Francis (1950) on Netflix
Approved19501h 31m
In World War II Burma, Lieutenant Peter Stirling is trapped behind Japanese lines. A talking Army mule, Francis, carries him out. Insisting the mule speaks sends Stirling to a psychiatric ward.
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- Netflix3.5/5
- IMDb6.5/101,708 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes80%
Plot summary
Peter Stirling, a bank teller, has been drawing public attention. He tells his story to Munroe, the bank manager, in a flashback. During World War II, Stirling serves as a second lieutenant and is caught behind Japanese lines in Burma. An Army mule that talks, Francis, carries him to safety. Stirling gives the mule the credit for the rescue, and he says that Francis speaks to him. He does not know how to lie about the source of his information. Every time he repeats the claim, the Army sends him to a psychiatric ward and treats him there as a lunatic.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Francis (1950)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Universal advanced director Arthur Lubin $10,000 to test whether he could create the illusion of a mule speaking. The test succeeded, and the studio agreed to finance the film as a starring vehicle for Donald O'Connor, who was already owed $30,000.
- Director Arthur Lubin said the film was shot in fifteen days, with three mules that cost nothing and Donald O'Connor paid $30,000. Producer Robert Arthur said it was budgeted at $580,000 and finished $42,000 over.
- After Francis, director Arthur Lubin became known for films about animals with human traits: he was offered a talking Navy goat and a talking goose, directed Rhubarb (1951) about a cat that owns a baseball team, and developed the sitcom Mister Ed, about a talking horse.
- Francis was issued in 1978 as Discovision Catalog #22-003, one of the first titles ever released in the LaserDisc format.
