Tone was the first of the Group to go to Hollywood when MGM offered him a film contract.
In his memoir on the Group Theater, The Fervent Years, Harold Clurman recalls Tone being the most confrontational and egocentric of the group in the beginning.
However, Burgess Meredith credits Tone with informing him of the existence of "the Method" and what was soon to be the Actors' Studio under Strasberg's teachings.
Nevertheless, he always considered cinema far more invasive to private life and paced differently than theater productions and recalled his stage years with fondness.
He later provided financial support to the Group Theater, which often needed it.
He returned to stage work sporadically after the 1940s.

Tone summered at Pine Brook Country Club, located in the countryside of Nichols, Connecticut, which was the Group Theater's summer rehearsal headquarters during the summer of 1936.

MGM immediately gave Tone a series of impressive roles, casting him in six pre-Code film standards, which came out in 1933.
They started him with the WWI romantic war drama Today We Live, written by William Faulkner in collaboration with director Howard Hawks.
It was originally meant to be just a WWI war buddy script by Faulkner but the studio wanted a vehicle for Crawford, so the two got together and wrote in the romance between co-stars Gary Cooper and Joan Crawford.
Tone was then the romantic male lead in Gabriel Over the White House starring Walter Huston and then co-starred with Loretta Young in Midnight Mary.

Tone romanced Miriam Hopkins in King Vidor's The Stranger's Return and was the male lead in Stage Mother.
He also had an excellent role in Bombshell, with Jean Harlow and Lee Tracy.
The last of the sequence of films released in 1933 was Dancing Lady, with an on screen love triangle with his future wife Joan Crawford and Clark Gable, which was a "lavishly staged spectacle" with a solid performance by Tone.

Twentieth Century Pictures borrowed Tone to romance Constance Bennett in Moulin Rouge (1934) as she played dual roles in which "she shines as a comedienne" and his performance was called "equally clever in a role that calls for a serious mein" by The New York Times.
Back at MGM he was again co-starring with Crawford in Sadie McKee (1934), then was borrowed by Fox to co-star "commendably" with Madeleine Carroll in John Ford's French Foreign Legion picture, The World Moves On (1934).

After The Girl from Missouri (1934) with Harlow, MGM finally gave Tone top billing in Straight Is the Way (1934), although it was considered a "B" film, one which didn't have a high publicity or production cost.
Warners then borrowed him for Gentlemen Are Born (1934).

At Paramount, Tone co-starred in the Academy Award nominated hit movie, The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935) with Gary Cooper.
He was top billed in One New York Night (1935) but billed underneath Harlow and William Powell in Reckless (1935).
He supported Crawford and Robert Montgomery in No More Ladies (1935) and had another box-office success with Mutiny on the Bounty, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor, along with co-stars Clark Gable and Charles Laughton.

Warner Bros borrowed him again, this time to play Bette Davis' leading man in Dangerous (1935).
Davis has stated this is the picture where she fell in love with Tone, although unreturned, which began difficulties between Crawford and Davis.
He then had the lead in Exclusive Story (1935), and again was paired with friend Loretta Young in The Unguarded Hour (1936) and also starred with Grace Moore in Columbia's The King Steps Out (1936), notable for the debut of an eleven-year old Gwen Verdon.

Tone and Harlow co-starred again in Suzy (1936) with then up and comer Cary Grant, who was billed third.
The film was popular with audiences, but reviews were less than kind with The New York Times negatively comparing it to other recent WWI movies calling it "balderdash", but thanked "Mr. Tone for the few honest moments of drama that the film possesses.
His young Irishman is about the only convincing and natural charac
Tone was the first of the Group to go to Hollywood when MGM offered him a film contract. In his memoir on the Group Theater, The Fervent Years, Harold Clurman recalls Tone being the most confrontational and egocentric of the group in the beginning. However, Burgess Meredith credits Tone with informing him of the existence of "the Method" and what was soon to be the Actors' Studio under Strasberg's teachings. Nevertheless, he always considered cinema far more invasive to private life and paced differently than theater productions and recalled his stage years with fondness. He later provided financial support to the Group Theater, which often needed it. He returned to stage work sporadically after the 1940s.
Tone summered at Pine Brook Country Club, located in the countryside of Nichols, Connecticut, which was the Group Theater's summer rehearsal headquarters during the summer of 1936.
MGM immediately gave Tone a series of impressive roles, casting him in six pre-Code film standards, which came out in 1933. They started him with the WWI romantic war drama Today We Live, written by William Faulkner in collaboration with director Howard Hawks. It was originally meant to be just a WWI war buddy script by Faulkner but the studio wanted a vehicle for Crawford, so the two got together and wrote in the romance between co-stars Gary Cooper and Joan Crawford. Tone was then the romantic male lead in Gabriel Over the White House starring Walter Huston and then co-starred with Loretta Young in Midnight Mary.
Tone romanced Miriam Hopkins in King Vidor's The Stranger's Return and was the male lead in Stage Mother. He also had an excellent role in Bombshell, with Jean Harlow and Lee Tracy. The last of the sequence of films released in 1933 was Dancing Lady, with an on screen love triangle with his future wife Joan Crawford and Clark Gable, which was a "lavishly staged spectacle" with a solid performance by Tone.
Twentieth Century Pictures borrowed Tone to romance Constance Bennett in Moulin Rouge (1934) as she played dual roles in which "she shines as a comedienne" and his performance was called "equally clever in a role that calls for a serious mein" by The New York Times. Back at MGM he was again co-starring with Crawford in Sadie McKee (1934), then was borrowed by Fox to co-star "commendably" with Madeleine Carroll in John Ford's French Foreign Legion picture, The World Moves On (1934).
After The Girl from Missouri (1934) with Harlow, MGM finally gave Tone top billing in Straight Is the Way (1934), although it was considered a "B" film, one which didn't have a high publicity or production cost. Warners then borrowed him for Gentlemen Are Born (1934).
At Paramount, Tone co-starred in the Academy Award nominated hit movie, The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935) with Gary Cooper. He was top billed in One New York Night (1935) but billed underneath Harlow and William Powell in Reckless (1935). He supported Crawford and Robert Montgomery in No More Ladies (1935) and had another box-office success with Mutiny on the Bounty, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor, along with co-stars Clark Gable and Charles Laughton.
Warner Bros borrowed him again, this time to play Bette Davis' leading man in Dangerous (1935). Davis has stated this is the picture where she fell in love with Tone, although unreturned, which began difficulties between Crawford and Davis. He then had the lead in Exclusive Story (1935), and again was paired with friend Loretta Young in The Unguarded Hour (1936) and also starred with Grace Moore in Columbia's The King Steps Out (1936), notable for the debut of an eleven-year old Gwen Verdon.
Tone and Harlow co-starred again in Suzy (1936) with then up and comer Cary Grant, who was billed third. The film was popular with audiences, but reviews were less than kind with The New York Times negatively comparing it to other recent WWI movies calling it "balderdash", but thanked "Mr. Tone for the few honest moments of drama that the film possesses. His young Irishman is about the only convincing and natural charac
Franchot Tone