This Francis: The Talking Mule collection, all Newly Remastered in 2K, includes all the 7 films from the hilarious film series.
FRANCIS (1950) – When Army officer Peter Stirling (Donald O’Connor) tries to explain that a talking mule (Chill Wills) rescued him from behind enemy lines, unbelieving superiors take him for a crackpot. Meanwhile, Francis shows up with new plans of heroic action. Co-starring Patricia Medina, ZaSu Pitts and Tony Curtis.
FRANCIS GOES TO THE RACES (1951) – Francis (Wills) and his sidekick Peter (O’Connor) visit Colonel Travers and his beautiful granddaughter on their family horse ranch. When an unpaid debt threatens the ranch, Francis calls on his equine friends at the racetrack to come up with the money. Co-starring Piper Laurie, Cecil Kellaway and Jesse White.
FRANCIS GOES TO WEST POINT (1952) – Peter (O’Connor) wins acceptance into West Point but loses daily to drills, hazings and forbidden romances. It all calls for the aid of his long-eared friend (Wills), who’s there for him and for the Army football team. Co-starring Lori Nelson, Alice Kelley and David Janssen.
FRANCIS COVERS THE BIG TOWN (1953) – When Peter (O’Connor) enters the fast-paced New York newspaper world and tangles with gangsters, things lead to murder—and a howlingly funny attempt by Francis (Wills) to save his human pal. Co-starring Yvette Duguay, Gene Lockhart and Nancy Guild.
FRANCIS JOINS THE WACS (1954) – A clerical mishap sends Peter (O’Connor) into the Women’s Army Corps. His hoofed companion (Wills) helps him through his various military and personal problems, including several stays in the base’s psychiatric ward. Co-starring Julie Adams, Mamie Van Doren and ZaSu Pitts.
FRANCIS IN THE NAVY (1955) – It’s anchors aweigh as Peter (O’Connor) gets mistaken for his Navy lookalike, ladies’ man Slicker Donevan (also O’Connor). His military misadventures with Francis (Wills) continue at sea. Featuring Clint Eastwood in his first credited film role and co-starring Martha Hyer, Jim Backus and David Janssen.
FRANCIS IN THE HAUNTED HOUSE (1956) – Mickey Rooney and Paul Frees take the reins as hapless David Prescott and wise-cracking Francis. When David gets mixed up with a gang of crooks looting paintings from a ghoul-infested castle, he needs his quadruped savior. Co-starring Virginia Welles, Paul Cavanagh and David Janssen. Arthur Lubin (Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves) directed the first 6 films in the series starring O’Connor and Charles Lamont (Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man) directed the final film in the series starring Rooney.
For thoughts on the Francis The Talking Mule 7-Film Collection, please check out part one of our discussion on The Video Attic here.
For thoughts on the Francis The Talking Mule 7-Film Collection, please check out part two of our discussion on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
The Francis The Talking Mule 7-Film Collection comes to Blu-Ray with the seven films spread over three discs. While this might normally be a red flag, given the relative brevity of these features, only the third disc with the final three movies is starting to get pushed to the limits of its capacity. These films share a lot of the same qualities, although the series does evolve from the Academy Ratio to a widescreen presentation as we near the end. With this being the case, I will mostly be judging them in groups while pointing out noticeable differences when necessary. All seven films were given new 2K scans which rarely disappoint in terms of quality. No one presentation in this set represents a 5-star effort, but the quality stays in the “very good” range throughout. Every film suffers from a bit of underlying print damage and other source anomalies, but the severity varies from film to film.
