Biography
Frances Gifford had a somewhat unorthodox introduction to the movie business. Born and raised in Long Beach, California, she had no ambition to be an actress, and in fact had applied to UCLA when, at age 16, she and a friend got to visit the Samuel Goldwyn Studios, where they watched a movie being shot. A studio exec saw her and asked if she would take a screen test. She did, the studio was impressed with the result and put her under contract. Nothing much came of it, however, other than b...
Known For
Complete Filmography
Walt Disney's Fables - Vol.6
2004
as Doris (archive sound)
Two classic animated shorts from the Disney studios. In 'The Reluctant Dragon' (1941), a young boy and a famous dragon fighter team up to teach a doci...
Sky Commando
1953
as Jo McWethy
Colonel Ed Wyatt is regarded by pilots under his command as being a ruthless disciplinarian. His co-pilot, Lt. Hobson Lee, and Jo McWethy, a war corre...
Riding High
1950
as Margaret Higgins
A horse trainer who has fallen on hard times looks to his horse, Broadway Bill, to finally win the big race.
Luxury Liner
1948
as Laura Dene
Capt. Jeremy Bradford has a particularly exciting luxury liner cruise in store when he's charged with transporting a troupe of opera singers to Rio de...
Little Mister Jim
1947
as Jean Tukker
After his mother's death, a young boy tries to help his father stop drinking.
The Arnelo Affair
1947
as Anne Parkson
A neglected wife gets mixed up with an hypnotic charmer and murder.
She Went to the Races
1945
as Dr. Ann Wotters
A group of scientists develop a system to pick winners at the racetrack. Comedy.
Our Vines Have Tender Grapes
1945
as Viola Johnson
Welcome to Fuller Junction, Wisconsin, a friendly small town settled by Norwegian farmers. Here we see the exploits of two young cousins, Selma and A...
Thrill of a Romance
1945
as Maude Bancroft
A soldier falls in love with a newly-married woman after her husband abandons her for a business meeting on their honeymoon.
Marriage Is a Private Affair
1944
as Sissy Mortimer
Theo has had many boyfriends who wanted to marry her. Since her mother, Mrs. Selworth, has been married many times, Theo is unsure of commitment. With...
Twenty Years After
1944
as (archive footage)
This short celebrates the 20th anniversary of MGM. Segments are shown from several early hits, then from a number of 1944 releases.
Cry 'Havoc'
1943
as Helen
The Army nurses on Bataan need help badly, but when it arrives, it sure isn't what they expected. A motley crew, including a Southern belle, a waitres...
Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour
1943
as Hilary Dane
Teenager Henry Aldrich becomes a hometown celebrity when he wins a date with a sexy movie star. The sixth entry in the "Henry Aldrich" series of eleve...
Tarzan Triumphs
1943
as Zandra
Zandra, white princess of a lost civilization, comes to Tarzan for help when Nazis invade the jungle with plans to conquer her people and take their w...
American Empire
1942
as Abigail 'Abby' Taylor, Dan's Sister
Richard Dix as Dan Taylor and Preston S. Foster as Paxton Bryce are two longtime friends seeking their fortune in Texas after the war. The two men dec...
My Heart Belongs to Daddy
1942
as Grace Saunders
A distinguished professor finds his well-ordered life tospy-turvy after he is forced to take in a pregnant widow.
The Glass Key
1942
as Nurse
A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.
Beyond the Blue Horizon
1942
as Charlotte (uncredited)
A young girl's parents are killed on a tropical island, and the girl is raised and protected by the jungle animals. When she is found, as a grown woma...
Tombstone: The Town Too Tough to Die
1942
as Ruth Grant
Uneven version of Wyatt Earp vs. the Clanton Gang with a little romance thrown in haphazardly.
Star Spangled Rhythm
1942
as Frances Gifford (uncredited)
Pop, a security guard at Paramount has told his son that he's the head of the studio. When his son arrives in Hollywood on shore leave with his buddie...
The Remarkable Andrew
1942
as Miss Halsey
When Andrew Long, hyper-efficient small town accountant, finds a $1240 discrepancy in the city budget, his superiors try to explain it away. When he i...
Jungle Girl
1941
as Nyoka Meredith
Dr. John Meredith has been driven from civilization by the criminal activities of his twin brother Bradley Meredith. With his infant daughter, he sett...
West Point Widow
1941
as Daphne
In this romance, a hospital nurse marries a West Point football hero. She soon gets pregnant, but this doesn't stop her from annulling the marriage so...
The Reluctant Dragon
1941
as Doris
Humorist Robert Benchley attempts to find Walt Disney to ask him to adapt a short story about a gentle dragon who would rather recite poetry than be f...
Border Vigilantes
1941
as Helen Forbes
A town bedeviled with outlaws sends for Hoppy, Lucky and California after their own vigilante committee fails to solve the towns problems. Hoppy disco...
Hold That Woman!
1940
as Mary Mulvaney
A skip tracer--someone who collects late payments from people who've purchased appliances, etc., or takes them back them when they don't pay--reposses...
Forty Little Mothers
1940
as Granville Girl
An out-of-work professor gets a break from an old college buddy to teach at an exclusive girl's school. But events conspire against him: he finds an a...
Mercy Plane
1939
as Brenda Gordon
Air-race champions "Speed" Leslie and Branda Fowler combine to open a very profitable airplane service that flies patients to other cities for special...
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
1939
as Hopper Girl (uncredited)
After the death of a United States Senator, idealistic Jefferson Smith is appointed as his replacement in Washington. Soon, the naive and earnest new ...
Having Wonderful Time
1938
as Salesgirl (uncredited)
Teddy Shaw, a bored New York office girl, goes to a camp in the Catskill Mountains for rest and finds Chick Kirkland.
Maid's Night Out
1938
as Ticket Seller - Octopus Concession (uncredited)
A millionaire's son works as a milkman for a month to win a bet with his father. While delivering milk he falls in love with a young debutante whom he...
Night Spot
1938
as Nightclub Patron
A young singer, Marge Dexter, becomes involved in trouble when she works in a nightclub in which two of the band-members are in reality undercover-pol...
Living on Love
1937
as Bus Passenger
A man and woman, who've never met, are forced by circumstances to share the same apartment. A remake of the 1933 film "Rafter Romance".
There Goes the Groom
1937
as Undetermined Role (uncredited)
After striking it rich in Alaskan gold, a young man returns to marry his fiancé only to be snubbed. Her sister, however, is worth considering, until h...
Stage Door
1937
as Mary McGuire (uncredited)
The ups and downs in the lives and careers of a group of ambitious young actresses and show girls from disparate backgrounds brought together in a the...
New Faces of 1937
1937
as Showgirl
A crooked producer makes money from Broadway flops by selling more than 100% interest to multiple parties. He only fails if it makes a profit.