FILM
Sky Commando (1953) with Dan Duryea, Mike Connors, and Morris Ankrum
Riding High (1950) with Bing Crosby, Coleen Gray, Marjorie Lord, Charles Bickford, William Demarest, Ward Bond, Percy Kilbride, and Margaret Hamilton
Luxury Liner (1948) with George Brent, Jane Powell, and Xavier Cugat
The Arnelo Affair (1947) with John Hodiak, George Murphy, Dean Stockwell, Eve Arden, and Joan Woodbury
Little Mister Jim (1946) with James Craig, Luana Patten, Spring Byington, Laura La Plante, and Morris Ankrum
She Went to the Races (1945) with James Craig, Ava Gardner, and Edmund Gwenn
Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945) with Edward G. Robinson, Margaret O'Brien, James Craig, and Agnes Moorehead
Thrill of a Romance (1945) with Van Johnson, Esther Williams, and Spring Byington
Marriage Is a Private Affair (1944) with Lana Turner, James Craig, John Hodiak, Hugh Marlowe, Natalie Schafer, Keenan Wynn, and Morris Ankrum
Cry 'Havoc' (1943) with Margaret Sullavan, Ann Sothern, Joan Blondell, Fay Bainter, Marsha Hunt, and Ella Raines
Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour (1943) with Jimmy Lydon, Charles Smith, John Litel, and Gail Russell
Tarzan Triumphs (1943) with Johnny Weissmuller and Johnny Sheffield
Star Spangled Rhythm (1942) with Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Fred MacMurray, Franchot Tone, Ray Milland, Dorothy Lamour, Veronica Lake, and Alan Ladd
American Empire (1942) with Richard Dix, Leo Carrillo, Preston Foster, and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams
The Glass Key (1942) with Brian Donlevy, Veronica Lake, Alan Ladd, Bonita Granville, Richard Denning, and William Bendix
Beyond the Blue Horizon (1942) with Dorothy Lamour, Richard Denning, Jack Haley, and Patricia Morison
Tombstone, the Town Too Tough to Die (1942) with Richard Dix, Edgar Buchanan, Rex Bell, Kent Taylor, and Victor Jory
My Heart Belongs to Daddy (1942) with Richard Carlson, Martha O'Driscoll, and Cecil Kellaway
The Remarkable Andrew (1942) with Brian Donlevy, William Holden, and Ellen Drew
The Reluctant Dragon (1941) with Robert Benchley, Nana Bryant, Gerald Mohr, and Alan Ladd
Jungle Girl (1941) with Tom Neal, Gerald Mohr, Eddie Acuff, Tommy Cook, and Jay Silverheels
West Point Widow (1941) with Anne Shirley, Richard Carlson, and Richard Denning
Border Vigilantes (1941) with William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Victor Jory, Morris Ankrum, and Tom Tyler
Hold That Woman! (1940) with James Dunn and Dave O'Brien
Mercy Plane (1939) with James Dunn
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) with Jean Arthur, James Stewart, Claude Rains, Guy Kibbee, and Eugene Pallette
Having a Wonderful Time (1938) with Ginger Rogers, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Lucille Ball, Eve Arden, Red Skelton, Jack Carson, Allan 'Rocky' Lane, and Grady Sutton
Night Spot (1938) with Harry 'Parkyakarkus' Parke, Allan 'Rocky' Lane, Joan Woodbury, and Jack Carson
Living on Love (1937) with James Dunn, Joan Woodbury, and Franklin Pangborn
Stage Door (1937) with Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Adolphe Menjou, Lucille Ball, Eve Arden, Ann Miller, and Gail Patrick
New Faces of 1937 (1937) with Joe Penner, Milton Berle, Harry 'Parkyakarkus' Parke, Harriet Nelson, Jerome Cowan, Henry Hite, and Ann Miller
Woman Chases Man (1937) with Miriam Hopkins and Joel McCrea
TELEVISION GUEST APPEARANCES
General Electric Theater, episode My Wife, Poor Wretch, originally aired September 20, 1953
Gruen Guild Theater, episode Adopted Son, originally aired January 29, 1952
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Born in Long Beach, California, on December 7, 1919, beautiful Mary Frances Gifford was put under contract to RKO Studios while still a teenager. Her younger
brother, Frank Gifford, also dabbled in acting but became famous while playing football for the New York Giants from 1952 to 1964. Prior to signing with RKO,
Frances Gifford had been spotted by a talent agent who brought her to the attention of producer Samuel Goldwyn, who briefly had her under contract. After several
roles at RKO, Gifford's career was going nowhere fast. In 1938, she married character actor James Dunn (1901-1967), and the couple costarred in the films Mercy Plane
(1939; with William Pawley) and Hold that Woman! (1940; with Dave O'Brien). By the time their marriage fizzled out in 1942,
Gifford's film career was in high gear while Dunn's was collapsing. The previous year Gifford had been cast in the Republic serial Jungle Girl (1941;
with Tom Neal and Gerald Mohr), based on the novel by Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs. This
popular serial gave her fortunes a much-needed boost. She left RKO for Paramount where she acted in several films including The Glass Key (1942;
with Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, and Brian Donlevy). However,
she quickly left Paramount for top studio MGM in 1943.
