Old Mother Riley is a fictional character portrayed from about 1934 to 1954 by

Arthur Lucan Arthur Lucan (born Arthur Towle; 16 September 1885 – 17 May 1954) was an English actor who performed the drag act Old Mother Riley on stage, radio and screen, with a series of comedy films from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Early life ...

and from 1954 to the 1980s by

Roy Rolland Roy Rolland (29 June 1921 – 16 August 1997) was an English comedian and stage actor who was the understudy for Arthur Lucan as Old Mother Riley and who took over the role following the death of Lucan in 1954, playing it until about 1977. Biog ...

as part of a British

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

act. Old Mother Riley (full comedy name: Daphne Bluebell Snowdrop Riley) is an Irish

washerwoman A washerwoman or laundress is a woman who takes in laundry. Both terms are now old-fashioned; equivalent work nowadays is done by a laundry worker in large commercial premises, or a laundrette (laundromat) attendant. Description As evidence ...

and

charwoman A charwoman (also chargirl, charlady or char) is an old-fashioned occupational term, referring to a paid part-time worker who comes into a house or other building to clean it for a few hours of a day or week, as opposed to a maid, who usually ...

character, devised by Lucan (born Arthur Towle). His wife

Kitty McShane Kathleen "Kitty" McShane (19 May 1897 – 24 March 1964) was an Irish actress, best known as the wife and acting partner of Arthur Lucan, with whom she appeared in a series of ''Old Mother Riley'' stage shows and films from the 1930s to the ...

played Old Mother Riley's daughter, Kitty. It was essentially a

drag act The term "drag" refers to the performance of exaggerated masculinity, femininity, or other forms of gender expression, usually for entertainment purposes. A drag queen is someone (usually male) who performs femininity and a drag king is someone ...

but also a

double act A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act. Pairings are typically long-term, in some cases f ...

. The couple played music halls, theatres, and broadcast on radio and appeared in films. Lucan was voted sixth biggest British box-office star by the ''

Motion Picture Herald The ''Motion Picture Herald'' was an American film industry trade paper published from 1931 to December 1972.Anthony Slide, ed. (1985)''International Film, Radio, and Television Journals'' Greenwood Press. p. 242. It was replaced by the ''QP Herald ...

'' in 1943. In 1939,

Jimmy Clitheroe James Robinson Clitheroe (24 December 1921 – 6 June 1973) was an English comic entertainer. He is best remembered for his long-running BBC Radio programme, ''The Clitheroe Kid'' (1956–72). Early years Jimmy Clitheroe was born in Clitheroe, ...

appeared in an Old Mother Riley

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

called ''The Old Woman who Lives in a Shoe'', and then the following year had a part in the film, ''

Old Mother Riley in Society ''Old Mother Riley in Society'' is a low budget 1940 black and white British comedy film, directed by John Baxter, and starring Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane. It is the fifth in the long running Old Mother Riley series, and features the screen ...

''. The ''

Film Fun ''Film Fun'' was a British celebrity comics comic book that ran from (issues dates) 17 January 1920 to 15 September 1962, when it merged with ''Buster (comic), Buster'', a total of 2,225 issues. There were also annuals in the forties and fiftie ...

'' comic included an “Old Mother Riley” strip cartoon in the 1940s. Old Mother Riley was the first and arguably the most influential drag act on stage and screen. Although nothing like the glamorous acts like

Danny La Rue Danny La Rue, (born Daniel Patrick Carroll, 26 July 1927 – 31 May 2009) was an Irish singer and entertainer, best known for his on-stage drag queen, drag persona. He performed in drag and also as himself in theatrical productions, television ...

, Old Mother Riley proved that drag could be a smash hit with audiences and make you a star. The Old Mother Riley films also proved that drag could be an acceptable part of comedy and storytelling. Previous to Old Mother Riley, drag was a mixture of singing acts and short comedy sketches in music halls across the UK.

was Lucan's understudy and stand-in, and after Lucan's death in 1954 he continued to play the Old Mother Riley character in pantomime, on television and in cabaret until the 1980s. The character and show exist in a comic lineage that extends to ''

Mrs. Brown's Boys ''Mrs. Brown's Boys'' is an Irish television sitcom created by and starring Brendan O'Carroll and produced in the United Kingdom by BBC Scotland in partnership with BOC-PIX and Irish broadcaster RTÉ. The series stars O'Carroll as Agnes Bro ...

''.

