discussions with other equines), would triumph over his own incompetence. However, inevitably he would be forced to reveal that his adviser was a mule, and be subject to mental analysis (sometimes more than once per film) until the grand reveal, when Francis displayed his talent (usually either to individuals, or to a large group). The astonishing existence of a talking mule, however, was conveniently forgotten by the next film. Films Francis (1950) a.k.a. Francis the Talking Mule Francis Goes to the Races (1951) Francis Goes to West Point (1952) Francis Covers the Big Town (1953) Francis Joins the WACS (1954) Francis in the Navy (1955) Francis in the Haunted House (1956) Francis Goes to Washington, based on the 1948 novel by Stern, was meant to be the first Francis sequel, but filming was postponed as there were "too many complications" for it "to be made as things stand at the present". Film series actors The distinctive voice of Francis was provided by veteran character actor Chill Wills, who lent his deep, rough vocal texture and Western twang to the cynical and sardonic mule. As was customary at the time, Wills never received billing for his vocal work, though he was featured prominently on-screen as blustery General Ben Kaye in the fifth film, Francis Joins the WACS. The mule who appeared on-screen was a female named Molly, selected because she was easy to handle. She was purchased from Ed Frazier in Drexel, Missouri. According to author Pauline Bartel, Universal paid $350 for the animal but made millions from the film series. Molly was trained by Les Hilton, an apprentice of Will Rogers; Hilton went on to train Bamboo Harvester, the horse that played Mister Ed. To create the impression that the mule was actually talking, Hilton used a thread fed into the animal's mouth which would cause Molly to try to remove it by moving her lips, the same technique used for Mister Ed. The final film in the series, Francis in the Haunted House, was made without any of the key creative personnel. Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide states that O'Connor quit, and Mickey Rooney replaced him as a new character. Director Lubin and Chill Wills were also absent, replaced by Charles Lamont and voice actor Paul Frees, who did a close approximation of Wills's voice. Animated trailer Some of the Francis films had animated trailers. Later appearances Francis also made