The beautiful black-and-white photography across these films shines in high definition with natural grain intact. The grain field seems a bit thick or gritty in certain shots, but all transfers are resolved well. There are not very many moments where anything appears clumpy or unnatural. As mentioned, there is a small amount of print damage found in these presentations, with the deficiencies becoming less and less with each film. While most of the films stick largely with medium shots, there remains an incredible amount of detail present with nice texture on the uniforms and Francis himself, as well as in the environments and production design. Black levels are fairly deep with no noticeable occurrences of black crush or compression artifacts. Shadow detail is something that improves as the series goes along. The contrast is well defined, but the track does experience moments of density fluctuation in the print. While it is a series beloved by many, it was doubtful that these films would get the respectful presentations they deserve. Kino Classics has thankfully delivered a pleasant effort to preserve these films for generations to come.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a perfectly serviceable DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track for each of these seven films that presents them well within their limited ambitions. None of these films are action-packed per se, so the actual dialogue is the star of the show. Thankfully, dialogue and background noises are represented in pleasing harmony with all competing elements so nothing gets lost in the mix. These tracks do present with a very minor amount of age related wear and tear including some faint hissing, humming and crackles that likely date back to the source elements. The music never overpowers the dialogue or other important information, but it does sound a little fragile at its highest peaks. These issues become less and less as the series progresses. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles included for all feature films. The good folks at Kino Classics have done their best to provide the most stable tracks possible for these.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary for Francis: Author/Film Historian Lee Gambin delivers a very entertaining and informative commentary track in which he begins by announcing his deep love for this film and the series at large before going into some of the thematic details of the feature, the displays of PTSD and the visceral effects of war, how this film fits alongside other family films, the performances in the film and the careers of the talent involved, the hidden cultural commentary of the film and more.
- Audio Commentary for Francis Goes To The Races: Film Historian Eddy Von Mueller delivers a sturdy and informative commentary track that is a bit more low key than the previous track but delivers great historical information about the production of the film, the talent involved, the care taken with the animals on set, the thematic connections to modern films and more.
- Audio Commentary for Francis Goes To West Point: Film Historian Toby Roan delivers a pretty good commentary track which features more than a few instances of extended silence. When we are hearing from Roan, the information is generally enlightening from a historical perspective.
- Audio Commentary for Francis Covers The Big Town: Film Historian Stephen Vagg provides an argument for why this feature is the strongest in the entire series as he talks about the tricky way Universal tried to get around Donald O’Connor expiring contract, flying “Francis” and O’Connor to New York to film around some landmarks, the background of some of the ensemble players, the controversy behind who actually played Francis and more.
- Audio Commentary for Francis Joins The WACS: Author/Film Historian Lee Gambin and Film Journalist/Author Staci Layne Wilson prove to be a very strong team as they tackle this film from various different points including the mounting frustration of Donald O’Connor and his relationship with the series, the background of the performers, and perhaps most interestingly the way in which animals are portrayed on screen in a historical context.
- Audio Commentary for Francis In The Navy: Author/Film Historian Lee Gambin and Film Historian Paul Anthony Nelson are likewise an entertaining pair as they dig into this film in much the same manner as the previous tracks, including the dual role played by Donald O’Connor.
- Audio Commentary for Francis In The Haunted House: Film Historian Eddy Von Mueller returns for the last commentary track in which he discusses how this film fits neatly into the classic Universal genre mashup trend, the change-up in the human counterpart to Francis, the narrative leaps in this film…all delivered with a wry sense of humor.
- Trailers: There are trailers provided for each of the following entries:
- Francis Goes To The Races (1:03)
- Francis Goes To West Point (2:19)
- Francis Joins The WACS (0:58)
- Francis In The Navy (2:22)
- Francis In The Haunted House (2:07)
Final Thoughts
The Francis The Talking Mule 7-Film Collection is a harmless bit of kitschy fun from the past which gets a lot of mileage from a relatively simple premise. While none of them are certifiable classics, each of them provides an amiable experience filled with consistent laughs. Some audiences may take exception with how the Francis performance was captured, but these films are a lot of fun if you can get past certain issues. Kino Classics has released a Blu-Ray featuring a pretty strong A/V presentation and an impressive assortment of commentary tracks. If you are a fan of silly animal films, this series always has its heart in the right place. Recommended
Francis The Talking Mule 7-Film Collection is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.