Francis in the Haunted House

Francis the Talking Mule witnesses a murder and calls bumbling reporter David Prescott (Mickey Rooney). Francis knew David's uncle and only intends to warn him. David can't help but get involved. The police suspects David as he uncovers the secrets of the crime.

I've never heard of this ridiculous franchise. The first six movies has director Arthur Lubin, Donald O'Connor, and the voice of Chill Wills. This became the last one in the series. I'm guessing that the old team disbanded for various reason and the studio tried to reboot it with a star like Rooney. The plot doesn't make much sense. It's not a good origin story and is only a bad Scooby Doo adventure. Having Rooney talk to a mule seems to be a fun concept and there is some merit in that. Heck, Mr. Ed had a successful run on TV a few years after this. Sadly, not much of this movie works.

Mickey Rooney was the first actor considered to play the human sidekick of Francis the talking mule, but the role went instead to his friend Donald O'Connor. Six years and six mule movies later, O'Connor decided to move on to greener pastures, and workhorse Rooney was brought in to close out the series.

This movie -- without O'Connor and without Chill Wills doing the mule's voice -- gets no respect from critics and die-hard "Francis" fans. Admittedly it's not as funny as the early "Francis" films, but Rooney and Paul Frees (as the voice) give it their all, and the movie is perfect for children.

The fact is that the "Francis" series was running out of steam already. Winding it up with another military comedy would have been the coward's way out. This movie is more like a harbinger of the "Scooby-do" cartoons: Cops and robbers and alleged ghosts in a completely non-threatening environment. No adult content to trouble parents.

Could it be better? Yes. But it fills a certain niche very well.

Today, it's hard to imagine ONE Francis the Talking Mule movie...let alone seven. But somehow the public enjoyed them and Universal made seven. But by the final movie, "Francis in the Haunted House", the cast had changed, with Francis' human sidekick now played by Mickey Rooney instead of Donald O'Connor as well as a change in the voice actor playing Francis (yes, sorry to disillusion you but Francis could not actually talk in real life).

Francis witnesses a murder--helped by reporter trail leads to castle!

All of the plots to the various Francis movies are insane. After all, he is supposed to talk! But this one might just be crazier than usual! It begins with Francis witnessing two baddies in VERY stereotypical bad guy outfits murdering someone. Francis follows them to a castle (in the United States?!??!?!?) and so he then tries to enlist the aid of a reporter, David Prescott (Rooney) to help him catch the crooks. But, not surprisingly, Prescott thinks it's all a joke! Can Francis manage to convince David AND capture the killers? And, once he convinces David, can David convince anyone else?!

If ever a movie screamed out 'turn off your brain and don't question the plot', this one is certainly it! And, if you can, you'll likely enjoy this odd film. It's really not bad and is made well despite the ludicrous plot. I liked it enough I almost gave it a 7....almost.

This is the last of the seven Talking Mule pictures in the series put out by Universal during the fifties. This one is the wild card, seeing as it not only does without Donald O'Connor, but also Chill Wills' voicing of Francis. This time we've got Mickey Rooney in the lead and Paul Frees as the voice of Francis. I have lots of admiration for Rooney who can be dynamite when properly directed, but here he is directed by notable hack Charles Lamont and is allowed to sputter away cartoonishly throughout. And Rooney, only in his mid-thirties, looks quite aged, far removed from the youthful looks of his heyday only a decade previous to this. Then there is the heroic attempt by Paul Frees to imitate Chill Wills, which is impossible because Frees' voice is almost as well known and distinctive.

The film itself is one of those estate inheritance murder mysteries with Francis saving the day by alternately helping Rooney solve the case and rescuing him from being killed during the investigation. David Janssen has a small part as a cop, and Timothy Carey plays a hulking worker at the estate (without getting one line of dialogue). The film's title and advertising campaign tries to make you think this is a spooky story, but there's nothing supernatural about it and the scenes at the estate aren't played for chills. Sadly, there aren't any laughs either, unless you find mirth in the umpteenth time Francis reveals his talking ability to some hapless bug-eyed character.

I have to be truthful, I was really done with this series after the first four Francis movies. I skipped the fifth an sixth to watch this one. I always admired Rooney, but he really wasn't that good or funny in this movie. I really didn't notice that Willis was not the vioice for Francis until I did some reading. The story line, a killing, a castle, a spirt on a horse, and a group of people trying to steel the inherited money from the person who it belonged to. The plot really wasn't interesting, but it keep me laughing througout. The interrrogation scenes were a real boar, lights and all. David Jension was a supporting actor, otherwise there was no other notable actors. And the lamest partt of this show was others learning that Francis talked. For the most part the first four movies kept me interested, but after a while the surprise on the actors' faces when they learned Frances talked got really old. Mind you this is really a series for the younger kids, say up to age 14. It will kep the kids laughing even in 2022. This wasn't as good as the others in the series, but it was still entertaining. Perhaps changing up the main actor O'connor to Mickey Ronney was a mistake. The series should have ented when Chill Whills and Donald O'Connor decided to walk after the sixth film. Its not the worse film I ever watched.