Francis Goes to West Point

The third in the FRANCIS THE TALKING MULE series is yet another ordinary affair, with nothing much to recommend in it. The setting is military school, with Francis missing in action far too much of the time, as well as most of the laughs, apparently. The only thing interesting for me was spotting a very young Leonard Nimoy as a cadet late into the film.

It's a shame that more entertainment was not accomplished with this formula, as Donald O'Connor and his jabbering jackass had the potential for being an entertaining pair together.

** out of ****

Just as a grateful rich man once gave Laurel&Hardy a free trip to Oxford;a grateful military rewards Donald O'Connor for preventing an explosives plant sabotage by enrolling him in west Point as an "automatic genius". As an "Army Mule",Francis is much more at home there than O'Connor;who has to put up with the bullying upperclassmen and always ends up doing punishment drills;some of them for not giving away Francis' unusual ability.

Francis' whispered advice helps the Army football team to an undefeated season.

There is NO romance in the film whatsoever--the blonde is in love with the star quarterback;who feels "trapped" at West Point ---and the brunette is only permitted a few sympathetic clucks over O'Connor's bungling.

Funniest scene is when Francis' private drilling instructions to O'Connor somehow get broadcast onto t he main playing field;fouling up the dressage parade.

It seems odd to have Francis and O'Connor split up at the end,as they are supposed to be "pals to the end".

Otto Hewlett,as the football coach,gives the funniest backup performance.

While I didn't spot Leonard Nimoy,ADVENTURES OF SUPERmAN fans can look for perennial villain Pierre Watkin as one of the officers.

I'm also wondering if the film was shot on actual location.

'Francis Goes to West Point' is, for me, the least enjoyable entry of the first three films from this series.

I obviously didn't tally it all up exactly, but this 1952 release seems to include more Stirling and less Francis - which is an odd choice, if we aren't here for the mule then what we doing?! Not that more Francis would've improved this, but you get my point. A second army-related storyline across just three productions - coupled with the (now usual) repetitiveness - also makes things feel boring.

This is the same as its predecessors when it comes to the cast: Donald O'Connor good, rest meh. I haven't seen the show myself, but 'Star Trek' fans may spot a certain Leonard Nimoy appear in this.

'Francis Covers the Big Town' is up next!

It lacks the warmth found in the original film, but it is certainly funnier and has a better storyline than the second installment. Some audiences may be put off by the military setting considering that this film is supposed to be a light family film, but it does add some tensions to the story.

Francis the Mule is not quite the center of attention (It is as though the film should be called "Peter Goes to West Point"), but his role is much more involved here than it was in the second film. In fact, the film shift the attention away from Peter Stirling to Francis towards the end of the film.

On the whole, this film is worth your time whether or not you are a fan of the series.

Although I have always had a strong affection for the Francis pictures, probably because I grew up with them, I always found that the preponderance of military settings in the series was a little claustrophobic and cramped the potential for humour. (Consequently my favourites have always been Francis Goes to the Races and Francis Covers the Big Town). In Francis Goes to West Point I find this tendency to be at its most pronounced. Not only are we saddled with a military setting (and a confined one at that, so that there is not even the chance to open the story out a little), but as well as the usual mandatory romance between Peter Stirling and some Universal starlet, there is a another romantic subplot involving other cast members, and a hackneyed football sub-plot as well. For this reason I have always found this instalment the weakest in the series, an honour generally accorded to Francis in the Haunted House, but I'd take that over this any day. Pity that the opening scenes where Stirling saves a government plant from saboteurs didn't lead to some other kind of storyline.