Directed by:
Arthur LubinScreenplay:
Devery FreemanCinematography:
Carl E. GuthrieCast:
Donald O'Connor, Martha Hyer, Jim Backus, Clint Eastwood, David Janssen, Leigh Snowden, Martin Milner, Paul Burke, Myrna Hansen, William Forrest, Timothy Carey (more)Plots(1)
After some previous military experience (FRANCIS GOES TO WEST POINT, 1952, and FRANCIS JOINS THE WACS, 1954), Francis, the jabbering ass, telephones his Army pal Lt. Peter Stirling (Donald O'Connor) to inform him that he, Francis, has been drafted into the Navy. Lt. Stirling comes to the aid of the muttering mule (who is about to be auctioned off as surplus), but is mistaken for Slicker Donovan, a bosun's mate (also played by O'Connor) who looks just like him. Slicker's pals think he's gone nuts and is impersonating an Army lieutenant. Of course, Pvt. Francis eventually straightens everything out. A stellar cast of supporting players who, like Francis' small-screen relative Mister Ed, earned a place in television history--Jim Backus ("I Married Joan," "Gilligan's Island," and "Mr. Magoo"), David Janssen ("The Fugitive"), Martin Milner ("Route 66" and "Adam-12"), and, in only his second motion picture appearance, Clint Eastwood, who would first gain notoriety on "Rawhide." (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Donald O'Connor
USA
Best movies:
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Beau Geste (1939)
Ragtime (1981)
Martha Hyer
USA
Best movies:
Sabrina (1954)
The Chase (1966)
Born to Kill (1947)
Jim Backus
USA
Best movies:
Crazy Mama (1975)
Deep in My Heart (1954)
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
Clint Eastwood
USA
Best movies:
Gran Torino (2008)
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
David Janssen
USA
Best movies:
All That Heaven Allows (1955)
Birds of Prey (1973) (TV movie)
The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968)
Leigh Snowden
USA
Best movies:
All That Heaven Allows (1955)
Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Francis in the Navy (1955)
Martin Milner
USA
Best movies:
Dial M for Murder (1954)
Compulsion (1959)
Life with Father (1947)
Paul Burke
USA
Best movies:
Columbo (1971) (series)
The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)
Francis in the Navy (1955)
Myrna Hansen
USA
Best movies:
Party Girl (1958)
There's Always Tomorrow (1956)
Francis in the Navy (1955)
William Forrest
USA
Best movies:
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Action in the North Atlantic (1943)
Band of Angels (1957)
Timothy Carey
USA
Best movies:
Paths of Glory (1957)
The Name of the Game (1968) (series)
Ace in the Hole (1951)
Chill Wills
USA
Best movies:
The Yearling (1946)
Giant (1956)
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)
Ray Walker
USA
Best movies:
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)
It Started with Eve (1941)
Kenner G. Kemp
USA
Best movies:
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Limelight (1952)
Richard Erdman
USA
Best movies:
The Name of the Game (1968) (series)
Stalag 17 (1953)
Heidi's Song (1982)
Donald Kerr
USA
Best movies:
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
The Big Country (1958)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Dick Wessel
USA
Best movies:
Fury (1936)
The Roaring Twenties (1939)
Scarlet Street (1945)
Bob Hoy
USA
Best movies:
Spartacus (1960)
W.B., Blue and the Bean (1989)
North and South (1985) (series)
Charles Sherlock
USA
Best movies:
East of Eden (1955)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
Storm Warning (1951)
John Pickard
USA
Best movies:
White Heat (1949)
How the West Was Won (1976) (series)
Cimarron (1960)