He attended the Batomi Schneider Drama Workshop, where the husband of his acting coach, who worked at Columbia Pictures, helped arrange a screen test for studio head Harry Cohn, who had been looking for a new male lead.

Francis' quiet and peaceful manner, in contrast to those of others such as James Dean and Marlon Brando, appealed to Cohn, who was known for demanding obedience from his stars and staff.

[2] 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.

Capitalising on his rising star, Francis was cast in They Rode West (once more alongside Wynn), followed by The Bamboo Prison and John Ford's The Long Gray Line.

A little more than a week before his departure for the Tribute to a Bad Man film set, on July 31, 1955, Francis was piloting a borrowed Beechcraft Bonanza belonging to fellow actor Joe Kirkwood Jr. Also on board were Kirkwood's business partner, George Meyer, 38, a commercial pilot who had flown B-29 bombers in World War II, and actress Ann Russell, 24.