Francis (1950)

During World War II, a junior American Army officer, Lt. Peter Stirling, gets sent to the psychiatric ward whenever he insists that an Army mule named Francis speaks to him.

Director:

Arthur Lubin

Writers:

David Stern (novel), David Stern (screenplay)

Stars:

Donald O'Connor, Patricia Medina, Zasu Pitts

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Donald O'Connor	...	2nd Lt. Peter Stirling
Patricia Medina	...	Maureen Gelder
Zasu Pitts	...	Nurse Valerie Humpert
Ray Collins	...	Colonel Hooker
John McIntire	...	Lt. General Stevens (as John McIntyre)
Eduard Franz	...	Colonel Plepper
Howland Chamberlain	...	Major Nadel
James Todd	...	Colonel Saunders
Robert Warwick	...	Col.onelCarmichael
Frank Faylen	...	Sergeant Chillingbacker
Tony Curtis	...	Captain Jones (as Anthony Curtis)
Mikel Conrad	...	Maj.or Garber
Loren Tindall	...	Major Richards
Charles Meredith	...	Banker Munroe
Molly	...	Francis (as Francis)

Storyline

The truthful soldier Stirling didn't know how to lie about his source of information, the talking army Mule, Francis, so he was treated as a lunatic and led to one after another hilarious situations, where the mule was the only one that appeared in his right mind. In the process of all this, the mule assisted in uncovering a spy, Maureen, who pretended to be lost among the jungles.

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Plot Keywords:

animal character name as title | psychotronic film | francis the mule character | mule | sergeant | 

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Taglines:

You'll remember "Francis" as long as you can LAUGH!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family | Fantasy | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Molly receives an "introducing" credit.

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Quotes

Francis the Talking Mule: I hope to kiss a duck I can talk!

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Crazy Credits

The hand of Peter Stirling open the pages of the novel revealing the credits of the film.

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Connections

Referenced in The Big Fix (1978)

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Soundtracks

My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean
(uncredited)
Traditional Scottish folk song
Performed by Chill Wills

User Reviews

A Mule Wiser Than the General

A young soldier Peter Stirling was saved from the Bermese jungles in war time by a talking mule, but nobody believed him until the intelligence information from the mule saved the whole base from Japanese bombers. The truthful soldier Stirling didn't know how to lie about his source of information, the talking army Mule, Francis, so he was treated as a lunatic and led to one after another hilarious situations where the mule is the only one that appears sane. In the process of all this, the mule assisted in uncovering a spy, Mareen, who pretended to be lost among the jungles, but was actually...

Perfect family film, even amusing to the adults. If people all have enough sense as this talking mule does, the world will be a much better place than its present condition.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 February 1950 (USA)

Also Known As:

Francis the Talking Mule

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$150,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1