Francis Covers the Big Town (1953)

A man who has a talking mule gets a job on a newspaper, and both get mixed up in a murder trial.

Director:

Arthur Lubin

Writers:

Oscar Brodney (original story and screenplay), David Stern (characters),

Stars:

Donald O'Connor, Yvette Duguay, Gene Lockhart

Cast

Credited cast:
Donald O'Connor	...	Peter Stirling
Yvette Duguay	...	Maria Scola
Gene Lockhart	...	Tom Henderson
Nancy Guild	...	Alberta Ames
William Harrigan	...	Deputy Chief Inspector Hansen
Silvio Minciotti	...	Salvatore Scola
Lowell Gilmore	...	Jefferson 'JG' Garnet
Larry Gates	...	Dan Austin
Hanley Stafford	...	Dr. Goodrich
Gale Gordon	...	Dist. Atty. Evans
Forrest Lewis	...	Judge Stanley
Chill Wills	...	Francis the Talking Mule (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Francis the Talking Mule	...	Himself

Storyline

U.S. Army veteran Peter Stirling and his friend, Francis the talking Mule (who was not a donkey), arrive in New York City, where Peter has ambitions to become a big-time newspaper reporter, but can only get a job as a copy boy. Francis, the talking MULE (and not a donkey), though is boarding at the stables where the horses of the city's mounted police are kept, and mounted-police horses are known for being gossips, so Francis gets lots of inside information regarding local crime activity, passes it on to Peter, and Peter is soon leading the town in big-time scoops. This pleases his city-editor to no end, but the local gangsters are not amused.

---

Plot Keywords:

mule | talking mule | horse | newspaper | gossip | 

---

Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Fantasy | Romance

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 August 1953 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Francis Detective

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Donald O'Connor's fourth of six "Francis" movies.

---

Goofs

When Francis is peeping around the corner, watching Peter get home from the movies. You can see the thread going to his mouth, that they use to make him move his lips.

---

Connections

Followed by Francis Joins the WACS (1954)

User Reviews

Francis Covers the Big Town (1953) ***

At last! After three unsuccessful attempts at entertainment, this fourth entry worked well for me and is the best of the bunch so far.

Francis the Talking Mule and his master, Donald O'Connor (or is it the other way around?) go to New York (the setting alone perks things up a bit) where they become mixed up in all sorts of trouble, including a murder trial. This installment is better written with more time devoted to the donkey, who's actually pretty funny for a change. The script also makes better use of its supporting characters and fashions a love affair for the bumbling O'Connor.

***/****