Old Mother Riley: In Paris & MP

Star Review

There was nothing subtle about the comedy of Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane. The pair met as kids in a Dublin pantomime and spent years in provincial music-hall before the characters of Old Mother Riley and her daughter (originally named Bridget, but later Kitty) found nationwide fame following the 1934 Royal Command Performance. They made the first of 15 films, Old Mother Riley, in 1937 and, while the humour relied wholly on slapstick, puns, malapropisms and the sight of a wiry fiftysomething man in Victorian widow's weeds, they proved hugely popular with younger audiences. Of the six films now released in three double-bills, a discreet veil should be drawn over the last third of Jungle Treasure (1951), as its racial stereotyping outdoes anything seen in a Tarzan adventure, but it does feature Peter Butterworth in a supporting role and it's pleasing to see the likes of Hattie Jacques, Dora Bryan and Richard Wattis alongside Bela Lugosi in Lucan's final screen outing, Meets the Vampire (1952). With Old Mother Riley in Paris, MP(1938), New Venture (1949) and Headmistress (1950) also available at long last, this is good, clean fun from another era.

David Parkinson on 20th December 2005

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Film Description

Two more films featuring the boisterous Irish washerwoman. In Old Mother Riley In Paris (Aka Old Mother Riley Catches a Quisling), she finds herself entangled in an adventure with spies after she goes to Paris to find her daughter. The trouble begins when she is mistaken for a spy and ends up catching a real one. Regarded as the best of the OMR series. Also includes Old mother Riley, MP in which she campaigns to get herself elected to Parliament.

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Film Details

Cast

Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane

Technical Details