Old Mother Riley Headmistress

Last updated

Old Mother Riley, Headmistress
"Old Mother Riley, Headmistress".jpg
UK theatrical poster
Directed by John Harlow
Screenplay by Ted Kavanagh
John Harlow
Story by Jackie Marks
Con West
Produced byGordon D. Myers
Starring Arthur Lucan
Kitty McShane
The Luton Girls Choir
Cinematography James Wilson
Edited by Douglas Myers
Music by George Melachrino
Arthur E. Davies (Choral Director) Luton Girls Choir)
Production
company
Harry Reynolds Productions
Distributed by Renown Pictures
Release date
  • 1950 (1950)
Running time
75 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Old Mother Riley, Headmistress is a low-budget black-and-white 1950 British comedy film directed by John Harlow and starring Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane. [1] The screenplay was by Ted Kavanagh and Harlow. The 13th film in the Old Mother Riley series, it features the Luton Girls Choir playing many of Mother Riley's pupils.

Contents

Plot

Daughter Kitty is sacked from her job as music teacher at an exclusive girls' school, but Mother Riley unexpectedly comes into an inheritance, and decides to buy the girls finishing school and give Kitty her job back. Mother Riley soon establishes herself as headmistress at St. Mildred's School for Young Ladies, and throws herself into her new role with vigour, whether it is taking P.E. lessons, brazenly cheating on Sports Day, or confronting the haunted school piano. [2] [3]

Cast

Critical reception

Kine Weekly wrote: "The picture is somewhat loosely put together, but The Luton Girls' Choir, aided and abetted by lightly-clad PT exponents, effectually punctuates its laughs and strengthens both its entertainment and its billing. Well staged, it should easily win the approval of Mother Riley fans, who, we understand, are legion." [4]

Picturegoer wrote: "No. Definitely not one of the best of the series. There are few of the funny situations which have brought fame to Arthur Lucan and his wife, Kitty McShane, in the past. Many of the jokes are on the corny side." [5]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "poor", writing: "One of the briefest and weakest oif the series." [6]

Anthony Nield wrote in The Digital Fix, "whilst the idea of Old Mother Riley owning her own girls' school should provide plenty of comic mileage, we're still faced with some pointless musical numbers to pad things out...(but) there's a chirpiness and a punch in the screenplay which is hard not to enjoy. Of course, any level of sophistication is kept at a bare minimum (Lucan was never the subtlest of actors; he performed for the camera just as he did on the stage), but in its own way …Headmistress has an energy equal to that of, say, Hellzapoppin' or the Marx Brothers A Night in Casablanca , even if both are far superior and much funnier. There's a non-stop quality to the gags which, whilst the film may ultimately be forgettable, amounts to great deal of fun. Certainly, for a thirteenth entry in a big screen franchise (and one made almost as many years after the first), it's far better than we should rightfully expect." [7]

TV Guide noted, "a poor addition to the "Old Mother Riley" stable...If you see only one "Old Mother Riley" film in your lifetime, don't make it this one." [8]

"Fielding's Review" wrote, "lots of fun gags in this one. Along with Old Mother Riley Meets the Vampire, it's the best of the set." [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Mother Riley</span> Fictional character

Old Mother Riley is a fictional character portrayed from about 1934 to 1954 by Arthur Lucan and from 1954 to the 1980s by Roy Rolland as part of a British music hall act.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Lucan</span> English actor (1885–1954)

Arthur Lucan was an English actor who performed the drag act Old Mother Riley on stage, radio and screen, with a series of comedy films from the late 1930s to the early 1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kitty McShane</span> Irish actress

Kathleen "Kitty" McShane was an Irish actress, best known as the wife and acting partner of Arthur Lucan, with whom she appeared in a series of Old Mother Riley stage shows and films from the 1930s to the 1950s.

<i>Old Mother Riley</i> (film) 1937 British film

Old Mother Riley is a 1937 British comedy film directed by Oswald Mitchell and starring Arthur Lucan in the lead, with Kitty McShane, Barbara Everest, Patrick Ludlow and Hubert Leslie. Mother Riley and her daughter stop the plans of some disinherited relatives to overturn the terms of a will.

<i>Old Mother Riley in Paris</i> 1938 British film

Old Mother Riley in Paris is a 1938 British comedy film directed by Oswald Mitchell and starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane, Magda Kun and C. Denier Warren. It is the second in the Old Mother Riley series of films, and is also known by its re-release title, Old Mother Riley Catches a Quisling.

<i>Old Mother Rileys Ghosts</i> 1941 British film

Old Mother Riley's Ghosts is a 1941 British comedy film directed by John Baxter and starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane and John Stuart. It was the 8th in the long-running Old Mother Riley series. Old Mother Riley inherits a castle in Scotland, but it appears to be haunted.

