Classic Entertainment Autographs

Cat. #0031151: FRANCES ROBINSON

Scarce vintage inscribed signature in blue fountain pen on a 4x6-inch off-white card, acquired in-person by inveterate collector John Virzi in the 1960s and decorated with a small magazine image. In good condition. Frances Robinson made her screen debut at age 5, playing Lillian Gish's younger self in the silent classic Orphans of the Storm (1921). She appeared in a handful of other films as a child and adolescent, eventually blossoming into a remarkable beauty, and by age 19, was increasingly called upon to play comely secretaries, hatcheck girls, nurses, waitresses, cashiers, maids, and Medieval maidens in an admixture of A- and B-level pictures. She made frequent contributions to the horror, sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, and crime genres, including Dante's Inferno (1935), The Spy Ring (1938), The Jury's Secret (1938), The Last Express (1938), Secrets of a Nurse (1938), The Last Warning (1938), the Red Barry (1938) serial, Big Town Czar (1939), Risky Business (1939), I Stole a Million (1939), Rio (1939), Tower of London (1939), The Invisible Man Returns (1940), Double Alibi (1940), The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date (1940), So You Won't Talk (1940), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941), Smilin' Through (1941), The Missing Lady (1946), Backfire (1950), and Kitten with a Whip (1964). She also starred with Frankie Thomas as gorilla hunters in the Tim Tyler's Luck chapter-play of 1937. Robinson died tragically of a heart attack at the age of 55, and her autograph is highly elusive in any format. This is just the fourth example we've ever encountered.