''Francis in the Haunted House'' is a 1956 American

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 Robert Arthur, directed by

Charles Lamont Charles Lamont (May 5, 1895 – September 11, 1993) was a prolific filmmaker, directing over 200 titles and producing and writing many others. He directed several Abbott and Costello comedies and many Ma and Pa Kettle films. Biography A Calif ...

, that stars

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

and Virginia Welles. This is the seventh and final film in Universal-International

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 ...

series, notably without series director

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 ...

, star

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 ...

, or Francis' voice 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 ...

Plot

Francis witnesses a murder and then befriends bumbling reporter David Prescott (

), who may be next in line. With Francis' help and guidance, Prescott uncovers a mystery involving murder, an inheritance, and a spooky old mansion on the edge of town.

Cast

as David Prescott * Virginia Welles as Lorna MacLeod *

James Flavin James William Flavin Jr. (May 14, 1906 – April 23, 1976) was an American character actor whose career lasted for nearly half a century. Early life The son of a hotel waiter of Canadian-English descent,Flavin's obituary, distributed by United ...

as Police Chief Martin * Paul Cavanagh as Neil Frazer * Mary Ellen Kay as Lorna Ann * David Janssen as Police Lieutenant Hopkins *

Ralph Dumke Ralph Ernest Dumke (July 25, 1899 – January 4, 1964) was an American comedian and actor who had an active career from the early 1920s up until his death in 1964. He rose to fame as part of a comedy duo with Ed East, performing nationally in ...

as Mayor Hargrove *

Richard Gaines Richard Houston Gaines (July 23, 1904 – July 20, 1975) was an American actor. He appeared in over 75 film and television productions between 1940 and 1962. Early years Gaines was born in Indian Territory and grew up in Texas, learning "to h ...

as D.A. Reynolds * Richard Deacon as Jason *

Dick Winslow Richard Winslow (March 25, 1915 – February 7, 1991) was an American film actor, mostly in supporting roles. He died of complications of diabetes on February 7, 1991, in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California California is a state in ...

as Sergeant Arnold * Charles Horvath as Malcolm *

Timothy Carey Timothy Agoglia Carey (March 11, 1929 – May 11, 1994) was an American film and television character actor. Carey was best known for portraying manic or violent characters who are driven to extremes. Career He made his screen debut with a ...

as Hugo *

Helen Wallace Dame Helen Sarah Wallace, Lady Wallace of Saltaire, DBE, CMG, FBA, MAE, FAcSS (born 25 June 1946 in Whalley Range, Manchester), née Rushworth, is a British expert in European studies and, by marriage to William Wallace, Baron Wallace of S ...

as Mrs. MacPherson *

Edward Earle Edward Earle (16 July 1882 – 15 December 1972) was a Canadian-American stage, film and television actor. In a career which lasted from the 1910s to 1966, he appeared in almost 400 films between 1914 and 1956. He was born in Toronto and died ...

as Howard Grisby * John Maxwell as Edward Ryan * Glen Kramer as Ephraim Biddle * Molly as Francis (as Francis the Talking Mule) *

Paul Frees Solomon Hersh "Paul" Frees (June 22, 1920November 2, 1986) was an American actor, comedian, impressionist, and vaudevillian. He is known for his work on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Walter Lantz, Rankin/Bass, and Walt Disney theatrical cartoons during ...

(uncredited as the voice of Francis)

Production

This seventh and final entry in the

series was made without most of the key creative personnel from the earlier films.

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fi ...

, in his '' Movie Guide'', quotes Donald O'Connor on quitting the series: "When you've made six pictures and the mule still gets more fan mail than you do...." Director Lubin and Chill Wills were also absent, replaced respectively by

and voice actor

, who did a close approximation of Wills' voice as Francis.

replaced Donald O'Connor as a new but similar character, David Prescott. According to his autobiography, Rooney was originally considered for a

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stu ...

''Francis''

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

with his company Rooney Inc optioning and then turning down the property before Universal acquired the rights. Rooney's casting was announced in January 1956. Charles Lamont was announced as the film's director some weeks later. Chill Wills wanted more money than Universal were willing to play, so the studio auditioned various voice actor replacements, including

Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy r ...

, before settling on Paul Frees. The film made no attempt at explaining why Francis left original sidekick Peter Stirling. In the script Francis says he decided to befriend reporter Prescott because "I once lived on a farm owned by Prescott's uncle and wanted to protect his nephew out of respect for the deceased." With the original elements missing, the film, a standard tale of fake ghosts and gangsters, was poorly received; it was widely reviewed as the weakest entry in the series.

Home media

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 ''Francis Goes to the Races'' is a 1951 American black-and-white comedy film from Universal-International, produced by Leonard Goldstein, directed by Arthur Lubin, that stars Donald O'Connor, Piper Laurie, and Cecil Kellaway. The distinctive voic ...

'' (1951). The first two Francis films were released again in 2004 by Universal Pictures on 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