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173:. One night I was sitting looking at a blank, unpainted wall. To pass the time I wrote four pages of dialogue between a second lieutenant and an Army mule. I had no intention of writing more. But that little runt of a mule kept bothering me. With memories of OCS fresh in my mind I thought I might rid myself of the creature by shipping him off to become a second lieutenant. Francis outwitted me. He refused to go".
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advice of
Francis (gleaned from overhearing generals plan strategy or from discussions with other equines), would triumph over his own incompetence. However, inevitably he would be forced to reveal that his adviser was a mule, and be subject to mental analysis (sometimes more than once per film)
165:
David Stern says: "When I joined the Army in 1943, I had been publishing a couple of newspapers. I told this to the classification interviewer, who dutifully recorded my civilian background on a large card. They say the Army always finds the job to fit the man. I was assigned as assistant on a
240:), the young soldier whom he befriends. Francis then stays with Peter through civilian life and back in the military. In the original 1950 film, the mule identifies himself to the commanding general as "Francis...123rd Mule Detachment... M52519." With a plot device like the later series
370:, who lent his deep, rough vocal texture and Western twang to the cynical and sardonic mule. As was customary at the time, Wills never received billing for his vocal work, though he was featured prominently on-screen as blustery General Ben Kaye in the fifth film,
183:
under the name of Peter Stern about an Army 2nd lieutenant fighting the
Japanese in the jungles of Burma. Following the war, he connected the stories "I Meet Francis," "Francis and the Golden," and "Francis Unmasked" into the 1946 novel
395:. To create the impression that the mule was actually talking, Hilton used a thread fed into the animal's mouth which would cause Molly to try to remove it by moving her lips, the same technique used for Mister Ed.
279:
until the grand reveal, when
Francis displayed his talent (usually either to individuals, or to a large group). The astonishing existence of a talking mule, however, was conveniently forgotten in the next film.
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As the titles indicated, each film had a different setting or gimmick, exposing the world-wise mule and the naive GI to race track excitement, the world of journalism, and many branches of the military, from
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format, DiscoVision
Catalog #22-003. It was later reissued in May 1994 on LaserDisc by MCA/Universal Home Video (Catalog #: 42024) as part of an Encore Edition Double Feature with
383:. According to author Pauline Bartel, Universal paid $ 350 for the animal but made millions from the film series. Molly was trained by Les Hilton, an apprentice of
195:, with the former lieutenant (now named Peter Sterling) running for Congress with the help of Francis. Stern gave up fiction writing to become editor of the
246:, Francis would usually talk only to Peter, thus causing problems for his nominal "master." The first six films were directed by Universal comedy veteran
677:
169:"Circumstances led me, via Officer Candidate School, to Hawaii, where I was assigned as Co-Officer-in-Charge of an Army newspaper called
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The mule who appeared on-screen was a female named Molly, selected because she was easy to handle. She was purchased from Ed
Frazier in
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sequel, but filming was postponed as there were "too many complications" for it "to be made as things stand at the present".
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Schallert, Edwin (May 29, 1951). "Drama: Hugh
Marlowe Romantic Rival of Milland; Wald, Krasna to Seek Talent".
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585:
Hopper, Hedda (Mar 13, 1950). ""Looking At
Hollywood: Bette Davis in Joyous Mood Over Work on New Picture"".
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510:. Several years later, Universal released all 7 Francis films as a set on three Region 1 and Region 4 DVDs,
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replaced him as a new character. Director Lubin and Chill Wills were also absent, replaced by
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feature film before
Universal-International acquired the rights. Rooney took the lead after
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Military Comedy Films: A Critical Survey and
Filmography of Hollywood Releases Since 1918
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series from 1951 to 1960, illustrated, alternately, by David Gantz and Don Gunn.
