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.

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!

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.

I have to agree with JoeKarlosi on this: This second installment of the Francis series is inferior to the already ordinary first installment. While the film does have its moments, they are far too few and far between.

The first film was more interesting as the entire film presents the curiously absurb encounter of Peter Stirling's with Francis the Talking Mule. The plot also pays more attention to the progress of their friendship which makes the film more heartfelt.

Here in its sequel, there are less laughs and the story just drags on and on until it ends conveniently with a similar conclusion in the first film. Donald O'Connor, who plays the central character Peter Stirling, was given almost nothing to work on here. Even more dreadful is the fact that Francis, the title character, was delegated to a supporting role here. Not that Francis enjoyed a lot of screen time in the first film, but he appeared in all the key scenes and his role was crucial to the plot. Here, his screen time was cut down to a quarter of the film's running time and his role was not even substantial to the plot: He was merely tagging along.

My disappointment not withstanding, I did not regret watching the sequel as I enjoyed the first film very much and would like to see how the friendship of the 2 main characters would progress in the next film. I would still watch the rest of the series as this film wasn't so bad as to spoil the first film for me.

P.S. My rating for the first Francis movie is 7 out of 10.