British One Sheet Poster
Also known as Vampire Over London, My Son The Vampire, The Vampire And The Robot, and The Vampire, Mother Riley Meets The Vampire was Bela Lugosi’s third and final British film. A thinly veiled reworking of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1938), which featured Lugosi as Dracula, it was the last in the successful long-running series of films starring Arthur Lucan as the Irish washerwoman Old Mother Riley. Production on the film began 24 days after Lugosi finished a 27-week UK revival tour of Dracula. Popular legend holds that the film was hastily arranged to provide funds to finance the return to America of Lugosi and his wife who had supposedly been stranded in the UK after the Dracula tour collapsed with the cast unpaid. Lugosi’s participation in a new film was actually first announced in the Sheffield Telegraph on August 7, 1951, over two months before the end of the tour. When the tour closed on October 13th, it was not due to a financial crisis, but at the request of Lugosi himself. The demands of the long tour simply proved too much for the ailing 68-year-old actor. The film’s export title was Vampire over London, but it was also distributed in America by Jack H. Harris as The Vampire And The Robot and The Vampire. It was retitled again as My Son, The Vampire and given a new theme song by Allan Sherman when re-released in 1963.
Production Company: Renown Pictures
Producer: John Gilling for Renown Pictures
Associate Producer: Stanley Couzins
Director: John Gilling
Assistant Director: Denis O’Dell
Original story and screenplay: Val Valentine
Cinematographer: Stan Pavey
Camera Operator: Dudley Lovel
Editor: Len Trumm
Music composed & conducted by Lindo Southworth
Music played by Fernwood Studio Orchestra
Art Director: Bernard Robinson
Sound Recordist: W.H. Lindop
Makeup: Eric Carter
Casting Director: Maude Spector
Hair Stylist: Betty Lee
Filmed from October to December, 1951, on location and at Nettlefold Studio
UK release: August 18, 1952 – Certificate “U”
US release: September 1952
Export title: Vampire Over London
US re-release titles: The Vampire And The Robot/The Vampire/ My Son, The Vampire
Running time: 74 minutes
From the left: Unknown, director John Gilling, unknown, Richard Gordon, producer George Minter, unknown, Arthur Lucan, cameraman Stan Pavey (behind Lucan), and Bela on the set
Cast:
Arthur Lucan – Mother Riley
Bela Lugosi – The Vampire (Baron Von Housen)
Dora Bryan – Tilly
Richard Wattis – Police Constable Freddie
Philip Leaver – Anton Daschomb
Judith Furse – Freda
Maria Mercedes – Julia Loretti
Roderick Lovell – Douglas
David Hurst – Mugsy
Hattie Jacques – Mrs. Jenks
Dandy Nichols – Mrs. Mott
Cyril Smith – Higgins
Ian Wilson – Hitchcock
Graham Moffat – Yokel
Charles Lloyd-Pack – Sir Joshua Bing
Arthur Brander – Van Driver
Peter Bathurst – BBC Announcer
George Benson – Sergeant
David Hannaford – Nasty Boy
Bill Shine – Drunk
Kinematography Weekly, August 9, 1951
AT THE STUDIOS
“Mother Riley” at Nettlefold
RENOWN’S next production at Nettlefold will be “Old Mother Riley Meets the Vampire,” and the stars will be Arthur Lucan and Bela Lugosi. It is expected that shooting will start in September, but no director has been appointed yet.
In the meanwhile preparations are going forward for “Pickwick Papers,” with the hope that it will get on the floor in January or February. Noel Langley is writing the screenplay.
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The Cinema News And Property Gazette, August 22, 1951
page 9
Had a short pleasant talk here with George Minter, head of Renown Pictures, who is in New York to make a releasing deal for “Tom Brown’s Schooldays” and “A Christmas Carol.” Relaxing in an air-conditioned room at the Sherry-Netherlands while the rest of New York was sweltering under a blanket of hot moist air, Mr. Minter – immaculate in grey suit and grey tie – spoke of his plans. He was going to do another picture with Alistair Sim, he said, and would put “Vampire Over London,” with Bela Lugosi, before the cameras on October 29.
page 23
Minter’s Next
GEORGE MINTER flew in from New York yesterday enthusiastic about the success of his deals for “Tom Brown’s Schooldays” and “Scrooge” in the Western Hemisphere (reported elsewhere in this issue) and the keen interest shown in his forthcoming “Pickwick Papers” which may be filmed in Technicolor in the New Year.
Meanwhile, George is planning to make another film starring Alistair Sim some time between now and the end of the year. The subject, as yet untitled, is being specially written by Noel Langley.
Which should spell a busy time for the Renown set-up because they are due to start production in October at Nettlefold’s on “Old Mother Riley Meets the Vampire,” starring Arthur Lucan and Bela Lugosi. It will be the first Mother Riley subject to be made with an eye on the American market where it is to be titled “Vampire Over London.”
