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.
"That talking mule is back... and the Navy's got him!"
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5.5 / 10
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1 USER REVIEW
r96sk
1/4/2022
5 / 10
Just so sleepy at this point.
Even for 1955, <em>'Francis in the Navy'</em> being the sixth <em>'Francis'</em> 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 <em>'Francis in the Haunted House'</em> 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.
