A Birthday Tribute to Franchot Tone

Today is the birthday of actor Franchot Tone.

Tone was born in Niagara Falls on February 27th, 1905.

In recent years I've come to greatly appreciate Tone, who makes every film in which he appeared better.

Reviewing Tone's filmography, I'm especially struck by the breadth of his career and how many highly enjoyable films he made.  He did a little bit of everything, and did it all well.  I'm a bit amazed to realize I've now seen over 30 of his films; review links follow at the very end of this post.

Below are some Tone films and performances I especially appreciate, starting with one of my favorite pre-Code films, William Wellman's MIDNIGHT MARY (1933).  He and costar Loretta Young later made THE UNGUARDED HOUR (1936) together.

I thought Tone stole THE LIVES OF A BENGAL LANCER (1935) from Gary Cooper (they're seen here with Richard Cromwell):

He was nominated for the Oscar as Roger Byam in MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935), starring alongside Clark Gable and Charles Laughton.  He's seen here on the set...

...and with Movita:

Tone was absolutely delightful in TRAIL OF THE VIGILANTES (1940), a comedic Western which seemed to foreshadow James Garner's SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHERIFF! (1969):

He was also superb in a very different role, as the stranded solder turned spy in Billy Wilder's FIVE GRAVES TO CAIRO (1943):

He starred in one of my top favorite Deanna Durbin films, HIS BUTLER'S SISTER (1943), one of three films in which they appeared together:

Besides adventure films, romantic comedies, the random Western, and musicals, he also starred in the classic film noir PHANTOM LADY (1944), seen here with Ella Raines:

Another great film noir lead came in I LOVE TROUBLE (1948), which was written by Roy Huggins, creator of THE ROCKFORD FILES, and he again seems to foreshadow a future James Garner role as a wisecracking private eye.  Tone is seen here with Janis Carter and Janet Blair:

Tone was particularly adept at playing funny second male leads in romantic comedies such as THREE LOVES HAS NANCY (1938), seen here with Janet Gaynor and Robert Montgomery:

...EVERY GIRL SHOULD BE MARRIED (1948), with Betsy Drake and Cary Grant:

...and HERE COMES THE GROOM (1952), which he made with Bing Crosby, Jane Wyman, and Alexis Smith:

Offscreen, Tone's romantic life was a bit tumultuous; he married in succession actresses Joan Crawford, Jean Wallace, Barbara Payton, and Dolores Dorn; the relationship with Payton led to an infamous incident in which he was badly beaten by Payton's jealous boyfriend, Tom Neal. 

In a touching postscript, Tone remained friends with Crawford, who helped care for him during his final illness.  

Franchot Tone died in New York City in 1968, at the age of 63.  He left behind a wonderful body of work which continues to delight and entertain audiences today.

Franchot Tone films reviewed at Laura's Miscellaneous Musings: MIDNIGHT MARY (1933), BOMBSHELL (1933), DANCING LADY (1933), THE GIRL FROM MISSOURI (1934), STRAIGHT IS THE WAY (1934), THE LIVES OF A BENGAL LANCER (1935), RECKLESS (1935), NO MORE LADIES (1935) (also here), EXCLUSIVE STORY (1936), THE UNGUARDED HOUR (1936), LOVE ON THE RUN (1936), BETWEEN TWO WOMEN (1937), THE BRIDE WORE RED (1937), MAN-PROOF (1938) (also here), THREE LOVES HAS NANCY (1938), THE GIRL DOWNSTAIRS (1938), FAST AND FURIOUS (1939), TRAIL OF THE VIGILANTES (1940), NICE GIRL? (1941), THE WIFE TAKES A FLYER (1942), STAR SPANGLED RHYTHM (1942), FIVE GRAVES TO CAIRO (1943), PILOT #5 (1943), HIS BUTLER'S SISTER (1943), THE HOUR BEFORE THE DAWN (1944), PHANTOM LADY (1944), BECAUSE OF HIM (1946), HONEYMOON (1947), I LOVE TROUBLE (1948), EVERY GIRL SHOULD BE MARRIED (1948), WITHOUT HONOR (1949), HERE COMES THE GROOM (1952) (also here), and ADVISE AND CONSENT (1962).

Tweet