Often voted one of Hollywood's best-dressed actresses, Francis appeared in suffering woman roles in many exotic romances, "confession" dramas and other tearjerkers, perhaps most memorably "One Way Passage" (1932). Though many of her credits are fairly routine, the highly watchable Francis, with her quiet line delivery and perennially intense expression, commanded a loyal following, and she did star in such fine films as "The House on 56th Street" (1933), "Mandalay" (1934), "The White Angel" (1935) and "Confession" (1937). She also occasionally got a chance to show a certain flair for light comedy, as in Ernst Lubitsch's masterpiece, "Trouble in Paradise" (1932).
One of the studio's most highly paid stars of the late 30s, Francis found her boxoffice lure starting to slip at that time and, after a falling out with Warners, was somewhat vindictively cast in a series of glorified "B" pictures until her contract ran out. She free-lanced thereafter and for several years maintained a certain star status with the classy soap opera "In Name Only" (1939), co-starring with Cary Grant and Carole Lombard and cast in an atypically villainous role; as Deanna Durbin's mother in "It's a Date" (1940); and as Jack Benny's leading lady in the cross-dressing comedy, "Charley's Aunt" (1941). She kept busy but was gradually reduced to minor if sometimes enjoyable "B" pictures at Monogram and other "Poverty Row" studios. After WWII Francis co-produced three of her own low-budget films before retiring from the screen. She later acted onstage, most often on tour, and when she died willed most of her considerable estate to charity.