Richard Gordon, Bela and George Minter pose on the set
(Still courtesy of Paul Seiler)
Kinematography Weekly, September 13, 1951
AT THE STUDIOS
Nettlefold Full
Another studio that is not suffering from empty stages is Nettlefold, where Coronado’s “Saturday Island” is well under way, and Raymond Stross’s “Tall Headlines” is due back next week after a fortnight on location locally and in Brighton.
Next in will be Renown’s “Old Mother Riley Meets the Vampire,” and Nettlefold Films has a production scheduled by Ernest G. Roy for December. Which of two scripts will be chosen has not yet been decided.
The “Saturday Island” unit had plenty of excitement during its first week, when part a ship built in the studio was “blown up.” Members of Jock Easton’s stunt team were used for the really strenuous moments.
Susan Storer has been appointed studio Press representative of the Raymond Stross production, “The Tall Headlines.”
Bela and Richard Gordon pose for the publicity department
London Evening News, September 15, 1951
IT’S THAT VAMPIRE AGAIN
by Jympson Harman
“Old Mother Riley” is making the social grade. Some time ago, Arthur Lucan was given a lot more money to spend on his films. This has made them even more popular at the box-office.
For the first time Kitty McShane will not be in the film. Frightened of vampires?
Now the old lady is to have a Hollywood star for team-mate. None other than the fearsome Bela Lugosi! “Old Mother Riley Meets the Vampire” is the title. They begin to haunt each other next month.
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The Sydney Morning Herald, September 27, 1951
STUDIO GOSSIP
HORROR with hilarity will be the keynote of Bela Lugosi’s next picture. It is being made in England, where Lugosi has been touring with the stage version of “Dracula.” Co-starring with Lugosi will be Arthur Lucan, little known outside Britain, but a great favourite there on scree, stage, and radio for his characterisation of a cantankerous Irishwoman, “Old Mother Riley.”
The picture will have two titles – Old Mother Riley Meets the Vampire” for British audiences; “The Vampire Over London” for other countries, including Australia.
Richard Gordon and Bela between takes
(Still courtesy of Paul Seiler)
Kinematography Weekly, November 1, 1951
AT THE STUDIOS
At Nettlefold
“Old Mother Riley Meets the Vampire,” starring Arthur Lucan and Bela (“Dracula”) Lugosi, went into production at Nettlefold on Monday.
This Renown comedy is being directed by John Gilling from a screenplay by Val Valentine. The cast includes Dora Byran, Judith Furse and Hattie Jacques.
Production manager is Stanley Couzins; cameraman is Stan Pavey, and Denis O’Dell is first assistant.
On November 22nd Bela and Lillian attended the premiere of Renown’s Scrooge at the Regal Marble Arch Cinema in London.
Kinematography Weekly, December 13, 1951
AT THE STUDIOS
Renown Plans
Five pictures are scheduled for production in 1952 on the Renown programme, although it is not expected that more than three of them will be delivered during that period. One Technicolor subject will be delivered and another started during the year, but the subjects are not settled.
Properties in preparation include Charles Dickens’s “Pickwick Papers,” George Du Mauriers’s “Trilby,” Sheridan’s “School for Scandal,” Thackeray’s “Vanity Fair,” and “Love of the Foolish Angel,” a story by Helen Beauclerk. Screen plays will be by Noel Langley.
Another Mother Riley is also scheduled. “Mother Riley’s Trip to Mars,” which will be a broad comedy satire on the present atom bomb experiments and rocket trips to the moon.
Also in preparation are two horror pictures, for which negotiations are proceeding to star Boris Karloff in one and Bela Lugosi in the other. These last three subjects will be in black and white.
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Kinematography Weekly, December 13, 1951
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The Daily Film Renter, December 17, 1951
MORE CLASSICS FOR FILMING BY RENOWN
An extension of George Minter’s policy of filming classic works with the support of American finance and stars is announced by Renown Pictures.
Of eight subjects scheduled for forthcoming production, four will be classic stories which Minter plans to make in colour.
They include “Pickwick Papers,” adapted for the screen by Noel Langley from the Charles Dickens book; “Trilby,” based on George Du Mauriers’s novel; Richard Sheridan’s “School for Scandal,” and Makepeace Thackeray’s “Vanity Fair.”
At the same time, Mr. Minter will continue to produce his “Mother Riley” comedies, the latest of which, “Mother Riley Meets the Vampire,” starring Arthur Lucan and Bela Lugosi, will shortly be on release.
There will also be two horror subjects on the new Renown schedule, one of which will star Boris Karloff and the other Bela Lugosi.
Bela and Richard Gordon pose for the publicity department
Today’s Cinema, June 26, 1952
Exuberant story of how Mother Riley gets caught up with maniacal scientist trying to get procession of map of uranium deposit. As in other films of the series, production relies primarily on Arthur Lucan’s celebrated dame act with its well-tried slapstick, teamed in this case with the amusing melodramatics of Bela Lugosi. Comedy is largely a matter of Mother Riley’s preposterous antics in scientist’s sinister house, complete with secret passages, sliding panels and towering robot…Reliable entertainment for Mother Riley fans.
