Old Mother Riley in Society

Arthur Lucan had a long career as a female impersonator, playing Old Mother Riley, a stock Irish washerwoman on stage and screen until his death. He appeared in just shy of a score of films as the character, with his wife, Kitty MacShane, playing his daughter.

In this one, from an idea from Mrs. Lucan, Kitty marries into society and her mother masquerades as her nurse in order not to embarrass her. The mother-in-law is a snob and the servants are even worse snobs and the entire movie is as obvious in its execution as any Bowery Boys movie. It's not just stereotyped, it's petrified.

There is some good talent behind the camera, particularly in the opening sequence in which Mother Riley stops a bar fight. Credit cinematographer James Wilson and editor Michael Chorlton. But they really can't do much to save this one.