Francis Goes to the Races

This movie progresses more organically than any of the other Francis movies, i.e. the plot doesn't seem forced.

Francis Goes to the Races starts with the mule talking to a crowd of stunned and indignant people, essentially, ending Peter Sterling's job and putting the two on the road again. It is a dynamic used often in this series: Peter gets himself deeper and deeper into trouble until the only thing that can get him out of it is a long diatribe from his mule. Beginning with it is kind of clever.

It is essential that the viewer understand the science behind the movie: Mules can talk to horses. You wouldn't think so, but apparently, since they look so much alike, they also speak the same language. You also need to remember that Francis' great aunt was a Derby winner. The two stop at a horse farm on the road and Francis meets a relative. He decides to stay at the farm and let Peter take a stab at life without a talking mule to mess things up.

Anyone who watches these movies is aware that Peter Sterling is the piston that isn't firing in that particular dyad; and, it isn't long until he gets himself in trouble. And, it isn't long until Francis bails him out. There's a pretty girl, also. And, gangsters… This movie doesn't surpass Francis Joins the WACS in quality, however, it is a fun movie.

The one where Francis does the Bottle Cap Challenge. Take that, Statham!

'Francis Goes to the Races', while still a lacklustre and repetitive affair, surprisingly manages to improve upon the poor original. The main reason for that is the fact that the racing setting actually fits much better with the silliness of a talking mule, as opposed to the setting of war as seen before.

Donald O'Connor continues the make the films more bearable than they'd otherwise be. Elsewhere, Chill Wills, Piper Laurie, Cecil Kellaway and Jesse White are all alright. It's a tough sell for the cast these films, so I respect their commitment to be fair!

Peter Stirling (Donald O'Connor) is still the owner of Francis, the talking mule, after bringing him back from Burma. He gets fired after showing Francis to the bank president. They head out on the open roads and end up at a horse racing track.

This is a mildly humorous franchise and this is perfectly mildly humorous. I like Francis. I like Donald O'Connor. It occurs to me that this would be funnier if Francis is only able to talk to Peter. It would also make more sense. It's fine to get Peter out of the bank. There are some fun scenes, but the main comedy continues to be various people finding Francis talking.

This film begins with a short sequence in which "Pete's" boss faints upon hearing "Francis" talk and Pete says, "Here we go again," after which the opening credits roll. During the fifties, for children, grandmas & great aunts, the Francis ¨franc(h)ise¨ used to be rather fun. Anyone who watched those movies was aware that before long Pete (Donald O'Connor) got himself in trouble and before long it was Francis the Talking Mule who bailed him out. It was essential to understand the science behind the movie's premise: mules can talk to horses. You also learned that Francis' great aunt was a Derby winner. More recently, film buffs have learned that Francis' real name was Molly, and she was trained for all the Francis films by Les Hilton, who went on to train the horse who played "Mr. Ed" in the 1960's television series of same name.

In the second film of the series. Our Lt. Goes home and find Francis the mule, previously assumed dead in a plane crash. When Francis starts communicating with race horses and giving the Lt hot betting tips, troubles follow, and it's all good fun. Watch the original (Francis) first, but don't miss the rest of the series!