Known for Writing
Frances Goodrich (December 21, 1890 – January 29, 1984) was an American dramatist and screenwriter, best known for her collaborations with her partner and husband Albert Hackett. Goodrich was born in Belleville, New Jersey, the daughter of Madeleine Christy (née Lloyd) and Henry Wickes Goodrich. The family moved to nearby Nutley when Goodrich was two. She married actor Robert Ames in 1917 (divorced 1923), the writer H.W. Van Loon in 1927 (divorced 1930), and Albert Hackett in 1931. Goodrich and Hackett remained married until her death. Not long after marrying Hackett, the couple went to Hollywood in the late 1920s to write the screenplay for their stage success Up Pops the Devil for Paramount Pictures. In 1933 they signed a contract with MGM and remained with them until 1939. Among their earliest assignments was writing the screenplay for The Thin Man (1934). They were encouraged by the director W. S. Van Dyke to use the writing of Dashiell Hammett as a basis only, and to concentrate on providing witty exchanges for the principal characters, Nick and Nora Charles (played by William Powell and Myrna Loy). The resulting film was one of the major hits of the year, and the script, considered to show a modern relationship in a realistic manner for the first time, is considered groundbreaking. They received Academy Award for Screenplay nominations for The Thin Man, After the Thin Man (1936), Father of the Bride (1950) and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1955). They won Writers Guild of America awards for Easter Parade (1949), Father's Little Dividend (1951), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), and The Diary of Anne Frank (1959), as well as nominations for In the Good Old Summertime (1949), Father of the Bride (1950) and The Long, Long Trailer (1954). They also won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama for their original play The Diary of Anne Frank. Some of their other films include: Another Thin Man (1939) and It's a Wonderful Life (1946). Frances Goodrich Hackett died from lung cancer on January 29, 1984 at the age of 93, in New York City.
Born
December 20, 1890
Died
January 29, 1984 (age 93)
Birthplace
Belleville, New Jersey, USA
Filmography
40 films


The Diary of Anne Frank
1980 · 1h 49m · US
The story of a 13-year-old Jewish girl and her family who are forced into hiding by the Nazis during World War II.


Five Finger Exercise
1962 · 1h 49m · US
The arrival of a young tutor triggers emotional crises for a wealthy family.


The Diary of Anne Frank
1959 · 2h 59m · US
The true, harrowing story of a young Jewish girl who, with her family and their friends, is forced into hiding in an attic in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam.


A Certain Smile
1958 · 1h 44m · US
A pretty Parisian law student falls in love with her boyfriend's uncle.


Gaby
1956 · 1h 36m · US
A French ballerina falls in love with an American paratrooper on a two day pass in London near the end of World War II.


Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
1954 · 1h 43m · US
In 1850 Oregon, when a backwoodsman brings a wife home to his farm, his six brothers decide that they want to get married too.


The Long, Long Trailer
1954 · 1h 36m · US
A newly wed couple, Tacy and Nicky, travel in a trailer for their honeymoon. The journey is a humorous one that could end up destroying their marriage.


Father's Little Dividend
1951 · 1h 22m · US
Newly married Kay Dunstan announces that she and her husband are having a baby, leaving her father to come to grips with the fact that he will soon be a granddad.


Father of the Bride
1950 · 1h 32m · US
Proud father Stanley Banks remembers the day his daughter, Kay, got married. Starting when she announces her engagement through to the wedding itself, we learn of all the surprises and disasters along the way.


In the Good Old Summertime
1949 · 1h 42m · US
Two co-workers in a music shop dislike one another during business hours but unwittingly carry on an anonymous romance through the mail.


Easter Parade
1948 · 1h 43m · US
On the day before Easter in 1911, Don Hewes is crushed when his dancing partner (and object of affection) Nadine Hale refuses to start a new contract with him. To prove Nadine's not important to him, Don acquires innocent new protege Hannah Brown, vowing to make her a star in time for next year's Easter parade.


The Pirate
1948 · 1h 42m · US
A girl is engaged to the local richman, but meanwhile she has dreams about the legendary pirate Macoco. A traveling singer falls in love with her and to impress her he poses as the pirate.


Summer Holiday
1948 · 1h 33m · US
Danville, Connecticut at the turn of the century. Young Richard Miller lives in a middle-class neighborhood with his family. He is in love with the girl next-door, Muriel, but her father isn't too happy with their puppy-love, since Richard always share his revolutionary ideas with her.


It's a Wonderful Life
1946 · 2h 11m · US
George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George's modest building and loan company. But on Christmas Eve the business's $8,000 is lost and George's troubles begin.


The Virginian
1946 · 1h 27m · US
Arriving at Medicine Bow, eastern schoolteacher Molly Woods meets two cowboys, irresponsible Steve and the "Virginian," who gets off on the wrong foot with her. To add to his troubles, the Virginian finds that his old pal Steve is mixed up with black-hatted Trampas and his rustlers...then finds himself at the head of a posse after said rustlers; and Molly hates the violent side of frontier life.


