Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Sabah Hensley This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Prismark10 This is the last of the Arthur Lucan's Old Mother Riley movies and gets inspiration from Abbott & Costello.Bela Lugosi guest stars and lends dignity as a mad scientist who thinks he is a vampire. He even sleeps in a coffin and wears a black cape. His laboratory is like a haunted house and is rather put out that his Metal Mickey robot has been mixed up in delivery and sent to Old Mother Riley.This is a really silly film, full of nonsense. Old Mother Riley even starts singing at one point in the beginning of the film. It really is a curiosity especially seeing familiar faces such as Dora Bryan and Hattie Jacques in early roles. It certainly is not funny and will induce several groans.

kfo9494 Right from the beginning this movie had a feel of a cheaply made production that for some reason was able to get aging Bela Lugosi to co-star in order to give the film some worth. But overall, Lugosi turned out to be more of an embarrassment to the film while the main star, Arthur Lucan, tried his best to hold the movie together with his slap-stick antics that had been his custom for years. While nothing could have made this production into a classic, Mr Lucan did prove that he could use the weak script to the best of his ability and use his humor to at least give the audience a smile.There is very little to the story as Lugosi plays a vampire like character that orders a robot through the post. The items gets mixed up in shipping and instead of going to Lugosi ends up at Mrs Riley's (Lucan) house. Now a series of unbelievable events will lead Mrs Riley to solve a case in minutes that Scotland Yard has been working on for weeks. Along the way Mrs Riley goes through some situations that, at times, is somewhat humorous. The sad thing is they are few and far between and you have many scenes that are downright boring.Lucan did his best but nothing could save this cheaply made production. Even the copy of the movie that I watched was incredibly dark and had an almost amateurish feel in sound and quality. The only saving grace was some funny lines by Lucan as he made his way through the pitfalls. If your watching this for Bela Lugosi, it will prove to be a sad experience. Watch the movie for one reason-- that is the sometime quirky British comedy genre of the forties and early fifties. And perhaps you might smile once or twice while watching.

juandunite My soul-mate and I watched this movie in bed and found it outrageously funny. Arthur Lucan, as Old Mother Riley, is as funny as Tyler Perry is as Madea. Like Madea, Old Mother Riley is hilarious but often reinforces stereotypes more than she challenges them. The plot is quirky but moves along quickly and you don't get a chance to over-analyze it. Our favorite scene is the song-and-dance number "I Lift up my Finger and say 'Tweet-Tweet'" sung and danced by Arthur Lucan (Mother Riley), Richard Wattis (the rent collector), Hattie Jacques and Dandy Nichols (the two ladies in the store). It is classic British beer hall entertainment. It must have been a lot of fun to have acted in this film, as fun as it is to watch!

chrismartonuk-1 I couldn't believe it when I heard the above saying from Lucan's lips as he thanked a woman. Though the film hardly operates on the same level as Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein, it passes an hour or two quite amiably. Bela is clearly happy to be back in front of a film camera for the first time in years - even a low budget British one - and he effortlessly conveys his old authority and a sense of fun - he comes across as an enjoyably hammy British version of a Batman TV Series supervillain. Lucan is relatively restrained in this outing compared to past ones. The splendid book VAMPIRE OVER London; BELA LUGOSI IN Britain indicates his personal troubles over his estranged partner Kitty Mcshane, and one can only wonder if this is the reason why. The duo's stage act usually climaxed in plate throwing and this is compensated for by a madcap crockery-crashing slapstick sequence with Bela's henchmen. Dora Bryan is a more than adequate foil for Lucan.Editing necessary for MY SON THE VAMPIRE means we lose Lucan's one musical number early on in the film. Also, the romance between the kidnapped Loretti and her Naval officer is underplayed to say the least - he keeps getting bonked on the head by various characters. Graham Moffat is also missing from the print. The ending is curious in that we contrast Riley's madcap race to stop the Vampire enduring various crashes and appropriated forms of transport on the way while Von Houson is actually seen gunning down two constables - a bit strong for a juvenile comedy.The immediate postwar period was a time of apprenticeship for celebrated British comedy stars like the Goons and Tony Hancock who were learning and honing their trade upon being demobbed from the army. By 1951, they were ready to take on the entertainment establishment and sweep aside the old stars like Lucan - in much the same way the Beatles and their ilk were ready in 1963 to change the face of the British music industry. The brief resurgence of popularity Lucan and Mcshane enjoyed prior to this film proved to be a last fling at glory. A whole new wave of innovative British comedy was ready to sweep them aside. Lucan was more truthful than he knew when - at the climax of this film - he sputters "This is the end!" Both Lucan and Lugosi were enjoying a last stab at greatness in an age where they were already anachronisms.