Line #33 Creator/PamelaFranklin


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pamela_franklin_photo.jpeg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:''[[Film/ThePrimeOfMissJeanBrodie "Give me a girl of impressionable age and she is mine for life.]]"'']]
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4	Pamela Franklin (born 3 February 1950 in Yokohama, Japan) is a retired British actress who was active from the 1960s until the early '80s. During her relatively short but sweet career, she racked up an impressive list of credits. Many of them are among the most acclaimed British films of the time, or else {{Cult Classic}}s.
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6	She debuted as a child actress in ''Film/TheInnocents'', alongside veteran actress Creator/DeborahKerr, playing CreepyChild extraordinaire Flora Fairchild. Franklin's unsettling performance of a Victorian girl who's either being possessed by a ghost or traumatised by the death of her governess instantly won her lots of attention -- and a notable part in ''The Lion'' alongside Creator/WilliamHolden and Trevor Howard. She also made a couple of television films for Disney at this time. As her teens progressed, she got the chance to act alongside top talent like Creator/BetteDavis (in ''The Nanny''), Creator/DirkBogarde (in ''Our Mother's House'') and Creator/MarlonBrando (in ''The Night of the Following Day'').
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8	At the end of the '60s came the role for perhaps she is best remembered: Sandy, the WiseBeyondHerYears student in ''Film/ThePrimeOfMissJeanBrodie'', who discovers that her CoolTeacher is ruining the lives of her charges. This put her alongside another top tier talent (Creator/MaggieSmith as the titular Jean Brodie). In this time, she also made appearances on American television shows such as ''Series/GreenAcres'' and ''{{Series/Bonanza}}''. She soon graduated towards roles in horror films, starring in ''Literature/HellHouse'', ''And Soon the Darkness'', ''Necromancy'' and ''Satan's School for Girls''. Her final film appearance was in the ExploitationMovie ''The Food of the Gods'', though she made appearances on television until 1981.
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10	She retired from acting at the tender age of thirty-one to focus on raising a family. These days she owns a bookstore in Los Angeles that specialises in rare first editions. Her husband is Creator/HarveyJason, a British actor who guest-starred in a number of series in the '70's and '80's.
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12	!!Selected Filmography:
13	[[AC:Film]]
14	* ''Film/TheInnocents'' (1961) -- Flora
15	* ''The Lion'' (1962) -- Tina
16	* ''The Nanny'' (1965) - -Bobbie Medman
17	* ''Quick Before They Catch Us'' (1966) -- Kate
18	* ''Our Mother's House'' (1967) -- Diana
19	* ''The Night of the Following Day'' (1968) -- Girl
20	* ''Literature/ThePrimeOfMissJeanBrodie'' (1969) -- Sandy
21	* ''And Soon the Darkness'' (1971) -- Jane
22	* ''The Legend of Literature/HellHouse'' (1973) -- Florence Tanner
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24	[[AC:TV]]
25	* ''Series/TheMagicalWorldOfDisney'' (1963)
26	** "The Horse Without a Head" -- Marian
27	* ''Series/StrangeReport'', episode "Murder Shrieks Out" (1969) -- Maggie Jones
28	* ''Series/GreenAcres'', episode "Hawaiian Honeymoon" (1971) -- Pamela Carter
29	* ''Series/{{Bonanza}}'', episode "First Love" (1972) -- Kelly Edwards
30	* ''Series/{{Cannon}}'', episode "The Predators" (1972) -- Cindy [=McBain=]
31	* ''Series/GhostStory'', episode "Half a Death" (1972) -- Christina Burgess/Lisa Burgess
32	* ''Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan'', episode "Operation Firefly" (1974) -- Susan Abbott
33	* ''Series/{{Cannon}}'', episode "Where's Jennifer?" (1974) -- Jennifer [=McKeller=]
34	* ''Series/{{Mannix}}'', episode "A Fine Day For Dying" (1974) -- Jenny Cole
35	* ''Series/TheStreetsOfSanFrancisco'', episode "Crossfire" (1974) -- Peggy Dunnigan
36	* ''Series/{{Petrocelli}}'', episode "The Sleep Of Reason" (1975) -- Joan Barth
37	* ''Series/BarnabyJones'', episode "Murder Once Removed" (1975) -- Melissa Morgan
38	* ''Series/GeminiMan'', episode "Escape Hatch" (1976) -- Daphne
39	* ''Series/HawaiiFiveO'', episode "To Die In Paradise" (1977) -- Bobbie Jo Bell
