TCM Star of the Month: Kay Francis
"...Kay was, like Garbo, Crawford, Dietrich, Stanwyck, Carmen Miranda and a very few others, one of a kind. For several years (1933-37) she was also the undisputed queen of Warner Bros. studio, the one name among the company’s female contingent which was a guaranteed draw at the boxoffice, a position she enjoyed until that Massachusetts girl named Davis began sitting on the throne at that studio in 1938. But unlike Bette D. who fought for strong dramatic roles and recognition as an actress, Kay was famous for looking gorgeous and elegant while riddled with angst. There seemed to be an unwritten law that any bonafide Kay Francis movie had to include four basics: Kay wearing stunning gowns, Kay in love and suffering for it, Kay being gallant and true, Kay doing the right thing at the film’s wrap, even if it meant her giving up a great love, be it a handsome swain, an adorable child or a devoted hubby..."
*All Times Eastern
September 4 Thursday
8:00pm Raffles (1930) A distinguished British gentleman hides his true identity as a notorious jewel thief. Cast: Ronald Colman, Kay Francis, Bramwell Fletcher. Dir: George Fitzmaurice. BW-71 mins
9:15pm Jewel Robbery (1932) A jewel thief falls for a tycoon's wife in Vienna. Cast: William Powell, Kay Francis, Hardie Albright. Dir: William Dieterle. BW-68 mins, TV-G (Re-play @ Thursday, October 9,2008 6:15 AM)
10:30pm One Way Passage (1932) An ocean voyage leads to romance for a dying heiress and a condemned criminal. Cast: Kay Francis, William Powell, Aline MacMahon. Dir: Tay Garnett. BW-68 mins, TV-G (Re-play @ Monday, September 22,2008 11:15 PM)
11:45pm Divorce (1945) A frequently divorced woman sets her sights on a happily married man. Cast: Kay Francis, Bruce Cabot, Helen Mack. Dir: William Nigh. BW-70 mins, TV-G
September 11 Thursday
8:00pm Trouble In Paradise (1932) A love triangle ignites trouble between two jewel theives and their intended victim. Cast: Herbert Marshall, Miriam Hopkins, Kay Francis. Dir: Ernst Lubitsch. BW-82 mins, TV-G
9:30pm Cynara (1932) Infidelity threatens a lawyer's marriage when his fling decides to steal him from his wife. Cast: Ronald Colman, Kay Francis, Phyllis Barry. Dir: King Vidor. BW-78 mins
11:00pm A Notorious Affair(1930) A beautiful noblewoman gives up wealth and society for love of a two-timing musician. Cast: Billie Dove, Basil Rathbone, Kay Francis. Dir: Lloyd Bacon. BW-67 mins, TV-G
12:15am The Feminine Touch (1941) An author writing a book on jealousy discovers his wife is an expert on the subject. Cast: Rosalind Russell, Don Ameche, Kay Francis. Dir: W.S. Van Dyke II. BW-98 mins, TV-G
September 12 Friday
4:30am Stolen Holiday (1937) A Paris fashion model marries a fortune hunter to protect him from the law. Cast: Claude Rains, Kay Francis, Ian Hunter. Dir: Michael Curtiz. BW-80 mins, TV-G
6:00am Mary Stevens, M.D. (1933) A woman doctor decides to have a baby without benefit of marriage. Cast: Kay Francis, Lyle Talbot, Glenda Farrell. Dir: Lloyd Bacon. BW-72 mins, TV-G
8:45am Another Dawn (1937) An officer's wife at a British outpost in Africa falls for another man. Cast: Errol Flynn, Kay Francis, Ian Hunter. Dir: William Dieterle. BW-73 mins, TV-G
September 18 Thursday
8:00pm Transgression (1931) When her lover is killed, a straying wife tries to intercept the confession she mailed her husband. Cast: Kay Francis, Ricardo Cortez, Paul Cavanagh. Dir: Herbert Brenon. BW-70 mins, TV-PG
9:15pm Secrets Of An Actress (1938) A leading lady falls for a married architect who's invested in her play. Cast: Kay Francis, George Brent, Ian Hunter. Dir: William Keighley. BW-70 mins, TV-G
10:30pm Women In The Wind (1939) Personal conflicts flare between competitors in a women's air race. Cast: Kay Francis, William Gargan, Victor Jory. Dir: John Farrow. BW-63 mins, TV-G
11:45pm King Of The Underworld (1939) A lady doctor gets mixed up with a criminal gang. Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Kay Francis, James Stephenson. Dir: Lewis Seiler. BW-67 mins, TV-PG
1:00am It's A Date (1940) Mother-and-daughter singers vie for the same man and the same stage part. Cast: Deanna Durbin, Walter Pidgeon, Kay Francis. Dir: William A. Seiter. BW-104 mins, TV-G
2:45am Play Girl (1940) An aging gold digger takes a young woman under her wing. Cast: Kay Francis, Nigel Bruce, James Ellison. Dir: Frank Woodruff. BW-77 mins, TV-PG
September 19 Friday
7:00am In Name Only (1939) A wealthy man falls for a widow but can't get his wife to divorce him. Cast: Cary Grant, Carole Lombard, Kay Francis. Dir: John Cromwell. BW-95 mins, TV-G (Re-play @ Monday, October 27,2008 1:45 AM)
8:45am The Keyhole (1933) A private eye specializing in divorce cases falls for the woman he's been hired to frame. Cast: Kay Francis, George Brent, Glenda Farrell. Dir: Michael Curtiz. BW-69 mins, TV-G
September 25 Thursday
8:00pm Mandalay (1934) A woman with a past tries to get rid of a former lover. Cast: Kay Franis Ricardo Cortez, Lyle Talbot. Dir: Michael Curtiz. BW-65 mins, TV-G
9:15pm Doctor Monica (1934) A female doctor learns that her husband loves another woman. Cast: Kay Francis, Warren William, Jean Muir. Dir: William Keighley. BW-53 mins, TV-G
10:15pm Confession (1937) A glamorous singer commits murder to protect her daughter's virtue. Cast: Kay Francis, Basil Rathbone, Ian Hunter. Dir: Joe May. BW-87 mins, TV-PG
12:00am First Lady (1937) A U.S. president's granddaughter fights a femme fatale to groom her husband for the White House. Cast: Kay Francis, Victor Jory, Anita Louise. Dir: Stanley Logan. BW-83 mins, TV-G (Re-play @ Monday, October 27,2008 10:00 AM)
4:30am Storm At Daybreak (1933) Fictionalized account of the events leading up to Archduke Ferdinand's assassination and the start of World War I. Cast: Walter Huston, Kay Francis, Nils Asther. Dir: Richard Boleslawski. BW-79 mins, TV-G
TCM's Full Schedule for September (including full listings of all Kay Francis films for the month.)