The 1982 film "Frances" is a biography of Frances Farmer, a film actress of the 1930's and 1940's. The film traces her life from her early years in Seattle Washington to Los Angeles and New York while working as an actress in films and plays. Her violent temper gets her into trouble and she spends years in mental hospitals and facilities. After being fired by a major film studio and being arrested for driving offenses, she gets an acting job with a minor studio making a film about Nazis in America. The film's producers become angry when she shows up late for work and one man throws a bunch of United States coins onto a table. The coins include a Walking Liberty half dollar, a Barber quarter, a Mercury dime, and many Lincoln cents.

Frances Farmer is born in 1914 in Seattle, Washington.

Frances Farmer lives with her mother Lillian in Seattle, Washington. Lillian and her husband Ernest are divorced but Ernest lives nearby and sees both women.

She gives a controversial speech on religion which gets newspaper attention and is followed by her winning a trip to Russia sponsored by a Communist organization. She has been acting in local plays and when she comes back from Russia she lives in New York and gets small parts in plays. A motion picture producer sees her and invites her to Los Angeles. She gets an acting role in a film and becomes a movie star.

Frances has a violent temper and does not like many aspects of film making. She gets into arguments with producers and workers and starts losing film roles or getting hired for lower budget films. She moves back to New York and becomes involved with a theater group. She moves in with a producer but when he dumps her she returns to Hollywood.

She doesn't get many dramatic roles but does get some action parts. One night in 1942 she is driving a car and is pulled over for speeding, drunk driving, and driving with lights on, a violation of a wartime law.

She gets into a fight with the policeman and is sentenced to probation and a fine.

In 1943 she is hired by low-budget Monogram Studios for a film called "No Escape" about Nazi agents working in America. The Nazis are making counterfeit United States currency and have kidnapped an American counterfeiter to do the work.

They are filming a scene set at the Nazi office and Frances hasn't shown up for work. One of the producers becomes angry and throws a bunch of coins onto a table.

A lot of loose change is lying on the table.

The coins include a Barber quarter on the left, a Walking Liberty half dollar at the top, and a Mercury dime at the left bottom. There are many Lincoln cents (pennies) on the table and there could possibly be some Indian Head cents.

Silver, 24.3 mm, 6.25 gm
Barber quarters were minted from 1892 to 1916.
The coin was named after the designer Charles Barber.

A book of matches is on the table with the slogan:
WIN THE WAR * WIN THE PEACE * WITH ONE BIG NATIONAL UNION / U.A.W. C.I.O

To the right is the Walking Liberty half dollar.

Silver, 30.6 mm, 12.50 gm
Walking Liberty half dollars were minted from 1916 to 1947.

Monogram hires another actress and releases "No Escape" under the title "I Escaped from the Gestapo". Frances makes another court appearance.

Frances is hauled into court again for offenses and given a long jail sentence. Her mother, whom she has had problems with, arrives and her lawyers convince the judge to send her to a mental facility. She spends some time there and is released.

She spent the rest of the 1940's in mental institutions and then after being released, lived a quiet life. She did make a low-budget film in 1958, hosted a television program, and wrote an autobiography.

Jessica Lange as Frances Farmer
Kim Stanley as Lillian Van Ornum Farmer
Sam Shepard as Harry York
Bart Burns as Ernest Farmer
Director: Graeme Clifford
Writers: Eric Bergren, Christopher De Vore, Nicholas Kazan