Old Mother Riley Detective

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Old Mother Riley Detective
"Old Mother Riley Detective" (1943).jpg
Original trade poster
Directed by Lance Comfort
Written by Barbara K. Emary
Arthur Lucan
Austin Melford
Geoffrey Orme
Produced by John Baxter
Starring Arthur Lucan
Kitty McShane
Hal Gordon
Cinematography James Wilson
Edited byE.W. White
Music by Kennedy Russell
Production
company
Distributed byAnglo-American Film Corporation
Release date
31 May 1943 (UK)
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Old Mother Riley Detective is a 1943 British comedy film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane and Hal Gordon. [1] 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.

Contents

Plot

The film opens with a night watchman being bludgeoned, as a safe is cracked open in the offices of the District Food Controller. A list of wartime foods to be rationed is stolen, and the police fear gangsters are planning to sell the foods on the black market. As the office charwoman, Old Mother Riley's fingerprints are all over the safe, and she becomes the police's number one suspect. To prove her innocence, Mother Riley turns detective, adopting various methods and disguises to track down the villains. [2] [3]

Cast

Critical reception

TV Guide wrote of the film, "a lifeless effort...The gangster premise is merely an excuse for Lucan to try out some humorous bits (in drag, of course), but the picture is too padded to hold much interest." [4] Kinematograph Weekly noted, "one of Arthur Lucan's and the series' best efforts." [5]

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Old Mother Riley, Headmistress is a low-budget black-and-white 1950 British comedy film, starring Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane. The 13th film in the Old Mother Riley series, it features the Luton Girls Choir playing many of Mother Riley's pupils.

<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,.

References

  1. "Old Mother Riley, Detective". Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
  2. "Old Mother Riley, Detective | BFI | BFI". Explore.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  3. "Old Mother Riley-Detective (1943) | Vintage45's Blog". Vintage45.wordpress.com. 13 October 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  4. "Old Mother Riley, Detective Review". Movies.tvguide.com. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  5. McFarlane, Brian (1999). Lance Comfort - Brian McFarlane - Google Books. ISBN   9780719054846 . Retrieved 22 February 2014.