Francis Goes to the Races (1951)

Sick Product of a Sick System

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This movie progresses more organically than any of the other Francis movies, i.e. the plot doesn't seem forced.Francis Goes to the Races starts with the mule talking to a crowd of stunned and indignant people, essentially, ending Peter Sterling's job and putting the two on the road again. It is a dynamic used often in this series: Peter gets himself deeper and deeper into trouble until the only thing that can get him out of it is a long diatribe from his mule. Beginning with it is kind of clever.It is essential that the viewer understand the science behind the movie: Mules can talk to horses. You wouldn't think so, but apparently, since they look so much alike, they also speak the same language. You also need to remember that Francis' great aunt was a Derby winner. The two stop at a horse farm on the road and Francis meets a relative. He decides to stay at the farm and let Peter take a stab at life without a talking mule to mess things up.Anyone who watches these movies is aware that Peter Sterling is the piston that isn't firing in that particular dyad; and, it isn't long until he gets himself in trouble. And, it isn't long until Francis bails him out. There's a pretty girl, also. And, gangsters… This movie doesn't surpass Francis Joins the WACS in quality, however, it is a fun movie.

This film: the second in a series of 7 "Frances " films, follows the general formula established in the first film. Thus, Francis helps get Don out of a jam a number of times by giving advice or information not available to others. For about half the film, Francis won't talk to anyone except Don. Then, he will talk a little to a confident, later to an authority figure, and finally to a whole room of authority figures, in order to save Don from being labeled a crackpot. At least, in this film, Don isn't sent to a psycho ward, as happened once or multiple times in the other 3 films in this series I have seen. At one point, Francis even gets drunk enough to pass out, breaking the necks of beer bottles by kicking them while Don is holding them! While walking down a country road after Don was fired from his bank teller job, Frances spots a horse which is a distant relative, and they become friends. The owner invites Don to stay a while, after he(actually Francis) diagnosed the ailment of a horse. The granddaughter(Piper Laurie) is named Frances, and sometimes there is confusion about which Frances(is)? is being talked about.Don is sent with $25,000. to buy a horse, but he buys the wrong horse. Thus, he needs to get $25,000.to pay Frances back. Francis tells him which horse to bet on for 7 races the next day, and he wins his $25,000. However, a bookie and his goons hold Don because he won't tell the source of his information. They expect him to call the winner in 7 races the next day but, without Francis to consult, he guesses wrong for all. The bookie loses $200,000. and is livid. Various people sneak into Francis's stall at night to try to get him to talk. At first, he won't talk, except a little to the Travers owners. Don and Francis have further trouble with the bookie bunch and they even shoot Francis, but not fatally. Francis says they will have to work with the horse they have. Her only problem is she needs a shot of confidence to win the $100,000. handicap race.I rate this film as somewhat more interesting than the first film, but definitely not as good as "Frances joins the WACs" or "Frances Covers the Big Town".Piper and Don had costarred the previous year in "Milkman"

I have to agree with JoeKarlosi on this: This second installment of the Francis series is inferior to the already ordinary first installment. While the film does have its moments, they are far too few and far between.The first film was more interesting as the entire film presents the curiously absurb encounter of Peter Stirling's with Francis the Talking Mule. The plot also pays more attention to the progress of their friendship which makes the film more heartfelt.Here in its sequel, there are less laughs and the story just drags on and on until it ends conveniently with a similar conclusion in the first film. Donald O'Connor, who plays the central character Peter Stirling, was given almost nothing to work on here. Even more dreadful is the fact that Francis, the title character, was delegated to a supporting role here. Not that Francis enjoyed a lot of screen time in the first film, but he appeared in all the key scenes and his role was crucial to the plot. Here, his screen time was cut down to a quarter of the film's running time and his role was not even substantial to the plot: He was merely tagging along.My disappointment not withstanding, I did not regret watching the sequel as I enjoyed the first film very much and would like to see how the friendship of the 2 main characters would progress in the next film. I would still watch the rest of the series as this film wasn't so bad as to spoil the first film for me.P.S. My rating for the first Francis movie is 7 out of 10.

Hee-Yawwwwn, Hee-Yawwwwn...This one was even more ordinary than the first. Having grown up with TV's "MR. ED" I really thought I would have appreciated this movie series a lot more than I am. The dialogue for the talking mule is not nearly as funny as it should have been, and Francis is kept to the sidelines way too much in this entry. I mean, when you're watching a series like this one, you're looking for the babbling jackass to entertain you throughout it. What other reason could there be for watching? And while it's mildly amusing to hear a mule berate his master (the well-cast Donald O'Connor) I still think it couldn't have hurt for the writing department to fashion a likable personality for this animal, too. ** out of ****