Francis in the Navy | |
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Theatrical release half-sheet display poster
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Directed by | Arthur Lubin |
Produced by | Stanley Rubin |
Written by | Devery Freeman David Stern |
Starring |
Donald O'Connor Martha Hyer |
Production
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Universal Pictures
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Distributed by | Universal-International |
Release date
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Running time
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80 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Francis in the Navy is a 1955 American black-and-white comedy film from Universal-International, produced by Stanley Rubin and directed by Arthur Lubin. The film stars Donald O'Connor and Martha Hyer, and marked the first credited film role of Clint Eastwood. The distinctive voice of Francis is a voice-over by actor Chill Wills.
This is the sixth film in Universal-International Francis the Talking Mule series.
U. S. Army officer Lt. Peter Sterling gets mistaken for his lookalike in the U. S. Navy, Bosun's Mate 'Slicker' Donevan, and as a result gets promptly shipped to Donevan's base. With his old pal Francis, Sterling continues his military career misadventures, this time in the Navy.
Donald O'Connor was reluctant to make the film but agreed to do one more at the request of his daughter(in addition to a financial inducement from Universal studio head Edward Muhl).
The film was partially shot at the U. S. Navy base in Coronado California, not far from downtown San Diego.
Stanley Rubin was producer on the film.
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. 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.