Frances Marsh was an American film editor active during the 1920s and 1930s. She worked on many of

Ernst Lubitsch Ernst Lubitsch (; January 29, 1892November 30, 1947) was a German-born American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as ...

's films and was considered one of the foremost editors of her day.

Biography

Frances was born in Texas to Stephen Marsh and Mae Warne. She came from a big family, and many of her siblings became involved with the film industry after they all moved to Los Angeles. Brother Oliver became a cinematographer, and sisters Mildred,

Mae Mae is an American rock band that formed in Norfolk, Virginia in 2001. The band's name is an acronym for "Multi-sensory Aesthetic Experience", based on a course taken by drummer Jacob Marshall while a student at Old Dominion University. Histor ...

, Leslie, and Marguerite became actresses. Frances started out as a script clerk around 1925 before making a name for herself as a film editor. She was employed as a film editor at Paramount-Famous Players by 1928; and she edited four films that year: ''

A Night of Mystery ''A Night of Mystery'' is a 1928 American silent drama film based upon the play by Victorien Sardou, directed by Lothar Mendes and starring Adolphe Menjou and Evelyn Brent. The film is considered to be lost. ''A Night of Mystery'' is now a lost ...

'', ''

The Magnificent Flirt ''The Magnificent Flirt'' is a lost 1928 American comedy silent film directed by Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast and written by José Germain Drouilly, Herman J. Mankiewicz, Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast and Jean de Limur. The film stars Florence Vidor, ...

'', ''

The Woman from Moscow ''The Woman from Moscow'' is a 1928 American drama film starring Pola Negri. This was Negri's last silent film released with musical score and sound effects. The picture is a remake of Paramount's 1918 Pauline Frederick film ''Fedora'', based o ...

'', and '' Sins of the Father''. Her last known credit was on 1934's ''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt t ...

''. "I have often cried right there in the cutting room while editing a particularly romantic or sentimental scene," Marsh later told a reporter. "I know that sounds sort of stupid, but after all, I'm just a fan who happens to know a little more of the technical end of pictures than the average fan."

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (1934) * ''

Design for Living ''Design for Living'' is a comedy play written by Noël Coward in 1932. It concerns a trio of artistic characters, Gilda, Otto and Leo, and their complicated three-way relationship. Originally written to star Lynn Fontanne, Alfred Lunt and Cowa ...

'' (1933) * ''

Darkened Rooms ''Darkened Rooms'' is a 1929 American pre-Code mystery film directed by Louis J. Gasnier and starring Evelyn Brent. It was an early talking picture. This film is preserved at the Library of Congress.''Catalog of Holdings The American Film Insti ...

'' (1929) * ''

Stairs of Sand ''Stairs of Sand'' is a 1929 American silent film, silent Western (genre), Western film starring Wallace Beery, Jean Arthur and Phillips Holmes, made by Paramount Pictures, directed by Otto Brower, and written by Agnes Brand Leahy, Sam Mintz an ...

'' (1929) * '' Sins of the Fathers'' (1928) * ''

'' (1928) * ''

'' (1928)

References

External links

American film editors American women film editors 1897 births 1958 deaths {{US-film-editor-stub