Frances Hyland

Frances Hyland (born Frances Christine Moore, September 19, 1903; date of death unknown) 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.

Biography Hyland was born in Stuttgart, Arkansas on September 19, 1903, the daughter of William Carol 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.

In 1926, she became the first woman to be hired by Universal as a "gagman" (comedy writer). She later worked for Tiffany Pictures. 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 and had 2 sons. Her date of death and final resting place are unknown.

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