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Francis in the Navy

23 votes

In the U. S. Army intelligence office, bumbling lieutenant Peter Stirling receives a coded message from his friend, Francis, a talking mule. The note urges Pete to hurry to the Coronado, California naval base, where Francis is about to be sold as surplus. Pete rushes to the train station, but before he can board, nurse Betsy Donevan mistakes him for her shell-shocked brother, Navy boatswain Slicker Donevan. She tries to forcibly remove his uniform so he will not get into trouble for impersonating an Army officer. Finally she realizes that Pete is not Slicker but merely his mirror image.

Status: Released

Released Date: 1955-08-24

Runtime: 80 mins

Director: Arthur Lubin

Spoken language: English

Genres: Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Romance

Original title: Francis in the Navy

Production Companies: Universal International Pictures

Production Countries: United States of America

Cast

Donald O'Connor

Martha Hyer

Richard Erdman

Jim Backus

Clint Eastwood

David Janssen

Leigh Snowden

Martin Milner

Paul Burke

Phil Garris

Myrna Hansen

Jane Howard

Virginia O'Brien

William Forrest

Francis the Talking Mule Collection

2.8

Francis

1950-02-08

During World War II, a junior American Army officer, Lt. Peter Stirling, gets sent to the psychiatri

3.3

Francis Goes to the Races

1951-05-01

In this funny sequel to the popular Francis the Talking Mule, the talkative Mule and his pal Peter g

2.9

Francis Goes to West Point

1952-07-01

Francis the talking mule gets his owner in and out of trouble while he is taking basic training at W

2.4

Francis Covers the Big Town

1953-06-10

A man who has a talking mule gets a job on a newspaper, and both get mixed up in a murder trial.

2.9

Francis Joins the WACS

1954-07-30

Peter Stirling (with his old friend the talking mule) is recalled to active duty...in the WACs!

2.7

Francis in the Navy

1955-08-24

In the U. S. Army intelligence office, bumbling lieutenant Peter Stirling receives a coded message f

2.5

Francis in the Haunted House

1956-07-09

A Ha-Ha-Haunted House Has Got 'Em! ...and it's every ghost for himself!

Reviews

r96sk

Just so sleepy at this point. Even for 1955, 'Francis in the Navy' being the sixth 'Francis' film since 1950 must've been boring as heck. Not that it's a new development, because they arguably all are, but these really are a tedious watch at this point. Francis is again, oddly, in the background. Despite one more production in 1956, Donald O'Connor decided this was the time to bow out of the series. He does so in relative style, given he portrays two characters - albeit to lame effect, for what it's worth. Clint Eastwood is the pick of the support cast, if only due to who he has since become. He is a little wooden, in what is his first credited role. I'm actually minorly intrigued to check out 'Francis in the Haunted House' due to somewhat of a mass exodus, with O'Connor, director Arthur Lubin and Francis voice actor Chill Wills all not appearing. Could it be a slight breath of fresh air? I'm leaning the other way, but we'll see.

2022-01-04

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