Francis Covers the Big Town
Francis Covers the Big Town is a 1953 American black-and-white comedy film from Universal-International, produced by Leonard Goldstein, directed by Arthur Lubin, that stars Donald O'Connor, Yvette Duguay, and Gene Lockhart. The distinctive voice of Francis is a voice-over by actor Chill Wills.
| Francis Covers the Big Town | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Arthur Lubin |
| Produced by | Leonard Goldstein |
| Written by | Oscar Brodney (story and screenplay) David Stern (characters) |
| Starring | Donald O'Connor Yvette Duguay Gene Lockhart Nancy Guild |
| Music by | Frank Skinner Herman Stein |
| Cinematography | Carl E. Guthrie |
| Edited by | Milton Carruth |
Production company | Universal Pictures |
| Distributed by | Universal-International |
Release date |
|
Running time | 86 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1.8 million (US)[1] |
This is the fourth film in Universal-International's Francis the Talking Mule series continuing the misadventures Peter Stirling and his friend Francis. Diabolique argued it was the best in the series.[2]
Plot
Peter lands a job at a big New York City newspaper and while on assignment gets framed for a murder.
Cast
- Donald O'Connor as Peter Stirling
- Yvette Duguay as Maria Scola
- Gene Lockhart as Tom Henderson
- Nancy Guild as Alberta Ames
- William Harrigan as Deputy Chief Inspector Hansen
- Silvio Minciotti as Salvatore Scola
- Lowell Gilmore as Jefferson Garnet
- Larry Gates as Dan Austin
- Hanley Stafford as Dr. Goodrich
- Gale Gordon as District Attorney Evans
- Forrest Lewis as Judge Stanley
- John Qualen as Defense Attorney Cavendish
Production
Production of the film was announced in July 1951 and was to be the third in the Francis series.[3]
Oscar Brodney was assigned to write the script.[4] David Stern reportedly also worked on the script.[5]
Filming started in August 1951 and involved ten days location shooting in New York.[6]
Francis was flown to New York and back on a cargo plane, which cost $700 plus airfares for his trainer and two handlers.[7]
At one stage of production, the film was going to be known as Francis, Racket Buster.[8][9]
Director Arthur Lubin complained during filming that he was becoming typecast as an animal director. He hoped to make The Interruption from a suspense story by W. W. Mason "just to remind producers that I can direct people too."[10]
Video releases
The original film, Francis (1950), was released in 1978 as one of the first-ever titles in the new LaserDisc format, DiscoVision Catalog #22-003.[11] 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 (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
- 'The Top Box Office Hits of 1953', Variety, January 13, 1954
- Vagg, Stephen (14 September 2019). "The Cinema of Arthur Lubin". Diabolique Magazine.
- THOMAS M. PRYOR (July 14, 1951). "U.-I. WILL PRODUCE THIRD FRANCIS FILM: Studio to Make Picture About Talking Mule and Reporter --Brodney Writing Script". New York Times. p. 7.
- THOMAS M. PRYOR (July 14, 1951). "U.-I. WILL PRODUCE THIRD FRANCIS FILM: Studio to Make Picture About Talking Mule and Reporter --Brodney Writing Script". New York Times. p. 7.
- Schallert, Edwin (July 21, 1951). "Drama: Stars of Drama Quartet Get New Roles; Wanda Hendrix to Star at Ivar". Los Angeles Times. p. 9.
- THOMAS M. PRYOR (Aug 28, 1951). "LADY LUCK SMILES ON MOVIE PLAYER: Arthur-Franz Gets Top Role in Kramer's 'Sniper' After He Attends Mass Interview Gomez to Sing in Film". New York Times. p. 18.
- THOMAS M. PRYOR (Sep 21, 1951). "VIDEO HURTS FILMS, GOLDWIN ASSERTS: But, Producer Writes in Story for a Magazine, Hollywood Needs No 'Crying Towel' Houdini Story Planned". New York Times. p. 21.
- Schallert, Edwin (Jan 1, 1952). "'Devils' on Hot Schedule; Coleen Gray in 'Models;' Laughton May Do Pirate". Los Angeles Times. p. A7.
- Hopper, Hedda (Feb 24, 1952). "How Donald Danced to Stardom: O'CONNOR". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. c4.
- THOMAS M. PRYOR (Sep 2, 1951). "HOLLYWOOD DIGEST: Change in Taft–Hartley Act Sought by Actors Guild--R.K.O. Survey--Addenda European Canvass Songstress Returns Out of a Rut". New York Times. p. 57.
- (The DiscoVision Library)