40	* ''Series/{{Police Story\|1973}}'', episode "Nightmare on a Sunday Morning" (1977) -- Holly Green
41	* ''Series/TheLoveBoat'', episode "Dear Beverly/The Strike/Special Delivery" -- Gail Smith (the "Special Delivery" segment)
42	* ''Series/PoliceWoman'', episode "Battered Teachers" (1978) -- Karen Vaughn
43	* ''Series/ProjectUFO'', episode "Sighting 4013: The St. Hilary Incident" (1978) -- Sister Lucy Ryker
44	* ''Series/FantasyIsland'',episodes:
45	** "Let the Good Times Roll/Nightmare/The Tiger" (1978) -- Janine Sanford
46	** "Reunion/Anniversary" (1978) -- Agnes Wentworth
47	** "Tattoo: the Love God/Magnolia Blossoms" (1979) -- Myra Collinsky
48	* ''Series/BarnabyJones'', episode "Focus On Fear" (1980) -- Gwen Haywood
49	* ''Series/FantasyIsland'', episode "The Chateau/White Lightning" (1981) -- Vicky Lee
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51
52	!!Tropes associated with her work:
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54	* ActingInTheDark: She was only given the script page of ''Film/TheInnocents'' the day before her scenes were to be filmed - as Jack Clayton wanted to hide the darkness of the story from her and Martin Stephens. She has said she didn't understand the full context of the film until she was sixteen.
55	* ContractualPurity: Despite some Disney appearances in her early days, she leaned more towards darker roles even as a child actress.
56	* CreatorBacklash:
57	** She came to regret her many US TV guest spots in the 1970s wherein she turned up on everything from ''Series/GreenAcres'' to ''Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan'' (she even pops up in an episode of ''Series/GeminiMan'' which actually lets her keep own nationality), as they pretty much trapped her in television. Given she did four episodes of ''Series/FantasyIsland'', it may not be a coincidence that she retired shortly afterwards.
58	** When interviewed for the Blu-ray release of ''Necromancy'' she made it clear the only good thing to come from the film was her RomanceOnTheSet with cast member (and eventual husband) Harvey Jason.
59	* DawsonCasting:
60	** She tended to play younger than her actual age. For example, she was eleven in ''Film/TheInnocents'' but Flora is only eight.
61	** Justified in ''Literature/ThePrimeOfMissJeanBrodie''. She was nineteen but plays Sandy across several years, ending when she's about to graduate.
62	* FakeAmerican: In a lot of her television roles in the US (and even in the UK, as with ''Thriller''[[note]]many episodes of this anthology featured an American character usually played by a real American, due to the series (like many produced [[Creator/ITCEntertainment Lew Grade]]'s watch) with an eye to the American market.[[/note]]).
63	* FakeScot: In ''Literature/ThePrimeOfMissJeanBrodie'' (though Sandy is in the book said to be half-English and there is mention of her "English vowels").
64	* FormerChildStar: While she still worked regularly in her adult days, she appeared in more critically acclaimed films as a child and teen actress. As an adult, it was more television appearances and {{Made For TV Movie}}s.
65	* MsFanservice: While she had the talent to be significantly ''more'' than that, she wasn't shy about appearing nude in the films ''The Night of the Following Day'', ''Literature/ThePrimeOfMissJeanBrodie'' and ''Necromancy''. She had ToplessnessFromTheBack in ''Literature/HellHouse'' but in that context, it's FanDisservice.
66	* NeverWorkWithChildrenOrAnimals:[[invoked]] In her second film ''The Lion'', she helped avert both cases ([[CaptainObvious she was the child]]) by bonding with the on-set lion Kampa. She even wrestled the lion on camera!
67	* ProductionPosse: She was directed by Jack Clayton in ''Film/TheInnocents'', ''The Lion'' and ''Our Mother's House''. Both ''The Innocents'' and ''Our Mother's House'' are considered part of his 'occult trilogy'.
68	* ReclusiveArtist: She rarely gave interviews after her retirement, so it was a surprise to see her being featured on a 2006 documentary about ''Film/TheInnocents''.
69	* RomanceOnTheSet: She and Harvey Jason met while making ''Necromancy'' and married shortly after.
70	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
71	** The role of Jenny in the 1964 ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E2TheDalekInvasionOfEarth The Dalek Invasion of Earth]]" was intended for her, but was ultimately played by Ann Davies.

Context Creator / PamelaFranklin