Francis' motion picture debut was also his most significant role, that of Ensign Willie Keith in The Caine Mutiny (1954), alongside Humphrey Bogart, Fred MacMurray, Van Johnson and José Ferrer. The film involved a romantic subplot opposite May Wynn. Prior to the film's release, Francis and Wynn were sent on press junkets together by Cohn as a way to showcase the studio's two youngest stars. As a result, gossip magazines reported a romance between the two and even a possible engagement. After The Caine Mutiny, Francis was voted one of Screen World's "Promising Personalities of 1954".