A publicity photo issued during the filming of Mother Riley Meets The Vampire
Picturegoer, August 16, 1952
Mother Riley Meets The Vampire
Now that Abbott and Costello have Met The Ghosts, it looks as though all the other slapstick comedians are queueing up to have a go. But if we’re in for a comedy-thriller cycle, let’s hope that those to come are more efficiently put together than this lumbering collection of badly timed chestnuts.
True,Arthur Lucan is in vigorous form, and Bela Lugosi gives one of his liveliest performances, but the script defeats them both.
The most irritating aspect of the film is that it wastes so many talented stage players, such as Dora Bryan, Richard Wattis and Judith Furse. In these surroundings they look incompetent, which assuredly they are not. R.J.L.H
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Bath Weekly Chronicle and Herald, 1952
The best, and funniest, Mother Riley comedy will also be shown. It is “Mother Riley Meets the Vampire,” and it teams for the first time Arthur Lucan and Bela Lugosi. When these two get together the result is one of the most hilarious comedies seen for a long time. Showing at the Forum Cinema and Cafe.
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Upper Hutt Leader (New Zealand), March 31, 1955
The Mayfair Cinema
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Unknown American Newspaper
Courtesy of templeofschlock.blogspot.com
Posters
Original American One Sheet
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1958 Re-Release Poster
Adapted Forbidden Planet poster as briefly seen in The Blob
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1963 Re-Release Poster
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1963 Re-Release One Sheet
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1965 Re-Release Tripple-Bill Poster
Courtesy of http://www.emovieposter.com/
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Belgian Poster
British Front of House Cards
(Courtesy of Paul Seiler)
American Lobby Cards
Arthur Lucan and Bela Lugosi
(Courtesy of Paul Seiler)
Bela Lugosi and Ian Wilson
(Courtesy of Paul Seiler)
Bela Lugosi and Maria Mercedes
(Courtesy of Paul Seiler)
Arthur Lucan and Dora Bryan
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Arthur Lucan and Cast
Stills
A rare portrait of Arthur Lucan out of his Mother Riley costume. He prefered to be the old washerwoman when he stepped into the spotlight so that he could enjoy the freedom of anonymity in his daily life.
Bela Lugosi
Arthur Lucan and Bela Lugosi
Ian Wilson, Bela Lugosi and Judith Furse
Bela Lugosi and Maria Mercedes
Bela Lugosi, Arthur Lucan and Maria Mercedes
Bela Lugosi
Bela interviewed aboard the Queen Elizabeth on his arrival in New York on December 11th, 1951, by Jack Mangan for the TV show Ship’s Reporter. Bela talks about the British tour of Dracula and Mother Riley Meets The Vampire (referred to as Vampire Over London, the original American title).
The Robot
After filming, the costume was displayed in the foyer of a Birmingham cinema. It later spent over twenty years in a private collection in England before being auctioned, minus its glass dome, at Bonhams of London in December, 2010, when it sold for £1,680.
It then found its way to California, where, with a new glass dome, it was auctioned in May, 2011, but failed to sell.
For more deatails on the robot, please see the following posts:
The Return Of The “Mother Riley Meets The Vampire” Robot
“Mother Riley Meets The Vampire” Robot Fails To Sell At Auction
Bela, Judith Furse, Ian Wilson and David Hurst admire the robot.
Arthur Lucan inspects the robot
American Rerelease Screen Title
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US trailer for My Son the Vampire
http://www.Reelz.com/trailer-clips/24694/my-son-the-vampire-trailer
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Allan Sherman’s My Son, The Vampire B/W I Can’t Dance (5419)
Released in the UK in 1964 by Warner Bros.
(Songwriters: MEYERS, SHERMAN)
Blood!
Blood!
My son, the vampire
He’ll make you a wreck
Every time he kisses you,
there’ll be two holes in your neck
Blood!
Blood!
My son, the vampire
He will leave you pale
All he does is drink your blood
’cause he don’t like ginger ale
When they see him, people scream and they yell.. (AAUGH!)
And they scream and yell ’cause they’re scared as heck that he’ll say…
Blood!
Blood!
My son, the vampire
He’s a total loss
And if you should meet with him,
do not drink or eat with him
Run if he takes out his dental floss
‘Cause my son, the vampire, ain’t collecting it for the Red Cross!
He wants…
Blood!
He needs…
Blood!
He drinks…
Blood!
(spoken)
Doesn’t everybody?
Have a glass!
It’s delicious!
Yum yum!
It’s…
Blood!
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Listen to the song here
Allan Sherman pictured with John F. Kennedy, who unwittingly increased Sherman’s popularity and record sales when spotted singing his then current single, Sarah Jackman, in a hotel lobby in 1962.
Super 8
American release print
The Bela Lugosi Blog 