Editing Frances Farmer (section)

===1937–1941: Transition to theater===
[[File:Group-Theatre-1938.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1|Leif Erickson and Farmer (front row, far left) with members of the [[Group Theatre (New York)|Group Theatre]] in 1938]]
Unsatisfied with the expectations of the [[studio system]] and wanting to enhance her reputation as a serious actress, Farmer left Hollywood in mid-1937 to do [[summer stock]] on the East Coast, performing in [[Westchester, New York]], and [[Westport, Connecticut]].{{sfn|Shelley|2010|p=16}} There, she attracted the attention of director Harold Clurman and playwright Clifford Odets, who invited her to appear in a three-month production of Odets' play ''Golden Boy'',{{sfn|Shelley|2010|pages=16–20}} produced by the [[Group Theatre (New York)|Group Theatre]].{{sfn|Agan|1979|p=19}} The play opened in November 1937 and ran for a total of 248 performances.{{sfn|Agan|1979|p=20}} Her performance at first received mixed reviews, with ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' commenting that she had been miscast.{{sfn|Shelley|2010|p=19}} Due to Farmer's box-office appeal, however, the play became the biggest hit in the group's history. By 1938, when the production had embarked on a national tour, regional critics from [[Washington, DC]], to [[Chicago]] gave her rave reviews.<ref name="shedding">{{cite web|title=Frances Farmer: Shedding Light on ''Shadowland''|url=http://jeffreykauffman.net/francesfarmer/sheddinglight.html|work=Shadowland|access-date=January 4, 2013|author=Kauffman, Jeffrey|orig-year=1999|year=2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721105027/http://jeffreykauffman.net/francesfarmer/sheddinglight.html|archive-date=July 21, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Scott-Hagen-Farmer-Haydon-1938.jpg|thumb|upright=.9|right|alt=Three woman posed in shawls|Left to right: [[Martha Scott]], [[Uta Hagen]], Farmer, and [[Julie Haydon]] posed in ''Stage'' magazine, 1938]]
During the run of ''Golden Boy'', Farmer began a romantic affair with Odets, but he was married to actress [[Luise Rainer]] and did not offer Farmer a commitment.{{sfn|Shelley|2010|pages=18–22}} Farmer felt betrayed when Odets suddenly ended the relationship, and when the group chose another actress for its London run{{en dash}}an actress whose family helped secure funds for the play{{en dash}}she came to believe that the group had used her drawing power selfishly to further the success of the play.{{sfn|Shelley|2010|pages=18–22}}{{sfn|Agan|1979|pages=19–21}} Disheartened, Farmer returned to Los Angeles to star opposite husband Erickson in ''[[Ride a Crooked Mile]]'' (1938).{{sfn|Agan|1979|p=20}} Odets later wrote in his 1940 journal about Farmer describing her as an "unhappy, stiff, rude and uncontrollable girl, but with a real purity."{{sfn|Odets|1988|p=2}} In April 1939, she performed in a short-run [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] production of ''Quiet City'', an experimental play directed by [[Elia Kazan]].{{sfn|Shelley|2010|p=22}} In November that year, she returned to Broadway, portraying Melanie in ''[[Thunder Rock (play)|Thunder Rock]]'', also directed by Kazan, and produced by the Group Theater.{{sfn|Agan|1979|p=20}} The play was not well received, and Farmer was profoundly unhappy after its closing in December 1939.{{sfn|Agan|1979|p=20}} She subsequently accepted a role in a Broadway adaptation of [[Ernest Hemingway]]'s ''[[The Fifth Column and the First Forty-Nine Stories|The Fifth Column]]'', for which she was scheduled to begin rehearsing in early 1940.{{sfn|Agan|1979|p=20}} During rehearsals, Farmer began [[binge drinking]] in an effort to alleviate her [[clinical depression|depression]].{{sfn|Agan|1979|p=20}} She ultimately chose to withdraw from the production, resulting in a $1,500 fine from the Theater Guild, for "unprofessionalism".{{sfn|Agan|1979|p=20}}

