Old Mother Riley's New Venture

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.[1] 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, (and was re-released there as A Wild Irish Night).[2]

Old Mother Riley's New Venture
Directed byJohn Harlow
Written byJack Marks
Con West
John Harlow (additional scenes)
Produced byHarry Reynolds
StarringArthur Lucan
Kitty McShane
Chili Bouchier
CinematographyJames Wilson
Edited byAdam Alexander Dawson
Music byGeorge Melachrino
Production
company
Harry Reynolds Productions
Distributed byRenown Pictures
Release date
  • July 1949 (1949-07)
(UK)
Running time
79 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Plot summary

The owner of a five star London hotel leaves for a holiday, and to everyone's surprise promotes Old Mother Riley from kitchen dishwasher to manageress. Chaos ensues, and Mother Riley and Kitty are suddenly suspects in the theft of the Royal Hula Diamond, but somehow along the way also manage a trip to a beauty parlour, a banquet with Arab royalty, some Saint Patrick's Day celebrations, and a climactic custard pie fight.[3]

Cast

Critical reception
  • The Digital Fix wrote, "New Venture is essentially unwatchable...Old routines, a bare minimum of laughs and a comic pairing who are, quite frankly, way beyond their best."[4]
  • At the time of the film's release, Monthly Film Bulletin called the film, "a vivacious slapsick comedy."[2]
  • On its U.S. release, Variety wrote of the film, "offers little appeal for most situations...Film's best market appears to lie in "Irish Night" shows or in neighbourhoods where there's a sizable Irish population. Cast is unknown to American audiences... Arthur Lucan has a thespian field day in the title role."[2]

References
  1. "Old Mother Riley's New Venture". Bfi. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  2. Slide, Anthony (1998). Eccentrics of Comedy. ISBN 978-0810835344.
  3. "OLD MOTHER RILEY'S NEW VENTURE 1949 DVD". Armand Movies. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  4. Nield, Anthony (4 January 2006). "Old Mother Riley's New Venture / Old Mother Riley's Jungle Treasure | DVD Video Review | Film @ The Digital Fix". Film.thedigitalfix.com. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
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