Old Mother Riley's Circus

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Old Mother Riley's Circus
"Old Mother Riey's Circus" (1941).jpg
British trade ad poster
Directed by Thomas Bentley
Written by
Produced byWallace Orton
Starring
Cinematography James Wilson
Edited by
Music by Kennedy Russell
Production
company
Distributed byAnglo-American Film Corporation
Release date
  • 9 February 1941 (1941-02-09)
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Old Mother Riley's Circus is a 1941 British comedy film directed by Thomas Bentley and starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane and John Longden. [1] Old Mother Riley takes over a struggling circus and makes a huge success of it. [2] The trade ad poster proclaims, "A LAUGH - A YELL - A ROAR - A LUCANQUAKE!" The film was made at the Rock Studios in Elstree by British National Films. It was the final film by Bentley, who had been a leading British director during the silent era and early sound era.

Contents

Plot summary

Old Mother Riley is the ringmaster after taking over a big top with flagging fortunes. Although the circus is plagued by the disappearance of its owner, and the bailiffs are at the door, the show somehow manages to go on. Money starts to pour in, financial disaster is avoided, and Mother Riley discovers her long-lost daughter is in fact the star of the show. [3]

Cast

Production

Filming took place in 1941. [4]

Critical reception

TV Guide said, "the usual padding that plagues the "Old Mother Riley" series is avoided thanks to a jolly atmosphere and some decent acts." [3]

According to Kinematograph Weekly the film's box office performance at the British box office in February 1942 was "by no means disgraceful". [5]

References

  1. ↑ "BFI | Film & TV Database | OLD MOTHER RILEY'S CIRCUS (1941)". Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk. 16 April 2009. Archived from the original on 14 January 2009. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  2. ↑ "Old Mother Riley's Circus | BFI | BFI". Explore.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Old Mother Riley's Circus Review". Movies.tvguide.com. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  4. ↑ "British National's big plans". Kinematograph Weekly. 3 July 1941. p. 5.
  5. ↑ Billings, Josh (14 January 1943). "Box office stakes results". Kinematograph Weekly. p. 47.
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