Mother Riley Meets the Vampire
| Mother Riley Meets the Vampire | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | John Gilling |
| Screenplay by | Val Valentine |
| Story by | Val Valentine Richard Gordon |
| Produced by | John Gilling Stanley Couzins |
| Starring | Arthur Lucan Bela Lugosi |
| Cinematography | Stanley Pavey |
| Edited by | Leonard Trumm |
| Music by | Lindo Southworth |
Production company | Fernwood Productions |
| Distributed by | Renown Pictures (UK) Blue Chip Films (US) Columbia Pictures (US re-release 1963) |
Release dates | July 1952 (UK) 1963 (US release) |
Running time | 74 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Mother Riley Meets the Vampire, also known as Vampire Over London or My Son, the Vampire, is a 1952 British horror comedy film directed by John Gilling, starring Arthur Lucan and Bela Lugosi that was filmed at Nettlefold Studios.[1]
This was the final film of the Old Mother Riley film series, and did not feature Lucan's wife and business partner Kitty McShane, from whom he had separated in 1951.
In 1963, a recut American version called My Son, the Vampire was released, featuring an introductory segment with a song by American comedian Allan Sherman.
Plot
Von Housen seeks to dominate the world from his headquarters in London with an army of 50,000 radar-controlled robots that are powered by uranium. He believes himself to be a vampire and has several young women abducted, most recently Julia Loretti, who has a map to a uranium mine that he needs for his robot army.
At the moment, Von Housen only has one functional robot which is supposed to be shipped to him but, through a mistake, is shipped to Old Mother Riley's store instead, with Mother Riley's package sent to Von Housen. Seeing Mother Riley's address in the label, Von Housen sends his robot to abduct Mother Riley and take her to his headquarters.
Cast
- Arthur Lucan as Old Mother Riley
- Bela Lugosi as Von Housen
- María Mercedes as Julia Loretti
- Dora Bryan as Tilly
- Philip Leaver as Anton Daschomb
- Richard Wattis as PC Freddie
- Graham Moffatt as the yokel
- Roderick Lovell as Douglas
- David Hurst as Mugsy
- Judith Furse as Freda
- Ian Wilson as Hitchcock, the butler
- Hattie Jacques as Mrs. Jenks
- Dandy Nichols as Mrs. Mott
- Cyril Smith as Mr. Paine, the rent collector
- Lawrence Naismith as police sergeant
- Bill Shine as Mugsy's assistant
- John Le Mesurier as Scotland Yard officer (uncredited)
Production
On the suggestion of producer Richard Gordon, Bela Lugosi had travelled to the UK to appear in a stage play of Dracula, which failed. He needed money to return to the US. Gordon persuaded fellow producer George Minter to use Lugosi in a movie in London. Arthur Lucan had starred in a sequence of Old Mother Riley movies and it was felt that Lugosi's presence in the cast might give it a chance of success outside Britain.[2]
Lugosi was paid $5,000 for his role. The plot was taken from Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.[3]
Gordon says that although John Gilling was credited as producer, George Minter was the real producer. Filming took four weeks.[3]
Richard Gordon recalled that there were plans to shoot additional scenes with Lugosi and without Arthur Lucan for the American market, but the idea was never put into motion.
Gordon also stated that the film emphasised that Lugosi's character was not a real vampire so that it would get a U certificate allowing children, who were Old Mother Riley's biggest audience, to see it.[3]
Lucan's understudy Roy Rolland stood in for him in the more physical stunts in the film.
Release
The film was not a success in the box-office and was not released in the US until 1963.[2]
It was to have been titled Carry On, Vampire for its American release but Anglo-Amalgamated successfully sued, with the title changed to My Son, the Vampire as a tie-in to Allan Sherman's My Son, the Folksinger hit comedy record.[4]
Reception
From a contemporary reviews, a reviewer in the Monthly Film Bulletin dismissed the film, simply declaring it "Stupid, humourless and repulsive."[5]
Notes
- ^ "Mother Riley Meets the Vampire". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 14 January 2009. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
- ^ a b John Hamilton, The British Independent Horror Film 1951-70 Hemlock Books 2013 p 16-21
- ^ a b c Tom Weaver, "My Son the Vampire", The Astounding B Monster accessed 18 March 2014
- ^ pp.150-151 Weaver, Tom Richard Gordon Interview in Science Fiction Confidential: Interviews with 23 Monster Stars and Filmmakers McFarland, 01/01/2002
- ^ "Mother Riley Meets the Vampire, Great Britain, 1952". Monthly Film Bulletin. Vol. 19, no. 223. British Film Institute. August 1952. p. 112.
References
- Frank J. DelloStritto and Andi Brooks, Vampire Over London: Bela Lugosi in Britain (Cult Movies Pr; 1st Edition, September 2000)
External links
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- 1952 films
- 1952 horror films
- 1950s comedy horror films
- Films directed by John Gilling
- British horror comedy films
- British comedy films
- 1952 comedy films
- British black-and-white films
- 1950s English-language films
- 1950s British films
