Frances Marion

Frances Marion (born Marion Benson Owens; November 18, 1888 – May 12, 1973) was an American screenwriter, director, journalist, and author. She is said to be one of the most famous female screenwriters of the 20th century. During her career, she wrote over 325 scripts. She was the first writer to win 2 Academy Awards. In her early career, she wrote many different silent movie scenarios scenarios for Mary Pickford. After that, she wrote many sound movies.

 Famous movies 
YearTitleFeatured StarsNotes1912The New York Hat Mary Pickford, Lionel Barrymore, Lillian GishContributing writer1915CamilleClara Kimball Young,	Paul Capellani,	Robert CummingsScenario A Girl of YesterdayMary Pickford, Frances Marion, Glenn L. MartinActress1916The FoundlingMary Pickford, Mildred Morris, Gertrude NormanWriterThe Gilded Cage Alice Brady, Montagu Love, Alec B. Francis Scenarist/writer1917 A Little PrincessKatherine Griffith, Mary Pickford, Norman Kerry, ZaSu Pitts, Theodore RobertsWriterRebecca of Sunnybrook FarmMary Pickford,	Eugene O'BrienWriter The Poor Little Rich GirlMary Pickford,	Madlaine Traverse, Charles Wellesley, Gladys FairbanksWriter1918Stella MarisMary PickfordPhotoplay How Could You, Jean?Mary PickfordScenarioM'LissMary PickfordWriterAmarilly of Clothes-Line AlleyMary Pickford, William Scott, Kate PriceWriterThe Temple of DuskSessue Hayakawa, Jane Novak, Louis Willoughby, Mary Jane IrvingWriter1919 The Cinema MurderMarion Davies, Eulalie Jensen, Anders Randolf, Reginald BarlowScenarioAnne of Green GablesMary Miles MinterWriter1920 PollyannaMary PickfordAdaptationThe FlapperOlive Thomas, Warren CookScreenplay, storyHumoresqueGaston Glass, Vera Gordon, Alma RubensScenarioThe Restless SexMarion Davies, Ralph KellardWriter1921The Love LightMary Pickford, Evelyn DumoDirector, story (uncredited)Just Around the CornerMargaret Seddon, Lewis Sargent, Sigrid HolmquistDirector, scenario1922 The Primitive LoverConstance Talmadge, Harrison FordScenario The Toll of the SeaAnna May Wong, Kenneth Harlan, Beatrice BentleyScenario (uncredited), story1923The Famous Mrs. FairMyrtle Stedman, Huntley GordonAdaptation, screenplay The Song of LoveNorma Talmadge, Joseph Schildkraut, Arthur Edmund CareweDirector, screenplay1924SecretsNorma TalmadgeAdaptationCythereaAlma Rubens, Constance Bennett, Norman Kerry, Lewis Stone, Irene RichAdaptationThe Dramatic Life of Abraham LincolnGeorge A. Billing, Ruth Clifford, George K. Arthur, Louise FazendaStory, screenplay1925Stella DallasRonald Colman, Belle Bennett, Lois MoranAdaptationA Thief in ParadiseDoris Kenyon, Ronald Colman, Aileen PringleAdaptationThank YouAlec B. Francis, Jacqueline LoganWriterLightnin'Jay Hunt, Wallace MacDonaldWriter1926The Scarlet LetterLillian Gish, Lars HansonAdaptation, scenario, titlesThe Winning of Barbara WorthRonald Colman,	Vilma BánkyAdaptationSon of the SheikRudolph Valentino, Vilma Bánky, Montagu Love,	Karl Dane, George FawcettAdaptation1927The Red MillMarion DaviesAdaptation, screenplayLoveJohn Gilbert, Greta GarboContinuityMadame PompadourDorothy GishWriter1928The WindLillian Gish, Lars Hanson, Montagu Love, Dorothy CummingScenarioThe AwakeningVilma Bánky, Walter ByronStory Bringing Up FatherJ. Farrell MacDonald, Polly Moran, Marie DresslerWriter1929Their Own DesireNorma Shearer,	Belle Bennett, Lewis Stone, Robert Montgomery, Helene MillardScreenplay1930Min and BillMarie Dressler, Wallace BeeryDialogue, scenarioThe Big HouseRobert Montgomery, Wallace Beery, Chester Morris, Lewis StoneDialogue, storyWon the Academy Award for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)Good NewsMary Lawlor, Stanley SmithScenarioThe Rogue SongLawrence Tibbett, Catherine Dale OwenWriterAnna ChristieGreta Garbo, Charles Bickford, George F. Marion, Marie DresslerWriter1931 The Secret SixWallace Beery,	Lewis Stone, John Mack Brown, Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Ralph Bellamy, Marjorie RambeauDialogue, screenplayThe ChampWallace Beery, Jackie Cooper, Irene Rich, Roscoe AtesStoryWon the Academy Award for Best Story1932Blondie of the FolliesMarion Davies,	Robert Montgomery, Billie DoveScreenplay, storyEmmaMarie Dressler, Richard Cromwell, Jean Hersholt, Myrna LoyStory1933Peg o' My HeartMarion Davies,	Onslow Stevens,	J. Farrell MacDonaldAdaptationDinner at EightMarie Dressler, John Barrymore, Wallace Beery, Jean Harlow, Lionel Barrymore, Billie BurkeScreenplayThe Prizefighter and the LadyMyrna Loy, Max Baer, Walter Huston, Primo Carnera, Jack DempseyStoryNominated for the Academy Award for Best StoryGoing HollywoodMarion Davies,	Bing Crosby, Fifi D'Orsay, Stuart ErwinStory (uncredited)SecretsMary Pickford, Leslie HowardWriter1936CamilleGreta Garbo, Robert Taylor, Lionel BarrymoreScreenplayRiffraffJean Harlow, Spencer TracyScreenplay, storyPoor Little Rich GirlShirley Temple, Alice Faye, Jack Haley, Gloria Stuart, Michael Whalen, Claude GillingwaterWriter1937Knight Without ArmourMarlene Dietrich, Robert DonatAdaptationLove from a StrangerAnn Harding, Basil RathboneAdaptation1940Green HellDouglas Fairbanks Jr.	Vincent Price, Joan Bennett, Alan Hale Sr., George Sanders, John HowardOriginal story, screenplay

