Francis (film)

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Francis
Francis - 1950 - Poster.png
Theatrical release half-sheet display poster
Directed by Arthur Lubin
Screenplay by David Stern III
Dorothy Reid (uncredited)
Based onFrancis
1946 novel
by David Stern
Produced by Robert Arthur
Starring Donald O'Connor
Patricia Medina
Cinematography Irving Glassberg
Edited by Milton Carruth
Music by Frank Skinner
Walter Scharf
Production
company
Universal Pictures
Distributed by Universal-International
Release dates
  • February 8, 1950 (1950-02-08)(New Orleans) [1]
  • March 15, 1950 (1950-03-15)(New York) [2]
Running time
91 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$622,000 [3] [4]
Box office$2.9 million (US rentals) [5]

Francis is a 1950 American comedy film produced and distributed by Universal-International that launched the Francis the Talking Mule film series. The film was produced by Robert Arthur and directed by Arthur Lubin. It stars Donald O'Connor and Patricia Medina, with the distinctive voice of Francis provided by actor Chill Wills.

Contents

Six Francis sequels from Universal followed the film, all but one starring O'Connor; Mickey Rooney replaced O'Connor in the final film of the series.

Plot

A bank manager speaks with teller Peter Stirling, who has been attracting public attention, and Stirling relates his story in a flashback.

Stirling, a second lieutenant, is caught behind Japanese lines in Burma during World War II. A talking Army mule named Francis carries him to safety. Stirling later insists that the mule had rescued him, so he is placed in a psychiatric ward. Francis helps Stirling thwart enemy plans twice, and each time Stirling is returned to the psychiatric ward when he insists on crediting Francis. In an effort to obtain his release, Stirling asks three-star general Stevens to order Francis to speak, but Francis does not obey until it becomes clear that Stirling will be arrested for treason if he remains silent. Stevens is convinced and orders Stirling's release.

During one of his hospital stays, Stirling is befriended by Maureen Gelder, a beautiful French refugee. He grows to trust her and tells her about Francis. Later, a propaganda radio broadcast from Tokyo Rose mocks the Allies for being advised by a mule, leading to the suspicion that Stirling or Gelder is a Japanese agent. The press is later informed that the absurd mule story was concocted to identify the spy. With help from Francis, the real culprit is identified as Gelder.

Francis is shipped to the U.S. for further study, but his military transport crashes in the wilderness of Kentucky. Stirling searches for him after the war and finds him alive and well.

Cast

Production

Development

Director Arthur Lubin became attached to the film in March 1948. [6] He was attracted to the light material because "as a movie fan myself, I am tired of watching neurotic material on the screen. I can easily skip the latest psychiatric spell binders, but I've seen Miracle on 34th Street a half dozen times." [7]

In September 1948, it was announced that Robert Stillman, Joseph H. Nadel and Lubin had purchased the film rights from David Stern, with Stillman to produce and Lubin to direct. [8] Lubin took the film to Universal, which had a commitment to Donald O'Connor for $30,000 and was looking to produce something inexpensive. The studio advanced Lubin $10,000 as a test to determine whether he could create the illusion of the mule speaking. The test was successful and Universal agreed to finance the film [9] as a starring vehicle for Donald O'Connor. [10] Lubin worked on the script with Stern, and Dorothy Davenport Reid contributed to the screenplay but was not credited within the film. [11]

Universal records show that Lubin was paid a flat fee of $25,000. [12]

Shooting

Filming started on May 7, 1949 [13] and continued until June. Parts of the film were shot at the Conejo Valley Airport in Thousand Oaks, California. [14]

Producer Robert Arthur said that the film was budgeted at $580,000 but finished $42,000 over budget. [3] Lubin later claimed that the film had cost $150,000 and said: "Donald got $30,000 at the time, the mule cost nothing. We had three mules then. And we made that picture in fifteen days." [15]

Reception

Francis was first shown in January 1950 to Army troops stationed in West Germany.[ citation needed ] Its premiere was held in New Orleans on February 8, 1950. [1]

In a contemporary review for The New York Times , critic Bosley Crowther wrote: "[T]he whole gist and jesting of this farce are in an unsubtle demonstration that the mule is less of a jackass than is man—or, at least, than are men in the Army, in any eschelon[ sic ] above that of sergeant, especially second lieutenants and three-star 'brass.' And since this is an opinion to which millions of veterans will subscribe, the essential idea of 'Francis' is sure to be widely popular. Likewise its demonstration, for all its reliance on burlesque, is not beneath the mild appreciation of those who would have a good low laugh. ... Indeed, there are so many droll bits in 'Francis' that we hate to observe that it moves in a pretty small circle around one strictly fantastic joke and that it tends, in its limited revolutions, not only to repeat but to grow dull. Mr. Stern, with a very cute idea, has not endowed it with any real wit above the level of joke-book humor, which usually palls after the third time around. ... In short, we can't say that 'Francis' ... offers comedy of rich and subtle nature. But it holds a few good laughs—especially for mules." [2]

