Jim Backus is known for playing Thurston Howell III on “Gilligan’s Island,” but unlike many of his co-stars, he was well-known before he became stranded on the Isle. Aside from playing James Dean’s dad in “Rebel Without a Cause” and starring in a season of his own sitcom, “The Jim Backus Show,” Backus voiced Mr. Magoo for 40 years. Another slightly less high-profile pre-“Gilligan’s Island” role was that of Commander E.T. Hutch in the 1955 comedy “Francis in the Navy,” which also happened to feature a young Clint Eastwood in his first ever credited role.

After “Gilligan’s Island,” Skipper actor Alan Hale Jr. appeared in one of Eastwood’s most important Westerns, playing a member of a posse that attempts to lynch a retired lawman in “Hang ‘Em High.” This was Eastwood’s first American Western following the success of his “Dollars” trilogy and was a major test of the actor’s star power stateside. In retrospect, it seems funny to think there was ever any doubt that the actor’s steely aura would become the stuff of cinematic legend. But in the late 1960s, he was really only known to American audiences as ramrod Rowdy Yates on CBS’s “Rawhide.”

One thing audiences certainly didn’t know Eastwood for, however, was the series of bit parts he’d played throughout the 1950s and early ’60s. In 1955, Eastwood began his acting career by causing director Jack Arnold to have a meltdown when he showed up to the set of “Revenge of the Creature” for a scene that Arnold didn’t even want to shoot. The young actor wasn’t credited for his portrayal of a lab assistant in that movie, but that same year, he did secure his first credit with “Francis in the Navy.”

“Francis in the Navy” is the sixth of seven comedy films based on the “Francis the Talking Mule” stories by author and former U.S. Army Captain David Stern III. It stars Donald O’Connor as Peter Stirling, an Army Officer who’s mistaken for a lookalike in the Navy and sent to serve with the maritime branch of the military alongside his talking mule friend (voiced by Chill Wills), whom only he can hear. 

The movie was directed by Arthur Lubin, who was also the man that gave Clint Eastwood his first film contract. As such, he served as Eastwood’s manager/agent at the time, in addition to directing him in several features. For example, he oversaw “Lady Godiva of Coventry,” a 1955 historical drama movie in which Eastwood had an uncredited role as First Saxon. “Francis in the Navy,” however, was a more significant project for the actor.

At this stage, Eastwood had been signed by Universal for a year, and according to “Clint: The Life and Legend,” he spent four weeks making “Francis in the Navy” in February 1954. According to Lubin, the actor really only won the part due to his appearance. “[Clint] always had his good looks,” the director explained. ‘We never thought much of him as an actor, but he was charming.” That was enough to secure Eastwood a few lines in the film, which found him appearing alongside none other than Jim Backus. Indeed, just before he delivered an acting masterclass in “Rebel Without a Cause,” the future “Gilligan’s Island” star portrayed Naval Commander E.T. Hutch in “Francis in the Navy.” But in spite of this, he and Eastwood sadly didn’t share much screen time.

“Francis in the Navy” follows Donald O’Connor’s Peter Stirling as he travels to the Coronado Navy base in San Diego, California, where Francis is to be sold at auction. Stirling is unsuccessful in bidding for his old pal, though, and he winds up being arrested and thrown into a psychiatric ward while Francis is sold for medical experimentation. Sounds pretty dark, doesn’t it? It’s not supposed to be. The whole thing is a farcical romp that sees Stirling impersonate a missing boatswain by the name of Slicker Donevan in order to gain his freedom.

Clint Eastwood plays Jonesy, one of Slicker’s friends, and he isn’t given much to do. Meanwhile, as mentioned earlier, Jim Backus plays E.T. Hutch, a Naval Commander who’s duped by Stirling. He and Eastwood never really interact, mainly because the latter is relegated to standing around while other characters talk. But Eastwood’s screen presence is undeniable regardless. He looks like a movie star even in those early days, and it’s sort of strange to see this impressive figure on the sidelines.

Clearly, Universal didn’t pick up on any of that. A year after signing with the studio, Universal fired Eastwood alongside Burt Reynolds for the unlikely reason that his Adam’s apple was too big. (Reynolds was dismissed based on his acting ability.) As for Backus, he continued to work on high-profile projects after following “Francis in the Navy” with “Rebel Without a Cause,” right up until his casting on “Gilligan’s Island.” By that time, however, Eastwood’s star was on the rise thanks to his casting on “Rawhide” in 1959. Then, a year after “Gilligan’s Island” premiered, Eastwood agreed to star in “A Fistful of Dollars,” after which nothing would be the same.