Frances is a 1982 American drama film starring Jessica Lange, Kim Stanley, and Sam Shepard. When it was released this film was advertised as a purportedly true account of actress Frances Farmer's life but the script was largely fictional and sensationalized. In particular, the film depicts Farmer as having been lobotomized; this is reputed to never have happened. Directed by Graeme Clifford, the story was written for the screen by Eric Bergren, Christopher De Vore and Nicholas Kazan , based upon William Arnold's Shadowland, a fictional biography of Farmer. In pre-production, the producers... reneged on their option to use the book as source material. Arnold filed an unsuccessful copyright infringement lawsuit but many of his fictional elements were incorporated into the final film. On the commentary of the DVD release, director Clifford stated, "We didn't want to nickel and dime people to death with facts." Mel Brooks was executive producer of the film, but received no credit for his participation.
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| Release date: | December 3, 1982 |
| Directed by: | Graeme Clifford |
| Rated: |  |
| Runtime: | 140 Minutes |
| Producer: | Mel Brooks |
| Editor: | John Wright |
| Music by: | John Barry |
| Cinematography: | László Kovács |
| Screenplay by: | Nicholas Kazan |