I am sure that many of you out there will find my obsession with researching filmmaker Coleman Francis a waste of time. The thing is, I don’t think it is anymore a waste of time as researching Ed Wood, and many have done just that.

There are many reasons why I am curious about filmmaker Coleman Francis. So many questions I would like to know the answers to, but frankly, I probably never will. While there had been other questionable filmmakers, such as Harold P. Warren with Mano: The Hands of Fate, or Don Barton with Zaat, there is a difference. Coleman had almost twenty years of experience in stage and film. You’d hardly know that watching his films. So, I wonder, didn’t Mr. Francis learn anything over those years?

Besides his skills or lack of, as a filmmaker, I am also curious about his last ten years on this earth. What happened those years between Red Zone Cuba and his death in 1973. There were his few film appearances, like Body Fever for Ray Dennis Steckler and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls for Russ Meyer but those were more or less charity. Friends helping a friend.

One of his last was the semi-porn film The Dirtiest Game. In all three of those films, he was not looking good. His weight was out of control; almost Tor Johnson overweight! At least we can say he was eating well in those last few years. I mean, Russ Meyer named his character, Rotund Drunk! Coleman, from all I have read, was a friendly guy, yet he died on the street, alone.

When I think that in 1963, Coley wrote and directed The Skydivers which featured both his ex-wife, Barbara, and his kids Ronald and Alan. 10 years later, he would be living on the street, with no friends and, apparently, no concern for Barbara, Alan, or Ronald. Do you think they attended his funeral and shed a tear? Did Coleman have a funeral?

Back in the 1940s, Coleman was a handsome young man in Mangum, Oklahoma. He left home after High School to make it as an actor. After a short stint with the Monroe Hopkins stock company in Dallas, he moved to Los Angeles and began looking for work.

His career was interrupted by a few years of helping to defend the country during World War II. After, he began to pursue acting in earnest. While working in theater in New York, he met another actor, Barbara Schwartz. The two married and headed to California together. I assume Barbara gave up her acting career to raise the couple’s two children. In Los Angeles, Coleman would begin making a name for himself as both an actor and a director of the stage.

And then in the 1950s, he began to get film and TV work. Granted, not huge parts yet, to Coley, it must have seemed like his career was taking off. While most of his roles were usually uncredited, he did occasionally get more substantial work. There was his appearance in four episodes of Sergeant Preston of the Yukon and as Capt. R. M. Prell in the T-Bird Gang.

As the 50s went on, however, Coleman’s handsome looks, as happens to most of us, began giving way to age. Also, during that time, he separated from Barbara but, I assume, the couple stayed friends as both Barbara and their two boys would be in his directorial debut, The Beast of Yucca Flats.

Did Coleman look at himself in the mirror and realize that he now, as a 40-year-old man, his chances of being a leading man were almost over? Maybe that is why, in the late 50s, he decided to be a writer/director.

It doesn’t take long while watching the film that obvious that Coley’s strength wasn’t in filmmaking. I don’t want to sound mean, but through all three of his films, Coleman showed no sign that he had any skill in making movies. He had been in TV and film for almost 10 years, you would have thought he would have learned something, right?

In my opinion, his second film, The Skydivers is the closest Coleman Francis came to a complete film. It had a story, characters, and drama, yet, it is almost painful to watch. It is almost beyond belief that everything about the film can be so horrendous; dialog, acting, directing, cinematography, editing, and such. The thing is, all of that wouldn’t be so bad if the cinematography wasn’t so dreadful. Every shot of the film is dull and grey. It has the feeling of a rainy day in late fall when just looking out the window makes you depressed.

The same could be said for his third film, Red Zone Cuba, AKA Night Train to Mundo Fine. Beyond all the problems of The Skydivers, Red Zone Cuba also suffers from being too overly ambitious. Trying to recreate the Pay of Pigs with eight people wasn’t a great idea.

I’ve often read that people blame Coleman’s films on his drinking. I have seen no evidence of his. One review on IMDB by someone calling himself ‘zmaturin’ finished his summary by writing, “Personally, I love all of Coleman Francis’ unique films. Each chapter in his trilogy paints a portrait of a dark, plane-obsessed man who drank a lot.” I wonder where that idea of Coley as a drinker came from.

The producer of all three of Coleman’s films, Anthony Cardoza said in his interview with film historian Tom Weaver, “Basically, he was a nice person. People said he drank, but I never saw him drink a drop. Not even a beer, in all our years together. He liked aspirins and Coca-Cola — he said it gave him a lift! [Laughs]”

He also told of the last time he saw Coleman, “He was on a bus bench with an overcoat, and he looked like he was gone … three sheets to the wind. I don’t know what happened to him. I was driving by and I saw him on the bench and I couldn’t believe my eyes. I felt sorry for him, but at the same time … you know … you gotta take care of yourself and your family.”

Come on, Cardoza, you couldn’t even stop for a moment? I mean, I’ve got a wife and family but if an old friend was living on the street, down on his luck, I’d stop and help.

Speaking of Cardoza, I find myself wondering about Coleman’s death. As far as I can tell, we just have Cardona’s word about how he died. Even the great Wikipedia has his death described by the word of Tony Cardoza.

That is something I am failing at, to find something about his death, a newspaper story, obituary, something. If Coleman died the way Cardoza said, I would hope there would be a newspaper story or something.

My quest to unlock the secrets of the life of Coleman Francis might seem like a waste of time to many. Hell, sometimes it feels like a waste of time to me, Yet I keep going on, writing letters, searching the internet, going through years of old newspapers. My dream is that someday, someone will contact me with many of the answers I seek.

Coleman Francis, who were you?

More on Coleman Francis Here!

Best of MST3K – Skydivers

The post What’s the deal with Coleman Francis? So Many Questions! first appeared on Coffee With Jeff.