Born in 1930, Anne Francis began modeling at the age of 5 and worked extensively in radio and television as a child. Her first credited film role was in Summer Holiday with Mickey Rooney (though, on her web site, she emphasized that you need to look quickly to spot her as the girlfriend of Mickey’s older brother). She attended MGM’s “school” with Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Powell, Dean Stockwell, Guy Stockwell, and Natalie Wood.
She attracted Daryl Zanuck’s attention playing a young prostitute in the 1950 reform school drama So Young, So Bad, which starred Paul Henreid as a psychiatrist. That led to a 20th Century-Fox contract, although she was back at MGM three years later. It was during Anne’s second stint at MGM that she made her most famous films: Bad Day at Black Rock (1955), Blackboard Jungle (1955), and Forbidden Planet (1956). Her best performance may have been as Glenn Ford’s wife in Blackboard Jungle, a potent urban drama about education and juvenile delinquency.
Yet, despite starring alongside major stars like Paul Newman and Robert Taylor, juicy lead roles eluded Francis. She gravitated to television in the late 1950s and became a popular guest star in series such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Route 66, The Twilight Zone, Dr. Kildare, and many others.
In 1965–following in the footsteps of Honor Blackman’s high-kicking heroine Cathy Gale from The Avengers–Anne Francis was introduced as private eye Honey West in an episode of Burke’s Law. The character of Honey first appeared in the 1957 mystery novel This Girl for Hire, written by Gloria and Forest Fickling under the pseudonym G.G. Fickling.
The half-hour TV series Honey West made its debut in 1965 and lasted but one season. Still, it made a lasting impact by showing an independent woman who could best any man–whether it was solving a tough case or beating up a baddie with her judo. Francis’s performance earned her a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy nomination. John Ericson, who played Honey’s partner Sam, had played Francis’s brother 10 years earlier in Bad Day at Black Rock.
After Honey West, Francis continued to be in demand as a TV series guest star. She also did occasional films, such as the underrated 1965 thriller The Satan Bug, and allegedly clashed with Barbra Streisand on the set of Funny Girl. Anne passed away of complications from lung and pancreatic cancer in January of 2011.
Rick29 is a film reference book author and a regular contributor at the Classic Film & TV Café , on Facebook and Twitter. He’s a big fan of MovieFanFare, too, of course!