May 19, 2013: I'm still here, updates will be coming soon! Email me at mohanlon14@gmail.com with some suggestions for the site. Aside from completing the filmography, I need some new ideas for features on here. Let me know what you guys think.
A message from the webmaster...
This is my blog website for Kay Francis. Use this page as a way of accessing all of the information I have posted on Francis.
Notice the list of links on the right-hand side. The "Website Links" will take you to the Main Page, This one ("Kay Francis Main"), and more information about this Kay Francis tribute ("About this site..."). Below that are links to my Kay Francis biography. I divided them into separate pages because it was too lengthy and overwhelming on one.
Below is a detailed chronology of her life. Click the distinguished decade to view information. Remember, to get back to this page, just click the "Kay Francis Main" on the Website Links bar.
Finishing out the information on Francis are links to pages I have created for Kay Francis movies. They contain my personal reviews and information about the specific title.
Note that only the Kay Francis movies I have seen are the ones reviewed on this site, for further information on her other movies, I suggest purchasing the books listed. Unfortunately, searching for movie posters for Kay's movies is extremely difficult. A few of the photos on this site are watermarked from their source, note the "About / Links" page for more information.
*Titles indicate that there is box office information for that title available.
Below this is an Introduction written by Lynn Kear, author of Kay Francis: A Passionate Life and Career and The Complete Kay Francis Career Record.
Any questions, please email me. I am always grateful corrections or concerns.
---Mike O'Hanlon, 2009
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Introduction by Lynn Kear...
One of the most fascinating women who ever worked in Hollywood was Kay Francis. Researching her life and career produced many surprises. Perhaps most intriguing, she was an intensely private person who also kept an unbelievably scandalous diary. The woman who claimed she only wished to be forgotten did everything she could to make sure she wasn't.
Even without the diary it's unlikely Kay would have been forgotten. Devoted fans and more recently Turner Classic Movies have ensured that many of her films are still available.
New fans every year learn that in addition to being a captivating personality Kay was also a talent. She could play comedy and drama, and her best work remains charming and compelling.
Interestingly, although she had no children some of her best performances were of mothers. Who can forget her as the tormented mother in such films as The House on 56th Street or Confession? Or the well-meaning yet murderous mother in Alottment Wives? Other unforgettable performances include the doomed young woman in One Way Passage and Madame Colet in Ernst Lubitsch's masterpiece Trouble in Paradise.
Michael O'Hanlon has spent years researching Kay's film roles. This unique website is an homage and a resource. He is to be commended. Long live Kay!
January 2009
Lynn Kear
Author of Kay Francis: A Passionate Life and Career
and The Complete Kay Francis Career Record
Below: Kay on the Warner Brothers lot in 1937 with makeup artist Perc Westmore, one of two men responsible for the Kay Francis image.
