Vampire Over London (1952)
"Old Mother Riley Meets the Vampire" (original title)

The mysterious figure known as the Vampire comes to England to complete experiments in his mad bid to gain control of the world. When the radar-controlled Robot which he had ordered shipped... See full summary »

Director:

John Gilling

Writer:

Val Valentine

Stars:

Arthur Lucan, Bela Lugosi, Dora Bryan

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Arthur Lucan	...	Mrs. Riley
Bela Lugosi	...	Von Housen
Dora Bryan	...	Tilly
Philip Leaver	...	Anton Daschomb
Richard Wattis	...	PC Freddie
Graham Moffatt	...	The Yokel (as Graham Moffat)
María Mercedes	...	Julia Loretti
Roderick Lovell	...	Douglas
David Hurst	...	Mugsy
Judith Furse	...	Freda
Ian Wilson	...	Hitchcock, the butler
Hattie Jacques	...	Mrs. Jenks
Dandy Nichols	...	Mrs. Mott
George Benson	...	Police Sergeant
Bill Shine	...	Mugsy's Assistant

Storyline

The mysterious figure known as the Vampire comes to England to complete experiments in his mad bid to gain control of the world. When the radar-controlled Robot which he had ordered shipped to him is delivered instead to Mother Riley, the Vampire, through radar control, has the Robot transport itself as well as Mother Riley to the proper destination...as the old lady goes into a whirl of side-splitting action in a determined effort to frustrate the plans of the sinister Vampire.

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Plot Keywords:

vampire | robot | motorcycle | poverty row film | jumping through a window | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

1952 (USA)

Also Known As:

My Son the Vampire

Filming Locations:

Nettlefold Studios, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fernwood Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Retitled "My Son, the Vampire" for its 1963 American re-release (six years after Bela Lugosi's death) to cash in on the success of Allan Sherman's album, "My Son, the Folksinger."

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Goofs

During the climactic chase, when Mother Riley is riding the motorcycle, the rod and wire that lifts her hat is clearly visible.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Mugsy: There she is.
Anton Daschomb: Turn the car on.

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Connections

Follows Jungle Treasure (1951)

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Soundtracks

"My Son, the Vampire"
(Prologue to US release only)
Written by Allan Sherman

User Reviews

On par with some other genre comedies of it's time

Similar to some of Abbott & Costello or The Bowery Boys movies featuring various monsters. This is not too funny but Lugosi is always nice to see. He seems to be enjoying himself and has a surprising amount of dialogue. As for Mother Riley this is the only film I have seen with him/her in it. An acquired taste.

The one scene to watch for occurs early on when Mother Riley is trying to read a telegram. The man collecting rent from her tries to grab the telegram and says "Give that to me you old faggot!" Now before you get all bent out of shape consider that this was 1952. I assume he was saying "...you old pile of sticks" or "...you old woman" which are a couple possible definitions for the word.