Movie review – Francis #4 - Francis Covers the Big Town (1953) ***

The best Francis movie to date. While it takes a while to get going, and still uses the repetitive three act structure (i.e. Francis reveals he can talk to people three different times), it keeps O’Connor firmly at the center of the action and has a decent-ish plot. O’Connor wants to be a reporter and uses Francis’ inside info to break some big stories. Naturally he bites off more you can chew.

There are some very funny scenes, such as Francis reading up on Einstein and outwitting a psychiatrist, Francis giving a girl a make over, and Francis beating a confession out of a criminal. The female lead isn’t much – she’s meant to be 17 going on 18 but she looks too old.