r 9
'Francis' is exactly what you'd expect it to be.
It isn't something I'd consider worthy of a watch due to many things, with one being the repetitive nature of the story. It's a poor flick, lacking in interest, from 1950; showing all the signs of a film from that era too, distastefully.
Donald O'Connor's performance is solid enough, he is definitely the reason why I'm not rating this film lower. Chill Wills voices the titular character and suits the role well, while Patricia Medina shows glimpses; despite a lousy accent. It's more so the plot that sticks out most, if not necessarily positively. It's as dumb as you'd predict and the film, for the most part, knows that in fairness.
Incredibly, it's the first of seven films from this series. One down and all that...
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
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Audience Member
One of my dearest memories of watching old movies on a b&w TV set back in the 70s.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/15/23
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camille l
En 1949, l'Amérique est sortie de la Seconde Guerre Mondiale il y a quelques années mais elle continue tout de même de glorifier ses soldats de manière tout à fait singulière. Avec le premier opus de Francis, la mule qui parle (7 en tout), Arthur Lubin livre une comédie tout à fait sympathique où un soldat joué par l'excellent Donald O'Connor, devient un héros de la bataille de Burma grâce à, vous l'aurez compris, une mule qui parle appelée Francis. Le film est drôle, plutôt bien mis en scène avec un soin effarant quant à la mule parlante (les effets sont exceptionnels pour 1949) et l'ensemble, qui dure moins de 90 min, est assez concis et drôle pour ne jamais vraiment lasser.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
The best comedy movie ever made!
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/26/23
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Audience Member
Not a drama as RT has it, but a comedy hit series of the fifties. Curious mix of WWII and mule encounters by a very young Donald O'Connor and Chill Wills (John Wayne's steadfast acting companion) doing the speaking for the mule.
[img]http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRpc3gBVPl30FoOcR8Y3Makb4LH1Jx6eMtUssfgC326pmhmM7Xx[/img]
Not hilarious by any stretch, it has its amusing moments. The vernacular of the time included all sorts of cliche comments about the enemy. A real time capsule, much of the sets seem right off a Hollywood set.
[img]http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTj-AiJpyzm77IpHxpeRahLpVZ1T-XL4xuiPxTjkUfu0q8TYevbpQ[/img]
See the following address for the first encounter between confused Donald the soldier and his future mule acting companion that went on for 5 very popular movies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV8DBOng3jo&playnext=1&list=PLFC86FD8A2923935D&feature=results_video
By the way, the mule was the star, make no mistake. The studio tried to bring big name girl actresses into the films but regardless, Francis the mule stole the show.
Series went on to sixties television as Mr. Ed.
Director: Arthur Lubin
Writers: David Stern (novel), David Stern (screenplay)
Stars: Donald O'Connor, Patricia Medina and Zasu Pitts
notes:
1 The book and series focused on the exploits of Francis, an experienced Army mule, and Peter Stirling, the young soldier whom he befriends (and stays with through civilian life and then back into the military). In the original 1950 film, the mule identifies himself to the commanding general as "Francis...123rd Mule Detachment...[serial number] M52519." Donald O'Connor received top billing as Peter, but the true star was undoubtedly Francis.
2 To create the impression that the mule was actually talking, Hilton used a thread fed into the animal's mouth, which when tugged, would cause Molly to try to remove it by moving her lips (the same technique used for Mr. Ed).
3 The actual mule who appeared on-screen was not a male at all, but a female named Molly, selected because she was easy to handle. According to author Pauline Bartel, Universal paid $350 for the animal, but made millions from the film series.
Films
Francis (1950) (aka Francis the Talking Mule)
Francis Goes to the Races (1951)
Francis Goes to West Point (1952)
Francis Covers the Big Town (1953)
Francis Joins the WACS (1954)
Francis in the Navy (1955)
Francis in the Haunted House (1956)
Director: Arthur Lubin
Writers: David Stern (novel), David Stern (screenplay)
Stars: Donald O'Connor, Patricia Medina and Zasu Pitts
Technical Specs
Runtime: 91 min
Sound Mix: Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Color: Black and White
Aspect Ratio: 1.37 : 1
[img]http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRirQboRDGESTpLW0BgMrQo_94IpJF6j9AjBS7qCNJXfBKeIAX_Qg[/img]
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/19/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Most awesome movies ever!!
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
01/13/23
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