just like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissGoddess Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 Really lovely, lovely pictures, jackie. I'm drawing a blank what movie she was in with John Wayne?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackFavell Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 Uh.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackFavell Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 I had to look it up - *A Man Betrayed*, also known as *Wheel of Fortune*. For a minute I thought it might be Reap the Wild Wind, but because of Susan Hayward and Paulette, there wasn't room for a third actress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissGoddess Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 Thank you! I don't think I ever saw that one! Wow, I thought I'd seen just about all of Duke's movies. To have missed one with FRANCES DEE is rather astonishing. By the by, if you've never seen SOULS AT SEA with Coop and Frances, I highly recommend it. It's very entertaining and rather romantic. Edited by: MissGoddess on Apr 27, 2010 6:28 PM because "sea" is not spelled like "Dee". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackFavell Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 see...hee hee! I haven't seen it, unless I was very young and don't remember... I know I saw The Devil and the Deep when I was first into old movies. Was Souls at Sea one of the new ones released recently? Some how that is ringing a bell.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissGoddess Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 I don't think *souls at sea* is out yet...I wish it was. TCM may have shown it at some point (it's a Universal title, I think), or should do. It's quite a well crafted adventure tale and if you can picture George Raft as sort of pirate-type...he's actually very good! No kid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryLong Posted April 29, 2010 Share Posted April 29, 2010 The shot with Ronald Colman... is that from BELOVED ROGUE (I think that's the titlle)? I'd completely forgotten she was in that (years since I saw it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faceinthecrowd Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 Frances is fine in IF I WERE KING. It's primarily a Ronald Colman vehicle, with strong support from Basil Rathbone and Ellen Drew, and a screenplay by Preston Sturges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feaito Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 I'd love to see "Souls at Sea" (1937). It might be available soon on demand like the 1938 "*Spawn of the North*" which I purchased recently. I watched recently France in "*The Silver Cord*" (1933) and I was completely impressed by her powerful performance as Eric Linden's fianc?e. In fact the three women featured in this film: Frances, Ms. Dunne and most of all, Laura Hope Crews as the very nasty, manipulative and domineering mum of McCrea and Linden and who has the showiest role of all, pretty much carry the whole picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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