Talking animals have been a big draw for the big screen and small. From the Francis the talking mule series to the current Dog With A Blog there is something perverse in the human spirit where we enjoy seeing animals outsmart humans, especially verbally. I guess it was the secret of the success of the series.In this first film which I don't think Universal thought would turn into a series, Donald O'Connor is back from the war and telling his boss at the bank he works at Charles Meredith about his interesting experiences in the China-Burma-India theater of the late war. After being separated from his outfit young 2nd Lieutenant O'Connor gets back to his base when a talking army mule named Francis showed him the way.That gets him assigned to G-2 Intelligence and he pulls off quite a few coups. But when asked to reveal his source O'Connor tells his superiors it was a talking mule. That lands him in the Psych ward under the tender care of nurse Zasu Pitts.The human players must truly have had to suck it in and realize that the mule with Chill Wills's voice was upstaging them. Some real recognition goes to John McIntire who plays a general who is the only other person that Francis the Talking Mule ever talked to in the series besides O'Connor and Mickey Rooney in the last film. McIntire may have been one of the greatest actors who ever lived, managing to keep a straight face while dialoging with a jackass.If you don't blink you'll see Tony Curtis in a small role as another officer. And Patricia Medina lends her beauty as a fetching lady spy. If you like Dog With A Blog or Mister Ed, you'll enjoy the Francis series.

I just saw this again. I can't remember exactly when I saw it first, must be 45 years ago. This movie is just plain silly fun. I thought I might be disappointed, it being so long since I saw it last I figured childhood memories would be mystical and bright, and I was partially correct. I remember thoroughly enjoying this, and tonight I laughed again. My wife saw it for the first time and loved it also. Don't expect an intense or intricate plot. If you like silly, fun family movies, then watch this. My 3 year old watched it with us. I hope to eventually see the others. This is a classic I am glad I saw again. IMDb wants more lines, what more can I say? A hilarious fun flick the whole family will enjoy.

"Francis" is extremely entertaining on the surface. It has likable characters and Chill Wills is great as the voice of the mule. It's a must for lovers of animals.Almost from the start, though, I felt a subtext. Maybe this was conscious at the time. Maybe it wasn't. In 1950 when the movie was released, there were things more common than saying you were talking to a mule that could land you in the "psycho ward." (Hero Donald O'Connor is shown in scene after scene weaving increasingly elaborate baskets.) His superiors and fellow soldier deride him. The mule is of undetermined gender. The mule speaks in a wittily sarcastic way that presages the tone from "All About Eve." (Or Thelma Ritter's lines, anyway.) One of the two women in the movie is a temptress, maybe not so nice. The other is ZaSu Pitts. Pitts plays a rather plump nurse who is very understanding of O'Connor.It spawned several sequels, which were doubtless aimed at children. But this seems in many ways like an allegory about the love that in those days dared not speak its name.

As a stock actor, the 25 year old Tony Curtis appeared in a series of films like 'Francis' which were dull and tacky. It served to pad out his c.v. and pay his bills because his audience thought he was too good looking to be doing a proper job.