The Hitler Gang
1944 · 1h 41m · US
The Hitler Gang adopts the style of a gangster film as it charts Adolf Hitler’s rise from small-time politico to dictator of Germany.


Lady in the Dark
1944 · 1h 40m · US
A neurotic editor sees a psychoanalyst about the advertising man, movie star and other man in her life.


Society Lawyer
1939 · 1h 17m · US
Society lawyer Christopher Durant agrees to defend his friend Phil Siddall who was arrested for the murder of an ex-girlfriend. With the help of nightclub singer Pat Abbott and crime boss Tony Gazotti (a former client), Durant launches his own investigation of the murder in order to prove his friend's innocence.


The Firefly
1937 · 2h 11m · US
Nina Maria Azara is the beautiful and alluring singing spy for Spain during the Napoleonic Wars. Her mission is to seduce French officers, in order for them to reveal Napoleon's intentions toward Spain. She is sent to Bayonne, France to gather military secrets. Prior to this, she meets Don Diego while performing at a club. Unknown to her, Don Diego is actually Captain Andre, who is sent to Spain to spy on her. While in France, Nina discovers Diego's true identity, only after she has fallen in love with him. Nina Maria outwits her potential captors, returns to Spain and goes into hiding. Napoleon's troops invade Spain, resulting in Nina's capture. In a strange twist of fate, Nina and Captain Andre are reunited, but the 2 nations are now at war...


After the Thin Man
1936 · 1h 52m · US
After returning to San Francisco, Nick and Nora Charles are drawn into the disappearance of Nora’s cousin’s husband. When he is found murdered, suspicion falls on the troubled family, and Nick reluctantly resumes his detective work. With Nora eagerly at his side, the pair follows a trail of jealousy, blackmail, secret relationships, and long-buried family scandals.


Small Town Girl
1936 · 1h 46m · US
Kay is a girl living in a small rural town whose life is just too dull and repetitious to bear. One night, she meets young, handsome, and rich Bob Dakin, who asks her for directions while drunk and then proceeds to take her out on a night on the town. Kay likes the stranger, and when the drunken Bob decides that they should get married, Kay hesitates little before consenting. The morning after the affair, Bob, once sober, regrets his mistake. His strict and upright parents, however, insist that the young couple pretend marriage for 6 months before divorcing, in order to avoid bad publicity. Bob resents Kay for standing in the way of him and his fiancée, Priscilla, but Kay still hopes that he'd have a change of heart.


Rose Marie
1936 · 1h 53m · US
An incognito opera singer falls for a policeman who has been assigned to track down her fugitive brother.


Ah, Wilderness!
1935 · 1h 38m · US
At the turn of the century, a young man graduates high school and realizes the joys and sorrows of growing up, with some loving help and guidance from his wise father. A tender, coming-of-age story, with a wonderful look at a long-gone, but fondly remembered, small town America.


Naughty Marietta
1935 · 1h 43m · US
In order to avoid a prearranged marriage, a rebellious French princess sheds her identity and escapes to colonial New Orleans, where she finds an unlikely true love.


Hide-Out
1934 · 1h 21m · US
Wounded criminal Lucky Wilson takes refuge in a small Connecticut farm. He falls in love with the farmer's daughter who at first is unaware of his criminal record. Lucky is fully prepared to shoot his way out when the cops come calling, but he is softened by the daughter's affections.


The Thin Man
1934 · 1h 31m · US
Former detective Nick Charles has retired from police work, preferring a life of cocktails, parties, and relaxation with his wealthy wife, Nora. Their holiday is interrupted when the daughter of Nick’s former client asks for help finding her missing father, eccentric inventor Clyde Wynant. When Wynant’s body is discovered, Nick is drawn back into the investigation, with Nora eagerly joining him. As the couple questions Wynant’s family, friends, and business associates, a tangled web of greed, deception, and murder begins to unravel.


Fugitive Lovers
1934 · 1h 22m · US
In a hopeful effort to evade gangster Legs Caffey, chorus girl Letty Morris hops a bus in New York bound for Los Angeles--with Legs close on her heels. Along the way the bus picks up escaped convict Paul Porter, who quickly allies himself with Letty. With the police in hot pursuit and Legs monitoring his every move with Letty, Paul is running out of both time and ideas.


Penthouse
1933 · 1h 28m · US
Gertie Waxted knows how notorious gangster Jim Crelliman runs his rackets, because she's long been under the hoodlum's thumb. She's secretly helping lawyer Jackson Durant in a snoop job aimed at pinning a murder on the thug. Her life will be in peril when that secret gets out.


The Secret of Madame Blanche
1933 · 1h 24m · US
A murder trial reunites a former chorus girl and her son, a grandson of an English aristocrat.