Frances Hyland (born Frances C. Moore) was an American screenwriter active between the late 1920s and the late 1940s. She was the first woman hired as a "gagman" at a film studio, and she wrote dozens of comedic scripts over the course of her career.^[1]

Biography

Hyland was born in Arkansas, the daughter of William C. Moore and Aura Lee Dickey. Her father was the editor of the local newspaper; he would later move to California and edit The Hueneme Harbor Bulletin.^[2]

In 1926, she became the first woman to be hired by Universal as a "gagman" (comedy writer).^[3] She later worked for Tiffany Pictures.^[4] She continued to work steadily throughout the 1930s and 1940s, producing scripts for well-received films like The Sin of Nora Moran, A Shriek in the Night, and In Old California.

She was married to filmmaker Albert Ray until his death.^[5] Her date of death and final resting place are unknown.

Selected filmography

• In Old Sacramento (1946)
• Murder in the Music Hall (1946)
• The Cheaters (1945)
• Someone to Remember (1943)
• In Old California (1942)
• You're Telling Me (1942)
• Girl from Avenue A (1940)
• Free, Blonde and 21 (1940)
• The Cisco Kid and the Lady (1939)
• Charlie Chan in Reno (1939)
• Winner Take All (1939)
• Everybody's Baby (1939)
• Keep Smiling (1938)
• Island in the Sky (1938)
• City Girl (1938)
• 45 Fathers (1937)
• Under Your Spell (1936)
• Star for a Night (1936)
• The Crime of Dr. Forbes (1936)
• My Marriage (1936)
• Thunder in the Night (1935)
• Smart Girl (1935)
• Helldorado (1935)
• Money Means Nothing (1934)
• A Woman's Man (1934)
• The Sin of Nora Morgan (1933)
• A Shriek in the Night (1933)
• The Intruder (1933)
• Officer Thirteen (1932)
• Guilty or Not Guilty (1932)
• The Thirteenth Guest (1932)
• Deceit (1932)
• Morals for Women (1931)
• Two Men and a Maid (1929)
• The Voice Within (1929)
• Painted Faces (1929)
• Marriage by Contract (1928)
• The Power of Silence (1928)
• The Grain of Dust (1928)
• The House of Scandal (1928)
• Women's Wares (1927)