Frances Marion facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Frances Marion
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Frances Marion in 1920, on the set of The Love Light, which she wrote and directed
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Marion Benson Owens
November 18, 1888 |
| Died | May 12, 1973 (aged 84) |
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| Years active | 1912–1972 |
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Frances Marion (born Marion Benson Owens, November 18, 1888 – May 12, 1973) was an amazing American writer and director for movies. Many people think she was one of the best female screenwriters of the 20th century. She was the first writer ever to win two Academy Awards.
Frances Marion started her movie career working with filmmaker Lois Weber. She wrote many stories for silent films, especially for actress Mary Pickford. Later, she also wrote movies with sound.
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Early Life and Art
Frances Marion was born Marion Benson Owens in San Francisco, California. Her parents were Len D. Owens and Minnie Benson. She had an older sister, Maude, and a younger brother, Len.
When she was 10, her parents divorced, and she lived with her mother. She left school at age 12 after drawing a funny cartoon of her teacher. She then went to other schools, including the Mark Hopkins Art Institute when she was 16. This art school was sadly destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
Starting a Career in Film
While in San Francisco, Frances Marion worked as a photographer's helper. She also tried out different ways to arrange photos and use color film. Later, she worked as an artist for a railroad company. She also became a reporter for a newspaper called the San Francisco Examiner.
After moving to Los Angeles, Marion designed posters for a theater. She also worked for an advertising company.
In 1914, she got a job at Lois Weber Productions. This was a film company run by a female director named Lois Weber. Frances worked as a writing assistant, an actress, and a general helper. She could have been an actor, but she liked working behind the camera more.
Lois Weber later went to work for Universal. She offered to bring Frances with her. But Frances decided not to go. Soon after, her good friend Mary Pickford offered her a job at Famous Players-Lasky. Frances took the job.
She started writing stories for films like Fanchon the Cricket and Little Pal. She also acted alongside Mary Pickford in a movie called A Girl of Yesterday. At the same time, she wrote an original story for Mary Pickford to star in. It was called The Foundling. Frances sold the script for $125. The movie was filmed in New York. Sadly, the film was destroyed in a fire before copies could be made.
Frances then went to work for World Films. She was hired for a two-week trial without pay. For her first project, she decided to fix old movies that couldn't be released. She wrote new beginnings and endings for a film starring Alice Brady. This changed the movie from a silly drama into a comedy. The improved film sold for $9,000! Because of this, Frances got a contract for $200 a week for her writing.
Soon, Frances Marion became the head of the writing department at World Films. She was given credit for writing 50 films there. She left in 1917. After the success of The Poor Little Rich Girl, she signed a huge contract with Famous Players-Lasky. She would earn $50,000 a year as Mary Pickford's official writer. People said she was "one of the highest paid script writers in the business." Her first project under this new contract was adapting the book Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.
Frances Marion also worked as a journalist during World War I. She went overseas as a war correspondent. She wrote about how women helped with the war on the front lines. She was the first woman to cross the Rhine River after the war ended.
When she returned from Europe in 1919, William Randolph Hearst offered her $2,000 a week. This was to write stories for his company, Cosmopolitan Productions. Frances shared a house with another screenwriter, Anita Loos.
At Cosmopolitan, Frances wrote a movie based on Fannie Hurst's book Humoresque. Her success with this book and her friendship with Hurst led her to direct her first movie. It was called Just Around the Corner. This movie was a big hit for the studio. Frances directed one more film, The Love Light, which starred Mary Pickford.
She won her first Academy Award in 1931 for writing the film The Big House. She won another Academy Award in 1932 for the story of The Champ. Both movies starred Wallace Beery. She also helped write Min and Bill in 1930, which starred her friend Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery. Frances Marion is credited with writing 300 scripts. More than 130 of her films were actually made.
Personal Life and Later Years
On October 23, 1915, Frances Marion took part in a big parade in New York City. More than thirty thousand people marched to support women's right to vote.
After becoming successful in Hollywood, Frances often visited Aetna Springs Resort in Aetna Springs, California. She used it as a quiet place to relax. She often brought friends from the film industry with her on vacations. This resort was special to her family. Her father had built it in the 1870s.
Frances Marion was married four times. Her first two marriages were before she changed her name. In 1919, she married Fred Thomson. He co-starred with Mary Pickford in The Love Light. Frances was such good friends with Mary Pickford that they even went on their honeymoons together! Mary married Douglas Fairbanks, and Frances married Fred.
After Fred Thomson's unexpected death in 1928, Frances married director George W. Hill in 1930. But that marriage ended in divorce in 1933. She had two sons, Frederick C. Thomson and Richard Thomson (who was adopted).
For many years, she worked for MGM Studios. She was very wealthy and decided to leave Hollywood in 1946. She wanted to spend more time writing stage plays and novels.
Frances Marion published a book about her life in Hollywood in 1972. It was called Off With Their Heads: A Serio-Comic Tale of Hollywood. She passed away the next year in Los Angeles.
Images for kids
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Marion, 1915
See also
In Spanish: Frances Marion para niños
