Frances Farmer: Shadowland [Paperback]

In the mid to late 70s, William Arnold, a reporter for a Seattle newspaper stumbled into a movie house, where a classic film was showing. He was so taken by a particular actress, that he HAD to know why he had never seemed to have heard of her beforehand. A new fan chasing a goddess, Arnold soon discovered that the actress, Frances Farmer (ironically a Seattle native), had been one of the most popular and outspoken actresses in the world. And in the years before and leading up to her death in 1970, had been subject to a very troubled, yet absolutely mysterious set of circumstances.

Most notably was a series of committments to mental institutions at the very height of Frances' career. Denouncing the fury of the Communist witch hunters and the plastiscene face of Hollywood, Frances Farmer was unlike any performer the world had seen before. It seemed that any statement she made, or trip she took, or part she refused was the "wrong" one in the eyes of the more conservative masses and for this, she was believed to have slipped into mental illness. One of many questions Mr. Arnold needed to answer was WAS Frances Farmer insane? Was she the target of a conspiracy? Would a conspiracy even be necessary to "silence her"? If there was anything wrong with her in later years, was it the result of the "treatments"? What IS insanity? And how could such a puzzling set of events happen to one of the biggest stars of the day in without the world seeming to notice...or care.

For three years, Mr. Arnold retraced Frances' steps around the world, from her modest beginnings in Seattle to a trip to Russia (which would be a prime catalyst for many events) to Hollywood, her stay in sanitariums and beyond, piecing together a life passionately led, then violently interrupted. This is "Frances Farmer:SHADOWLAND", a chilling, true story of one man's present-day quest for answers from an era that didn't allow questions. You'll be amazed at Arnold's honest, fairly objective reporting. You'll feel as if you are on a very involved journey with him, of dire importance to uncover the truth and claim justice for Frances. Arnold seems to ask all the the questions any of us might. And he allows you to come to your own conclusion with the information he unravels, a steady stream of surprises.

You too will be inspired go chasing after a goddess, but along the way you, too, may find that what mattered most was that she was human. Sometimes people forget that, when you're shining in the bright lights of Hollywood.

One of the best reads I've ever had.