Vera Frances Ward ( Still, born 29 September 1930) is a British actress who worked with

Arthur Askey Arthur Bowden Askey, (6 June 1900 – 16 November 1982) was an English comedian and actor. Askey was known for his short stature (5' 2", 1.58 m) and distinctive horn-rimmed glasses, and his playful humour incorporating improvisation ...

Tommy Handley Thomas Reginald Handley (17 January 1892 – 9 January 1949) was an English comedian, best known for the BBC radio programme ''It's That Man Again'' ("''ITMA''") which ran between 1939 and 1949. Born in Liverpool, Lancashire, Handley went o ...

George Formby George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961) was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he s ...

Dinah Sheridan Dinah Sheridan (born Dinah Nadyejda Ginsburg; 17 September 1920 – 25 November 2012) was an English actress with a career spanning seven decades. She was best known for the films ''Genevieve'' (1953) and ''The Railway Children'' (1970); the lon ...

John Mills Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portray ...

and

Alastair Sim Alastair George Bell Sim, CBE (9 October 1900 – 19 August 1976) was a Scottish character actor who began his theatrical career at the age of thirty and quickly became established as a popular West End performer, remaining so until his ...

, amongst others. Frances's father was a props and special effects man for

Gainsborough Pictures Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, north London. Gainsborough Studios was active between 1924 and 1951. The com ...

at Grove Studio's in

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, i ...

. She made her first film appearance in ''

Back-Room Boy ''Back-Room Boy'' is a 1942 British comedy film directed by Herbert Mason, produced by Edward Black for Gainsborough Pictures and distributed by General Film Distributors. The cast includes Arthur Askey, Googie Withers, Graham Moffatt and Moor ...

'' as the Cockney girl Jane. she then went on to make another five films. In her late teens Frances left film to follow her ambition to be a dance teacher. This proved to be very successful and resulted in a dance school. After marrying Dennis William Ward in 1953, Frances moved the school to

March, Cambridgeshire March is a Fenland market town and civil parish in the Isle of Ely area of Cambridgeshire, England. It was the county town of the Isle of Ely which was a separate administrative county from 1889 to 1965. The administrative centre of Fenland ...

. Dennis died in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

in 2000, at the age of 73. In a February 2008 interview, Frances stated that she stopped making films because there were limited opportunities available for her when transitioning from a child actress.

Filmography

*''

'' (1942) .... Jane *''

King Arthur Was a Gentleman ''King Arthur Was a Gentleman'' is a 1942 British, black-and-white, comedy, musical film, directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Arthur Askey. It was produced by Edward Black and Maurice Ostrer for Gainsborough Pictures. Synopsis Set during W ...

'' (1942) .... Vera *''

It's That Man Again ''It's That Man Again'' (commonly contracted to ''ITMA'') was a BBC radio comedy programme which ran for twelve series from 1939 to 1949. The shows featured Tommy Handley in the central role, a fast-talking figure, around whom the other cha ...

'' (1943) .... Daisy *''

Get Cracking ''Get Cracking'' is a 1943 United Kingdom, British comedy film, comedy war film, film director, directed by Marcel Varnel starring George Formby, with Dinah Sheridan and Ronald Shiner. It was film producer, produced by Marcel Varnel and Ben Henr ...

'' (1943) .... Irene *'' Waterloo Road'' (1945) .... Vera Colter *''

Good-Time Girl ''Good-Time Girl'' is a 1948 British film noir-crime drama film directed by David MacDonald. A homeless girl is asked to explain her bad behaviour in the juvenile court, and says she’s run away from home because she’s unhappy there. They ex ...

'' (1948) .... Edie

References

External links

Vera Frances on Britmovie.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frances, Vera 1930 births Living people English child actresses English film actresses People from Dagenham People from March, Cambridgeshire