 Published works 
Minnie Flynn. NY: Boni and Liveright, 1925; free via google books and Hathi Trust 
 :wikisource:Minnie Flynn
The Secret Six. NY: Grosset & Dunlap, 1931 (novelization of her own screenplay of The Secret Six)
Valley People. NY: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1935  
"The book’s portrayal of the community as isolated inbreds bent on self-destruction and domination understandably ruffled many feathers"
How to Write and Sell Film Stories. NY: Covici-Friede, 1937  
Molly, Bless Her. NY: Harper & Brothers, 1937  
Westward The Dream. Garden City NY: Doubleday and Company, 1948  
 The Passions of Linda Lane. NY: Diversey Publications, 1949 [paperback; revised edition of Minnie Flynn]
The Powder Keg. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1953  
Off With Their Heads!: A Serio-Comic Tale of Hollywood (via Internet Archive )  NY: The Macmillan Company, 1972 memoir  

 References 

 Other websites 

Oral history interview with Frances Marion, 1958 Columbia Center for Oral History, Columbia University Libraries
Frances Marion at National Women's History Museum 
Frances Marion at britannica.com 
Frances Marion at encyclopedia.com

Frances Marion at the Women Film Pioneers Project

Frances Marion: Hollywood's Favourite Storyteller @ Falkirk Leisure and Culture via YouTube
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/the-life-of-frances-marion-a-trailblazer-for-women-in-hollywood
https://msinthebiz.com/2016/08/04/dame-in-the-game-frances-marion/
https://thescriptlab.com/features/screenwriting-101/10119-the-great-screenwriters-part-27-frances-marion/ 
https://lithub.com/how-frances-marion-and-mary-pickford-conquered-hollywood/
Frances Marion article in Photoplay 1917

Category:1888 births
Category:1973 deaths
Category:20th-century American novelists
Category:American novelists
Category:Screenwriters from California
Category:Movie directors from California
Category:Journalists from California
Category:Writers from San Francisco
Category:Non-fiction writers
Category:20th-century American writers
Category:20th-century journalists