Francis In The Haunted House (1956)

When Francis the talking mule witnesses a murder, he seeks the help of a reporter (Mickey Rooney) to prevent further murders from occurring. The killings revolve around an ancient Scottish castle with a ghost. Directed by Charles Lamont, this was the seventh and final entry in Universal's FRANCIS the talking mule franchise. It killed off the series. The star (Donald O'Connor) of the previous six films had bailed and was replaced by Rooney and even the original voice of Francis (Chill Wills) is replaced by Paul Frees. But even if O'Connor and Wills had returned, the series had already run out of steam. A talking mule is a one joke premise that had been milked for all its possible humor and it was time to wrap it up. For fans of the franchise only. With Virginia Welles, David Janssen, Richard Deacon and Timothy Carey.