Themes: Fighting the System, Mothers and Daughters, Wrongly Committed
Main Cast: Sheila McLaughlin, Victoria Boothby, Lee Breuer, John Erdman, Heinz Emigholz
Release Year: 1984
Country: US/UK
Run Time: 77 minutes
Plot
Sheila McLaughlin produced, directed, wrote and starred in this low-budget but heartfelt filmed biography of the tragic stage and screen actress Frances Farmer. Always a maverick, Farmer could never fit in with the Hollywood public-relations mill, nor was she totally at ease with the posing intellectuals of the Group Theatre. Bombarded by unfair pressure from all sides, Farmer eventually loses control over herself and has to be committed to an institution--and then suffers a far worse fate when she is put in the protective custody of her embittered mother. This story was related on a more elaborate scale in the American TV movie Will There Ever Be a Morning? (with Susan Blakely) and the theatrical film Frances (with Jessica Lange). McLaughlin's ambitious version was originally produced for British television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Cast
Sheila McLaughlin - Frances Farmer
Victoria Boothby - Lillian Farmer
Lee Breuer - Clifford Odets
John Erdman - Dr. Taylor
Heinz Emigholz - Dr. Kraus
Paul Gibson; Helen Adam; Kirsten Bates; Patricia Bates; Susan Berkson; Dorman Birmingham; Peter Blagvad; Clove Breuer; Peter Bruno; Maryette Charlton; Tose Dreyer; Bob Fleischner; Michelle Hurst; Lorraine Kennedy; Lillian Kiesler; Cynthia Kolbowski; Jim Krell; Milton Lansky; Devon Meade; Jim Meu; John Nesci; Allen Robertson; Lucy Sanger; Diana White; Barbara Wise; Peter Walker; John McGuire
