in January 1950 to Army troops stationed in West Germany. Francis the mule was signed to a seven-year contract with Universal-International, according to an article in Newsweek magazine. Newsweek also reported that Francis' entourage included "a make-up man, trainer, hairdresser, and sanitary engineer, complete with broom and Airwick." Robert Arthur the producer later said the film was budgeted at $580,000 but went $42,000 over budget. Lubin later said the film cost $150,000. "Donald got $30,000 at the time, the mule cost nothing. We had three mules then. And we made that picture in fifteen days." Reception The film was the eleventh biggest hit of the year in the U.S. In May 1950 it was announced Universal-International had purchased all rights to the character Francis from author David Stern, including the right to make an unlimited number of sequels. Diabolique said "Lubin’s handling is always sure and confident, and they contain some genuinely hilarious moments and sensational performances from O’Connor and Chill Wills (who voiced Francis). Admittedly the structure gets repetitive – generally in first half hour everyone thinks Donald O’Connor is mad, then Francis talks to someone, there’s another half hour of people thinking they’re mad, then Francis talks to a few more people, then another half hour and more allegations of madness, then Francis talks to everyone." Home media 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. References External links 1950 films 1950s fantasy comedy films American black-and-white films 1950s English-language films American fantasy comedy films Films directed by Arthur Lubin Military humor in film Films about donkeys Films set in Myanmar Burma Campaign films Universal Pictures films Films based on American novels Films scored by Frank Skinner Films scored by Walter Scharf 1950 comedy films 1950s American