IslandGuru Who payed the critics

BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Rexanne It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

utgard14 This is my first Old Mother Riley movie and I'm sure my last. I only watched it for Bela Lugosi, which probably puts me in the same boat as 99% of people still living who've seen this. For those who don't know, Old Mother Riley was a character played by English comic actor Arthur Lucan. This was the final movie in the series. I've never really thought men in drag was particularly funny but there's obviously a market for it, then and now.For his part, Bela does fine playing a parody of...well, himself. He plays up his Dracula as well as the various mad scientist roles he and others played in the 1930s & 40s. Of the later Bela movies, this is one of the better ones in that I didn't feel embarrassed for him. I don't like this but at least it's a proper movie not the glorified home movies Ed Wood shot. He gets lots of lines and seems to be having fun, similar to the way he was in Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein. One last (and perhaps unkind) thing I'll say about Lugosi is that, looking at the state of his dental affairs in close-ups here, I'm very grateful this wasn't shot in color.

binapiraeus Being a real Bela Lugosi fanatic, I just 'stumbled' into this movie by pure coincidence - I didn't even know that it was one of Arthur Lucan's 'Old Mother Riley' vehicles, of which I'd only heard so far, nor that it was the last one of this long-running (and I'm sure, tremendously funny) film series; so, simply following the label 'starring Bela Lugosi', I got mixed up, just like 'Old Mother Riley' did in this adventure, in one of the most HILARIOUS British comedies I've ever seen, with the humor certainly at its MOST British - in the most positive sense! An absolutely outrageous story about a mad scientist who believes he is a vampire and wants to rule the world with an army of robots, and the permanently broke old shop owner 'Mrs. Riley', whom some crazy twists of fate bring together - from here on, you can just STOP thinking, and start enjoying the slapstick-like chase scenes, the wonderful displays of Arthur Lucan's GREAT comical talent - and a really TOTALLY 'unknown' Bela Lugosi, who seems to feel ABSOLUTELY at ease with all that nonsense, and obviously has got a great lot of fun with deliberately overplaying his well-known 'mad scientist' image! (NO comparison at all with the entirely unfunny Hollywood 'comedy' he did - or maybe HAD to do, for financial reasons - the same year called "Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla"...) Of course, this movie DOES require a good sense of (British) humor; but I'm sure that EVERY fan of horror classics, and especially of Bela Lugosi, who is equipped with a little bit of said sense of humor will LOVE this crazy spoof - and will be wanting to see more of those hilarious 'Old Mother Riley' films!

ThrownMuse I've never heard of or seen a "Mother Riley Adventure" and didn't realize it was a whole series of films, but I had Turner Classic Movies on and saw that Bela Lugosi was in this one so I figured I'd give it a shot. I'm glad I did, as this is one of the wackier movies I've seen in a long time. It's a slapstick horror featuring an old lady who gets abducted by a robot (?) sent to her by a vampire (played by Bela, of course, who endearingly and comfortably hams it up in his few scenes.) Oh yeah, did I mention old Mother Riley is played by an old man? What a strange vehicle this is, but I found it impossible to dislike. There's even a completely random goofy song and dance sequence. The slapstick goes over-the-top in some scenes (notably the ones that are sped up), but it's all in good fun. The best thing the movie has going for it is its distinctly British humor. I loved Dora Byran as Tilly the chambermaid, especially when she starts cavorting with Mother Riley. The woman has such fantastic comedic timing! Overall, its an amusing and quick movie. If you catch it on TV give it a go. I don't think it's as rotten as its reputation.

verbusen 2 of 10 just to say you saw Legosi before he totally went deep end from old age and whatever he was on (morphene?), well maybe not. I rented this and I would commend it if it was funny, or not intentionally funny but ended up funny or scary or not scary but stupid. Basically you get none of the mentioned, it's just a horrid waste of time. Get really really drunk or drugged up (whatever your pleasure I am not condoning drug use), put this on and than fall asleep and just remember that this is a bad flick. Probably was when it first came out and it definitely is now. Don't say I didn't warn you. Oh I know you will watch it anyway being the optimist you are and Legosi lover from his Universal days, but believe me, this is about the lowest Legosi will get on my list and that includes Ed Wood stuff (at least that was so bad it was funny), it's even below Monogram, really really bad (no really).