The film was the 11th-most successful hit of the year in the U.S. [5] In May 1950, Universal-International purchased all rights to the character Francis from author David Stern, including the right to produce an unlimited number of Francis the Talking Mule sequels. [16]

Lubin soon became associated with films featuring animal characters having human traits. He was approached with ideas for a talking Navy goat, an Abbott and Costello film with chimpanzees and a talking goose. He later directed Rhubarb (1951), a film about a cat who owns a baseball team, and the Francis sequel films, and he developed the popular television sitcom Mister Ed, featuring a talking horse. [17]

Home media

Francis was released in 1978 as one of the first titles in the LaserDisc format (Discovision Catalog #22-003). [18] It was then reissued on LaserDisc in May 1994 by MCA/Universal Home Video (Catalog #42024) as part of an Encore Edition Double Feature with Francis Goes to the Races (1951).

The first four Francis films were released in 2004 by Universal Pictures on Region 1 and Region 4 DVD as The Adventures of Francis the Talking Mule Vol. 1. Universal released all seven Francis films as a set on three Region 1 and Region 4 DVDs as Francis the Talking Mule: The Complete Collection.

References

  1. 1 2 "Arthur Lubin Will Seek N.Y. Location". Los Angeles Times . 1950-05-15. p. 4, Part IV.
  2. 1 2 Crowther, Bosley (1950-03-16). "The Screen: Three New Films Arrive". The New York Times . p. 40.
  3. 1 2 "How to Produce 2 Films at Once". Los Angeles Times. 8 June 1968. p. b6.
  4. ↑ "U's $1,470,000 Average Prod Cost Pared to 740G Per Pic in 49". Variety. 27 April 1949. p. 6.
  5. 1 2 'The Top Box Office Hits of 1950', Variety, 3 January 1951
  6. ↑ Looking at Hollywood, Hopper, Hedda, Chicago Daily Tribune, 4 March 1948: B6.
  7. ↑ So The Mmule Talks--: Reporter: By Arthur Lubin Director of "Francis". New York Times, 12 March 1950: X4.
  8. ↑ Studio Briefs, Los Angeles Times, 24 September 1948: 21.
  9. ↑ Flynn, Charles; McCarthy, Todd (1975). "Arthur Lubin". In Flynn, Charles; McCarthy, Todd (eds.). Kings of the Bs : working within the Hollywood system : an anthology of film history and criticism. E. P. Dutton. p. 370.
  10. ↑ Of Local Origin, New York Times, 1 March 1949: 31.
  11. ↑ Fidelity Pictures Buys Herbert Book: Welsch-Peters Firm Will Make 'House by River,' 1920 Novel, for Republic Release, Thomas F. Brady, New York Times, 4 April 1949: 27.
  12. ↑ Dick, Bernard K. (2015). City of Dreams: The Making and Remaking of Universal Pictures. University Press of Kentucky. p. 156. ISBN   9780813158891.
  13. ↑ Mankiewicz Wins Film Guild Award: Directors' Quarterly Prize Goes to Him for 'Letter to Three Wives', a Fox Picture, Thomas F. Brady, New York Times, 6 May 1949: 31.
  14. ↑ Sprankling, Miriam and Ruthanne Begun (2012). Tales and Voices of the Conejo. Newbury Park, CA: Conejo Valley Historical Society. Pages 42-43. ISBN   0-9725233-6-7.
  15. ↑ Flynn, Charles; McCarthy, Todd (1975). "Arthur Lubin". In Flynn, Charles; McCarthy, Todd (eds.). Kings of the Bs : working within the Hollywood system : an anthology of film history and criticism. E. P. Dutton. p. 367.
  16. ↑ 'Francis' Stories Are Bought By U.-I.: Studio Acquires All Rights to David Stern's Future Yarns About the Army Mule, Thomas F. Brady, New York Times, 17 May 1950: 35.
  17. ↑ Schallert, Edwin (1950-06-26). "Joe E. Brown Expected for Big Legion Revue; Animals Haunt Director". Los Angeles Times . p. 7, Part II.
  18. ↑ (The Discovision Library)
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