Welcome to www.robertfrancis1930-1955.net
You may be one of the many who come to this website because you recently saw The Caine Mutiny on Turner Classic Movies. At the end, you perhaps talked or thought about the leading players (Humphrey Bogart, Jose Ferrer, Van Johnson, Fred MacMurray) and some of the supporting cast who became more famous after the film’s release in 1954 (Claude Akins, Lee Marvin, Arthur Franz, Herbert Anderson, Jerry Paris). You probably know something about what happened to them post-Caine, movie and television credits, and when they died. But the young co-stars — Robert Francis and May Wynn — are likely to have escaped your memory, especially Bob. (May Wynn appeared in a number of other movies and on television programs.)
This website will help you discover not only what happened to Bob before and after Caine, but also about the time in which his promising film career began and flourished, the waning years of Hollywood’s Star and Studio Systems, and then ended in a tragic airplane accident.
Much of Bob’s story is told in photographs. Each website page, especially Biography, uses images that are for the most part undated. Therefore, dating (precisely or best guess) in order to create a more-or-less chronological presentation is a challenge. In the pages about Bob’s career in the context of the Star and Studio Systems, you will discover Bob apparently spent as much time being photographed for posed portraits, candid shots, and similar as he did in front of the movie cameras. Articles from fan magazines appear — approximately — as they are dated, e.g., a cover dated August 1954 (when there was a media blitz in conjunction with the opening of Caine). BUT, an August 1954 magazine would have been on newsstands in early July and would have gone to press in mid-June. The photos used in these stories and photo essays may have been made months, perhaps a year or more earlier. Determining chronology, therefore, takes some detective work centered on (1) Bob’s haircut style, (2) clothing, (3) background details, and (4) clues from other sources, e.g., information from his siblings, Lillian and Bill, and other media coverage. Specific dates are given for a handful of photographs, e.g., the Friday, Jan. 28, 1955, photo was definitely made on that day.
The haircut styles fall into calendar-related periods. Bob’s hair was cut in a classic style (combed over and parted) prior to going into the U.S. Army in early 1951. During that time, 1951-1953, he had a military/G.I. Joe/crew cut. Before starting production in June 1953 on Caine, Bob had slightly longer hair, cut into what was often known as a “Princeton,” as in the March-April1953 photo above. During and after filming Caine, June-Aug. 1953, he had a crew cut. For They Rode West, Nov.-Dec. 1953, his hair was longer and curly (with blond tones and highlights added). For The Bamboo Prison, Jan.-Feb. 1954, and The Long Gray Line, March-May 1954, he had a West Point military cut. By the end of the summer 1954 and thereafter, he had varying lengths of longer hair with its natural curl, sometimes neat and trim, sometimes less so (as when filming Tribute to a Badman, June 1955), until his death on July 31, 1955. (During his growing up years, his hair also varied, sometimes short, sometimes longer — and often more blond than brown.)
Clothing provides some clues, too. Although some photos (portraits, storytelling photo essays) were made in controlled conditions and “styled,” Bob seems to wear his own clothing in many photos. A shirt or pair of trousers may appear in photos made during the same time period, as well as earlier and later, e.g., a white polo shirt with three stripes on the collar, a pair of off-white linen trousers, checkered swim trunks. Background elements yield clues as to when a photo was made, e.g., Bob’s Cadillac sometimes appears in photos made in 1954 and later. Some photos just raise irrelevant questions. Whose rifles are those in the background of the Jerry Lewis photo made in the early 1950s? If taken at Lewis’ home, then perhaps his. And some photos prove almost impossible to date with complete accuracy.
A number of photographs and articles appear on more than one website page. Including them more than once is an effort to provide chronological continuity and a more complete context for the other items on those pages.
Throughout this website, credit and copyright information is provided when available. There is no intention to use photos or other materials without acknowledgment of sources and ownership. Any omissions or errors in this regard should be brought to the attention of the creators of this website. Note that many items on this website are copyrighted. Click on the photos above to see additional information, including where photo taken, year, photographer credit, source, etc.
