Tonight's Movie: Francis Goes to West Point (1952) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

My summer of Francis the Talking Mule movies continues thanks to the seven-film Francis collection released this spring on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber.

This time around I watched FRANCIS GOES TO WEST POINT (1952), the follow-up to FRANCIS (1950) and FRANCIS GOES TO THE RACES (1951).

I found FRANCIS GOES TO WEST POINT a stronger film than FRANCIS GOES TO THE RACES, much closer to the original movie in terms of overall entertainment value. It was a fun watch.

As the movie opens, Peter Stirling (Donald O'Connor) and his pal Francis (real name Molly, voiced by Chill Wills) save a high-security facility from saboteurs.

Peter is rewarded with a choice of future career opportunities and accepts a commission to West Point, where he rooms with Wilbur (William Reynolds) and William (Gregg Palmer, billed as Palmer Lee).

Wilbur has a pretty fiance (Lori Nelson), but a whole lot of confusion ensues when the fact his sister has gotten married is misinterpreted and it's believed Wilbur and then Peter himself have gotten married while at West Point, which is cause for expulsion.

Meanwhile there's also plenty of football shenanigans involving mascot Francis.

This is a pretty well-paced 81 minutes with a fun cast. Look for young David Janssen (billed as Dave Janssen) as Corporal Thomas, who bosses Peter around, and another corporal is played by James Best. Leonard Nimoy is supposed to be a football player, but I didn't spot him.

O'Connor continues to do a nice job as good-hearted (if somewhat hapless) Peter, who is loyal to Francis even when he's not always the friendliest of mules.

I always enjoy Lori Nelson, and the movie also features a fun performance by Alice Kelley (AGAINST ALL FLAGS), the daughter of Colonel Daniels (Les Tremayne) who takes a shine to Peter.

FRANCES GOES TO WEST POINT was directed by Arthur Lubin and filmed in black and white by Carl E. Guthrie. It was written by Oscar Brodney with additional dialogue by Dorothy Reid.

The Kino Lorber Blu-ray print is from a brand-new 2K master. The "look" of all the Francis movies to date is quite ordinary, but the print itself is sharp and in excellent condition, with a fine soundtrack.

The disc includes a commentary track by Toby Roan and a newly mastered trailer.

Next up for review in this series: FRANCIS COVERS THE BIG TOWN (1953).

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray collection.

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