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 |
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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 |
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| Donald O'Connor | ... | ||
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Yvette Duguay | ... |
Maria Scola
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| Gene Lockhart | ... |
Tom Henderson
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Nancy Guild | ... |
Alberta Ames
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William Harrigan | ... |
Deputy Chief Inspector Hansen
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Silvio Minciotti | ... |
Salvatore Scola
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Lowell Gilmore | ... |
Jefferson 'JG' Garnet
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Larry Gates | ... |
Dan Austin
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Hanley Stafford | ... |
Dr. Goodrich
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| Gale Gordon | ... |
Dist. Atty. Evans
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Forrest Lewis | ... |
Judge Stanley
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| Chill Wills | ... |
Francis the Talking Mule
(voice)
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| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
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Francis the Talking Mule | ... |
Himself
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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. Written by Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>
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.
***/****