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274:. The basic plots were fairly similar, however. Stirling, with the sage but
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The book and film series focused on the exploits of
Francis, an experienced
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446:. David Stern and Frank Thomas scripted a 1952–53 syndicated comic strip,
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The distinctive voice of Francis was provided by veteran character actor
478:(1950), was released in 1978 as one of the first-ever titles in the new
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Mule character in a 1946 novel and series of American films in the 1950s
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Francis also made a brief cameo, in animated form and voiced by
450:, illustrated by Cliff Rogerson, who also drew the gag panel,
354:, based on the 1948 novel by Stern, was meant to be the first
201:, a newspaper that he purchased in 1949 and ran until 1958.
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The first two Francis films were released again in 2004 by
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who first appeared in three short stories written for
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p.199 Lertzman, Richard A. & Birnes, William J.
49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
512:Francis The Talking Mule: The Complete Collection.
422:, who did a close approximation of Wills's voice.
508:The Adventures of Francis the Talking Mule Vol. 1
282:Some of the Francis films had animated trailers.
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254:vehicles, who would go on to produce and direct
618:. Missouri State Archives journal. Summer 2009.
629:"MCA DiscoVision - Francis (The Talking Mule)"
138:, which he later combined into the 1946 novel
649:. Dallas: Taylor Publishing, 1997. 0878339744
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506:, along with the next two in the series, as
142:. This was the basis of a series of seven
529:Farrar, Straus And Co.; 1st edition (1946)
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
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218:left for the final film in the series
177:Stern wrote several short stories for
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425:
236:mule, and Peter Stirling (played by
191:In 1948, Stern published the sequel
47:adding citations to reliable sources
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553:The Life and Times of Mickey Rooney
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678:Film characters introduced in 1946
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458:were published as part of Dell's
555:Simon and Schuster, 20 Oct 2015.
448:Francis, the Famous Talking Mule
207:was originally considered for a
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456:Francis the Famous Talking Mule
454:(1957–85). Seventeen issues of
410:states that O'Connor quit, and
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34:needs additional citations for
683:Film series introduced in 1950
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398:The final film in the series,
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693:Fiction about talking animals
616:Picture This: Missouri Mules
407:Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide
401:Francis in the Haunted House
344:Francis in the Haunted House
221:Francis in the Haunted House
149:released from 1950 to 1956.
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320:Francis Covers the Big Town
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566:"Francis - Trailer (1950)"
387:; Hilton went on to train
352:Francis Goes to Washington
312:Francis Goes to West Point
193:Francis Goes to Washington
58:"Francis the Talking Mule"
542:. McFarland. pp. 119–120.
485:Francis Goes to the Races
304:Francis Goes to the Races
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663:Francis the Talking Mule
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298:Francis the Talking Mule
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122:Francis the Talking Mule
688:American fantasy novels
144:Universal-International
538:Erickson, Hal (2012).
373:Francis Joins the WACS
328:Francis Joins the WACS
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647:Amazing Animal Actors
587:Chicago Daily Tribune
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668:American film series
444:Gerald McBoing Boing
43:improve this article
472:The original film,
440:How Now Boing Boing
336:Francis in the Navy
252:Abbott and Costello
493:Universal Pictures
362:Film series actors
645:Bartel, Pauline.
602:Los Angeles Times
461:Four Color Comics
442:(1954), starring
426:Later appearances
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41:Please help
36:verification
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385:Will Rogers
368:Chill Wills
136:David Stern
657:Categories
420:Paul Frees
264:West Point
69:newspapers
480:LaserDisc
434:, in the
393:Mister Ed
256:Mister Ed
243:Mister Ed
157:From the
501:Region 4
497:Region 1
488:(1951).
276:sardonic
640:Sources
571:YouTube
475:Francis
356:Francis
293:Francis
270:to the
266:to the
212:Francis
186:Francis
180:Esquire
159:Francis
140:Francis
131:Esquire
83:scholar
347:(1956)
339:(1955)
331:(1954)
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315:(1952)
307:(1951)
228:Themes
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286:Films
90:JSTOR
76:books
499:and
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272:Navy
268:WACs
234:Army
126:mule
62:news
504:DVD
495:on
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