Old Mother Riley films

Made on a minuscule budget, but extremely profitable, 16 of the 18 films made by Arthur Lucan featured him as Old Mother Riley: * '' Stars on Parade'' (1936) * '' Bridget's Night Out'' (1936) * '' Kathleen Mavourneen'' (1937) * ''

Old Mother Riley Old Mother Riley is a fictional character portrayed from about 1934 to 1954 by Arthur Lucan and from 1954 to the 1980s by Roy Rolland as part of a British music hall act. Old Mother Riley (full comedy name: Daphne Bluebell Snowdrop Riley) is an I ...

'' (1937) * ''

Old Mother Riley in Paris ''Old Mother Riley in Paris'' is a 1938 British comedy film directed by Oswald Mitchell and starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane, Magda Kun and C. Denier Warren. It is the second in the Old Mother Riley series of films, and is also known by its ...

'' (1938) * ''

Old Mother Riley, MP ''Old Mother Riley, MP'' is a 1939 British comedy film starring Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane, which forms part of the Old Mother Riley series of films. The film's plot centres on Old Mother Riley standing for election to the House of Commons. ...

'' (1939) * ''

Old Mother Riley Joins Up ''Old Mother Riley Joins Up'' is a 1940 British comedy film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane, Martita Hunt, Bruce Seton and Garry Marsh. It was part of the long-running Old Mother Riley series. Plot summary Old ...

'' (1940) * ''

Old Mother Riley in Business ''Old Mother Riley in Business'' is a 1941 British comedy film directed by John Baxter and starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane and Cyril Chamberlain. It was the sixth in the long-running Old Mother Riley series of films. Old Mother Riley's pub ...

'' (1941) * ''

Old Mother Riley's Circus ''Old Mother Riley's Circus'' is a 1941 British comedy film directed by Thomas Bentley and starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane and John Longden. Old Mother Riley takes over a struggling circus and makes a huge success of it. The trade ad poster ...

'' (1941) * ''

Old Mother Riley's Ghosts ''Old Mother Riley's Ghosts'' is a 1941 British comedy film directed by John Baxter and starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane and John Stuart. It was the 8th in the long-running Old Mother Riley series. Old Mother Riley inherits a castle in Scot ...

'' (1941) * ''

Old Mother Riley Overseas ''Old Mother Riley Overseas'' is a 1943 British comedy film directed by Oswald Mitchell and starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane and Anthony Holles (actor), Anthony Holles. In the screenplay, Old Mother Riley relocates to Portugal. Plot summary ...

'' (1943) * ''

Old Mother Riley Detective ''Old Mother Riley Detective'' is a 1943 British comedy film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane and Hal Gordon. It was part of the long running Old Mother Riley series. Old Mother Riley investigates the disappeara ...

'' (1943) * ''

Old Mother Riley at Home ''Old Mother Riley at Home'' is a 1945 British comedy film directed by Oswald Mitchell and starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane and Freddie Forbes. It is the 11th film in the long-running Old Mother Riley series. Plot summary Mother Riley's daugh ...

'' (1945) * ''

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. It is the twelfth in the long-running Old Mother Riley films, and was the first of the series to ...

'' (1949) * ''

Old Mother Riley Headmistress ''Old Mother Riley, Headmistress'' is a low budget black and white 1950 British comedy film, starring Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane. The 13th film in the Old Mother Riley series, it features the Luton Girls Choir playing many of Mother Riley's ...

'' (1950) * ''

Old Mother Riley's Jungle Treasure ''Old Mother Riley's Jungle Treasure'' is a low budget 1951 British comedy film, the penultimate in the long running Old Mother Riley series starring Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane. It features an early appearance by future ''Carry On'' regular ...

'' (1951) * ''

Mother Riley Meets the Vampire ''Mother Riley Meets the Vampire'', also known as ''Vampire Over London'' or ''My Son, the Vampire'', is a 1952 British horror comedy film directed by John Gilling, starring Arthur Lucan and Bela Lugosi that was filmed at Nettlefold Studios. ...

'' (1952) – co-stars

Bela Lugosi Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), known professionally as Bela Lugosi (; ), was a Hungarian and American actor best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic ''Dracula'', Ygor in ''S ...

. At the time of Lucan's death he was scheduled to film ''Old Mother Riley's Trip to Mars''.

References

Sources

*Robert V Kenny,
The Man Who Was Old Mother Riley - The Lives and Films of Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane
', BearManor Media, 2014, 428pp.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Old Mother Fictional characters introduced in 1934 Female characters in film Fictional Irish people Drag (clothing)

Old Mother Riley films

See also

References

Sources