Saint Frances of Hollywood

by Sally Clark

Her star rising as a Hollywood diva, Frances Farmer chooses to join the socialist Group Theatre in New York. This idealistic, raucous and non-conforming movie star, pursued by the government for her alleged communist connections, was finally incarcerated with the help of her mother at Steilacoom, a Seattle psychiatric hospital, where she was lobotomized and released as “cured” in 1949. Saint Frances of Hollywood has taken the biographical details of Frances Farmer’s life and transformed them into a mesmerizing and quintessential classical tragedy.

Cast of 4 women and 4 men.

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Sally Clark is a playwright, filmmaker and painter. She is the author of several plays, which include “Moo,” “The Trial of Judith K.,” “Jehanne of the Witches” and “Life Without Instruction.” Her plays have received a Chalmers Award, two Dora Mavor Moore Award nominations and a Governor General’s Award nomination.

In 1992, Sally Clark was a Resident at the Canadian Film Centre where she wrote and directed her short film, “Ten ways to abuse an old woman.” It won the Special Prix du Jury at the Henri Langlois International short film festival. Her short film, “The Art of Conversation” won the Bronze Award for Best Dramatic Short at the Worldfest Charleston Festival.

Reviews

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

The life of tortured actress Frances Farmer is a tragic one, and any actress would kill to play the part (Jessica Lange was brilliant and Oscar-nominated in a film version). Here, though, playwright Clark attempts to tell her story in a rather 'Cliff Notes' fashion ... there are 51 scenes in a play the author states should take an hour and 45 minutes to perform, so all the scenes are quite short and don't take the time to really develop. The story is so powerful that it somewhat succeeds in spite of itself, but the subject deserves better.