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Francis (1950)
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Overview
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Release Date:
February 1950 (USA) moreNewsDesk:
(4 articles)
Cinematical Seven: When Talking Animals Attack (From Cinematical. 2 October 2008, 8:02 PM, PDT)
Donald O'Connor "Accepts" Oscar on Deathbed
(From Studio Briefing - Film News. 29 September 2003)
User Comments:
Don't Ask; don't tell moreCast
(Complete credited cast) | Donald O'Connor | ... | Peter Stirling |
 | Patricia Medina | ... | Maureen Gelder |
| Zasu Pitts | ... | Nurse Valerie Humpert |
| Ray Collins | ... | Col. Hooker |
| John McIntire | ... | Gen. Stevens (as John McIntyre) |
| Eduard Franz | ... | Col. Plepper |
| Howland Chamberlain | ... | Maj. Nadel |
| James Todd | ... | Col. Saunders |
| Robert Warwick | ... | Col. Carmichael |
 | Frank Faylen | ... | Sgt. Chillingbacker |
 | Tony Curtis | ... | Capt. Jones (as Anthony Curtis) |
| Mikel Conrad | ... | Maj. Garber |
| Loren Tindall | ... | Maj. Richards |
| Charles Meredith | ... | Banker Munroe |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
91 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 moreSound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)Filming Locations:
Conejo Valley Airport - Thousand Oaks Blvd at Moorpark Blvd., Thousand Oaks, California, USAFun Stuff
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Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Francis (1950)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
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| Francis on TV? | nafana |
| 2 cents | ophelia137 |
| 'Proceed, Francis' | moviewatchinguy |
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"Francis" is extremely entertaining on the surface. It has likable characters and Chill Wills is great as the voice of the mule. It's a must for lovers of animals.
Almost from the start, though, I felt a subtext. Maybe this was conscious at the time. Maybe it wasn't. In 1950 when the movie was released, there were things more common than saying you were talking to a mule that could land you in the "psycho ward." (Hero Donald O'Connor is shown in scene after scene weaving increasingly elaborate baskets.) His superiors and fellow soldier deride him. The mule is of undetermined gender. The mule speaks in a wittily sarcastic way that presages the tone from "All About Eve." (Or Thelma Ritter's lines, anyway.) One of the two women in the movie is a temptress, maybe not so nice. The other is ZaSu Pitts. Pitts plays a rather plump nurse who is very understanding of O'Connor.
It spawned several sequels, which were doubtless aimed at children. But this seems in many ways like an allegory about the love that in those days dared not speak its name.