''Francis Goes to the Races'' is a 1951 American

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

from Universal-International, produced by Leonard Goldstein, directed by

Arthur Lubin Arthur Lubin (July 25, 1898 – May 11, 1995) was an American film director and producer who directed several ''Abbott & Costello'' films, '' Phantom of the Opera'' (1943), the '' Francis the Talking Mule'' series and created the talking-horse TV ...

, that stars

Donald O'Connor Donald David Dixon Ronald O'Connor (August 28, 1925 – September 27, 2003) was an American dancer, singer and actor. He came to fame in a series of films in which he co-starred with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule. His b ...

Piper Laurie Piper Laurie (born Rosetta Jacobs; January 22, 1932) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in the films ''The Hustler'' (1961), ''Carrie (1976 film), Carrie'' (1976), and ''Children of a Lesser God (film), Children of a Lesser God' ...

, and

Cecil Kellaway Cecil Lauriston Kellaway (22 August 1890 – 28 February 1973) was a South African character actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor twice, for '' The Luck of the Irish'' (1948) and '' Guess Who's Coming to Dinner ...

. The distinctive voice of Francis is a

voice-over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non- diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentation ...

by actor

Chill Wills Theodore Childress "Chill" Wills (July 18, 1902 – December 15, 1978) was an American actor and a singer in the Avalon Boys quartet. Early life Wills was born in Seagoville, Texas, on July 18, 1902. Career He was a performer from early chi ...

. This is a sequel to Universal-International's 1950 film ''

Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome * Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) Places *Rural ...

''.

Plot

Francis the Talking Mule Francis the Talking Mule was a mule character who gained popularity during the 1950s as the star of seven popular Universal-International film comedies. The character originated in the 1946 novel ''Francis'' by former U.S. Army Captain David S ...

and his sidekick Peter Sterling visit Colonel Travers and his granddaughter on their family horse farm. Peter soon finds himself involved in the world of horse racing and a crime boss and his men trying to "fix" races involving the Travers' horses.

Cast

as Peter Stirling *

as Frances Travers *

as Colonel Travers * Jesse White as Frank Damer *

Barry Kelley Edward Barry Kelley (August 19, 1908 – June 5, 1991) was an American actor on Broadway in the 1930s and 1940s and in films during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. The heavy-set actor created the role of Ike in '' Oklahoma!'' on Broadway. His l ...

as 'Square Deal' Mallory * Hayden Rorke as Rogers *

Vaughn Taylor Vaughn Joseph Taylor (born March 9, 1976) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and Web.com Tour. Born in Roanoke, Virginia, Taylor was raised in Augusta, Georgia, from infancy. After attending Hephzibah High Sch ...

as Harrington *

Larry Keating Lawrence Keating (June 13, 1899 – August 26, 1963) was an American actor best known for his roles as Harry Morton on ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show'', which he played from 1953 to 1958, and next-door neighbor Roger Addison on '' Mist ...

as Head Steward

Production

''Francis'' had been a success, and in May 1950 Universal announced they had bought the film rights to David Stern's character Francis. These included rights to his 1948 novel ''Francis Goes to Washington'' and to any other ''Francis'' books that he may write. Universal could make an unlimited number of film sequels and use the character for TV, radio, and commercials. For these rights Stern was paid a reported $60,000. ''Francis Goes to Washington'' was meant to be the first sequel. However, the filming of ''Washington'' was postponed as there were "too many complications" for the film "to be made as things stand at the present." As a result the film was never made. The production of ''Francis Goes to the Races'' was then announced in October 1950. Production started November 1950. The film was shot at Santa Anita racecourse. Hill Prince, Coaltown, and Moonrush were among the real life horses who appeared in the film.

Reception

The ''Washington Post'' called the film "smooth and cheery".

Video releases

The original film, ''Francis'' (1950), was released in 1978 as one of the first-ever titles in the new

LaserDisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diameter typical ...

format, DiscoVision Catalog #22-003.
(The DiscoVision Library) It was then re-issued on LaserDisc in May 1994 by MCA/Universal Home Video (Catalog #: 42024) as part of an Encore Edition Double Feature with ''Francis Goes to the Races'' (1951). The first two Francis films were released again in 2004 by Universal Pictures on DVD region code#1, Region 1 and Region 4 DVD, along with the next two in the series, as ''The Adventures of Francis the Talking Mule Vol. 1''. Several years later, Universal released all 7 Francis films as a set on three Region 1 and Region 4 DVDs, ''Francis The Talking Mule: The Complete Collection.''

References

External links

* * * {{Arthur Lubin 1951 films 1950s fantasy comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by Arthur Lubin American horse racing films Universal Pictures films Films scored by Frank Skinner American fantasy comedy films 1951 comedy films Films about donkeys 1950s English-language films 1950s American films Races