Franchot Tone

Owing to his upper-class poise and polish, Tone was pigeonholed as a tuxedoed, cafe society sophisticate in a host of mostly MGM comedies and dramas. By 1937 the tall, handsome and sensitive actor was one of Hollywood's most prominent leading men, receiving recognition for his roles in "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1935), "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer" (1935) and "Three Comrades" (1938). Too often, though, he found himself stifled in standardized …