<i>Old Mother Riley Overseas</i> British film

Old Mother Riley Overseas is a 1943 British comedy film directed by Oswald Mitchell and starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane and Anthony Holles. In the screenplay, Old Mother Riley relocates to Portugal.

<i>Old Mother Riley in Business</i> 1941 British film

Old Mother Riley in Business is a 1941 British comedy film directed by John Baxter and starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane and Cyril Chamberlain. It was the sixth in the long-running Old Mother Riley series of films. Old Mother Riley's pub faces competition from a large chain store nearby, causing her to declare war on it.

<i>Old Mother Rileys Circus</i> 1941 film

Old Mother Riley's Circus is a 1941 British comedy film directed by Thomas Bentley and starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane and John Longden. Old Mother Riley takes over a struggling circus and makes a huge success of it. 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.

<i>Old Mother Riley Joins Up</i> 1940 British film by Maclean Rogers

Old Mother Riley Joins Up is a 1940 British comedy film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane, Martita Hunt, Bruce Seton and Garry Marsh. It was part of the long-running Old Mother Riley series.

<i>Old Mother Riley Detective</i> 1943 British film

Old Mother Riley Detective is a 1943 British comedy film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane and Hal Gordon. It was part of the long running Old Mother Riley series. Old Mother Riley investigates the disappearance of food during the war, a serious crime because of rationing.

<i>Keep It Clean</i> 1956 British film by David Paltenghi

Keep It Clean is a 1956 British black-and-white comedy film directed by David Paltenghi and starring Ronald Shiner and Joan Sims. The screenplay was by Carl Nystrom and R. F. Delderfield.

<i>Old Mother Riley at Home</i> 1945 British film by Oswald Mitchell

Old Mother Riley at Home is a 1945 British comedy film directed by Oswald Mitchell and starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane and Freddie Forbes. It is the 11th film in the long-running Old Mother Riley series.

<i>Old Mother Riley, MP</i> 1939 British film

Old Mother Riley, MP is a 1939 British comedy film starring Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane, which forms part of the Old Mother Riley series of films. The film's plot centres on Old Mother Riley standing for election to the House of Commons.

<i>On Your Way, Riley</i> 1982 play by Alan Plater

On Your Way, Riley is a 1982 play by Alan Plater and a 1985 Yorkshire Television drama of the same name about the private and theatrical partnership of husband and wife 'Old Mother Riley' music hall performers Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane.

<i>Mother Riley Meets the Vampire</i> 1952 British film by John Gilling

Mother Riley Meets the Vampire is a 1952 British horror comedy film directed by John Gilling, starring Arthur Lucan and Bela Lugosi. It was filmed at Nettlefold Studios.

<i>Old Mother Rileys Jungle Treasure</i> 1951 British film by Maclean Rogers

Old Mother Riley's Jungle Treasure is a low budget 1951 British comedy film, the penultimate in the long running Old Mother Riley series starring Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane. It features an early appearance by future Carry On regular Peter Butterworth.

<i>Old Mother Riley in Society</i> 1940 British film

Old Mother Riley in Society is a low budget 1940 black and white British comedy film, directed by John Baxter, and starring Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane. It is the fifth in the long running Old Mother Riley series, and features the screen debut of Jimmy Clitheroe as the boot boy in a high society household.

<i>Old Mother Rileys New Venture</i> 1949 British film

Old Mother Riley's New Venture is a low-budget black-and-white 1949 British comedy film, starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane and Chili Bouchier. It is the twelfth in the long-running Old Mother Riley films, and was the first of the series to play in London's West End. In addition, it was the first to be released in the US, where it opened in 1952, as Old Mother Riley,.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Rolland</span> English comedian and stage actor

Roy Rolland was an English comedian and stage actor who was the understudy for Arthur Lucan as Old Mother Riley and who took over the role following the death of Lucan in 1954, playing it until about 1977.

References

  1. "Old Mother Riley Headmistress". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  2. "Old Mother Riley Meets The Vampire/Old Mother Riley Headmistress DVD: Amazon.co.uk: Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane: Film & TV". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  3. "Old Mother Riley". Fieldingsreview.com. 17 May 1954. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  4. "Old Mother Riley Headmistress" . Kine Weekly . 399 (2247): 18. 25 May 1950 via ProQuest.
  5. "Old Mother Riley Headmistress" . Picturegoer . 20: 19. 6 August 1950 via ProQuest.
  6. Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 356. ISBN   0-7134-1874-5.
  7. Nield, Anthony (11 January 2006). "Old Mother Riley Meets the Vampire / Old Mother Riley Headmistress | DVD Video Review | Film @ The Digital Fix". Film.thedigitalfix.com. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  8. "Old Mother Riley, Headmistress Review". Movies.tvguide.com. Archived from the original on 25 February 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  9. "Old Mother Riley". Fieldingsreview.com. 17 May 1954. Retrieved 22 February 2014.