Frances Farmer

Yes, I highly recommend Frances but understand that both the film and her “autobiography” are highly fictionalised accounts.

I think Karina Longworth did a short series on her that kind of set the record straight on her You Must Remember This podcast that should lead to other resources.

Farmer’s story and life was co-opted by a religious couple, I believe, to proselytize about their faith. So some of that book has a “Go Ask Alice” feel to it.

But Jessica Lange and Kim Stanley are amazing in the film.

Farmer's autobiography was one of the best I ever read, but years later I read a biography, and as said above, much of Farmer's book was far from true. I also never was a particular fan of hers. Something about her neveer really appealed to me.

Although ostensibly a rebuttal to Arnold's fictitious Shadowland, Kauffman does an outstanding job doing the Farmer bio. This was posted on DL years back and Kauffman even responded here.

I remember seeing her on an old episode of “This Is Your Life” from the 50’s and the host kept goading her about her time in hospitals. She looked uncomfortable and just smiled and try to change the subject. Then the host introduced a gift from the show for Frances. It was a Ford Edsel.

Our favorite patient

Display of patience

Disease-covered Puget Sound

She'll come back as fire

To burn all the liars

Leave a blanket of ash on the ground

She was raised a communist in liberal Seattle by a overbearing, feminazi mother and a withdrawn, emasculated father.

That's why she was so fucked up and godless.

Wanted to add that Kauffman notes that Farmers' sister believed that Arnold's book was part of a Scientology effort to expose the horror of psychiatry.

This is Arnold's rebuttal. After reading this, I believe him even less.

Her acting style seemed wooden in the several movies I’ve seen.

The movie is intensely dark so be aware of that to the person above who asked about it. But yes, Lange is excellent in it.

Wow, thanks for the information about her life. I had no idea that the lobotomy was not a verified event.

R6, Frances’s mother was a staunch Republican.

Jessica Lange would have won the Best Actress Oscar in any year but 1983 when her competition was Meryl in Sophie’s Choice. JL is fantastic in the movie.

R6, where the hell did you get that info?

R13, it’s from either the Francis Farmer autobiography, or “Shadowland”, a biography.

R14, Shadowland is no bio as noted above. In fact, the entire right wing conspiracy to take her down has been discredited and Arnold even admits that Shadowland is a fictitious biography, whatever that means.

[quote]it’s from either the Francis Farmer autobiography

That "autobiography" is every bit as fallacious as Shadowland.

[quote]As indicated above, Arnold frequently repeats information evidently gleaned from Farmer’s supposed autobiography while at the same time lamenting (correctly) its manifold errors. Unfortunately, according to several members of the Farmer family Will There Really Be a Morning? not only is as rife with errors as Arnold’s book, it is also as sensationalized. Unlike Arnold, however, Morning’s “real” author, Frances’ late-in-life friend Jeanira Ratcliffe, was reportedly quite forthcoming (in private, at least) about how she had sensationalized Frances’ “memoirs” in order to facilitate a movie sale. Beyond the perceived sensationalism, however, are undeniable errors of fact that Frances herself would never have made