She returned to Paramount, who loaned her out to [[United Artists]] for the film, ''[[South of Pago Pago]]'' (1940), opposite [[Jon Hall (actor)|Jon Hall]] and [[Victor McLaglen]] in which she portrayed Ruby, a woman traveling with a group of adventurers searching for pearls on an island.{{sfn|Agan|1979|p=21}} Ruby is described as a "good time girl" and Farmer portrayed her as "spunky" and "swaggering."{{sfn|Agan|1979|p=21}} She was then lent to [[Warner Bros.]] to star in ''[[Flowing Gold (1940 film)|Flowing Gold]]'', an adventure drama set against the oil industry, opposite [[John Garfield]].{{sfn|Agan|1979|p=20}} Farmer got the role opposite Garfield in the film after he had requested her as his leading lady.{{sfn|Shelley|2010|p=142}} The part had already been turned down by both [[Olivia de Havilland]] and [[Ann Sheridan]]. Farmer, who was having an affair with Garfield during the production, was hoping for a long-term contract with Warner Bros. but no contract was offered to her.{{sfn|Shelley|2010|p=142}} After completing the film, Farmer returned to the East Coast to appear in summer-stock theater.{{sfn|Agan|1979|p=21}} She performed in ''[[Little Women (play)|Little Women]]'' and, alongside [[Constance Collier]], ''[[Our Betters (play)|Our Betters]]'' at The Cape Playhouse in [[Dennis, Massachusetts]] on [[Cape Cod]] before heading to New York.{{sfn|Arnold|1978|p=106}} Following a "lonely winter" spent living in New York City, Farmer drove back to Los Angeles in the spring of 1941, and rented a lavish mansion in [[Santa Monica, California|Santa Monica]].{{sfn|Agan|1979|p=21}} Her next film was ''[[World Premiere (film)|World Premiere]]'' (1941), a comedy starring [[John Barrymore]].{{sfn|Agan|1979|p=21}} Of that film, Farmer was quoted as saying, "In that one I'm a temperamental actress who wears a black wig and tries to look exotic."{{sfn|Arnold|1978|p=111}} She followed this with a supporting part in the [[film noir]] ''[[Among the Living (1941 film)|Among the Living]]'' (1941), co-starring with [[Susan Hayward]] and [[Albert Dekker]].{{sfn|Agan|1979|p=21}}

During this time, Farmer was "seeking in work a respite from her personal struggles."{{sfn|Agan|1979|p=21}} Clurman temporarily moved into her Santa Monica home to keep her company while she completed filming of ''[[Badlands of Dakota]]'', a Western in which she starred as [[Calamity Jane]] opposite [[Robert Stack]].{{sfn|Agan|1979|pages=21–22}} Farmer again fought with the studio over the role, which she felt was over-glamorized, further damaging her reputation with studio executives.{{sfn|Agan|1979|p=22}} The film received mixed reviews but Farmer received mostly good reviews for her performance as Jane. The week of the film's release, the 10 September 1941 issue of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' stated that "Miss Farmer turns in an outstanding performance."{{sfn|Shelley|2010|p=157}} Not all the press was positive, however, with [[Louella Parsons]] writing in her column, "The highbrow Frances Farmer, who found Hollywood so beneath her a few years ago, is playing, of all things, Calamity Jane."{{sfn|Arnold|1978|p=109}} She next appeared opposite [[Tyrone Power]] and [[Roddy McDowall]] in the film ''[[Son of Fury]]'' (1942) (on loan to [[20th Century Fox]]), portraying the scheming daughter of a British aristocrat.{{sfn|Agan|1979|p=22}} Later that year, Paramount suspended her after she refused to accept a part in the film ''[[Take a Letter, Darling]]'' and voided her contract.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1356&dat=19580512&id=WQsTAAAAIBAJ&pg=1569,2098076|title=Francis Farmer Notes Lack Of Activity At Film Studio|last=Thomas|first=Bob|work=Ocala Star-Banner|location=Ocala, Florida|page=6|access-date=August 26, 2014|via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=950&dat=19430114&id=LglQAAAAIBAJ&pg=2901,1703067|title=Frances Farmer Gets Six Months For Drunk Driving|date=January 15, 1943|work=The Evening Independent|page=8|access-date=August 26, 2014}}</ref> Meanwhile, her marriage to Erickson had disintegrated, and he began dating actress [[Margaret Hayes]].{{sfn|Shelley|2010|p=27}} Their divorce was finalized on June 12, 1942,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=860&dat=19571223&id=aQVPAAAAIBAJ&pg=7102,6748754|title=Frances Farmer Returns To Hollywood For Another Try At Career|date=December 23, 1957|work=Ellensburg Daily Record|page=10|location=Ellensburg, Washington|via=Google News|access-date=August 16, 2014}} {{free access}}</ref> and Erickson married Hayes the same day.{{sfn|Shelley|2010|p=27}}