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 Peter Butterworth.[1]
| Old Mother Riley's Jungle Treasure | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Maclean Rogers |
| Screenplay by | Val Valentine |
| Produced by | Maclean Rogers |
| Starring | Arthur Lucan Kitty McShane |
| Cinematography | James Wilson |
| Edited by | Anne Barker |
| Music by | Wilfred Burns |
Production company | Oakland Films |
| Distributed by | Renown Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 75 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Husband and wife Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane had separated by the time of production, and were touring in different "Old Mother Riley" shows. This was Kitty's final Mother Riley film, and her scenes with Lucan were reputedly shot on separate days.[2]
During filming, there was a strike over pay, led by the dancer Josie Woods, who was an extra on the film.[3]
Plot summary
editMother Riley, working in an antique shop with daughter Kitty, uncovers a secret treasure map hidden in the headboard of an antique bed. With the help of the ghost of the pirate Captain Morgan, mother and daughter head for a remote tropical island in the South Seas, and begin their hunt for buried treasure. Not only do they find the fortune, but Mother Riley ends up celebrated by natives as a tribal queen.[4][5][6]
Sample gag
edit"All the supposed cannibal tribesman are in actual fact ex-Oxford graduates who spend their time (in full tribal dress) listening to the cricket on the short wave radio." ("Screensnapshots.blogspot.co.uk")[7]
Cast
edit- Old Mother Riley ...Arthur Lucan
- Kitty ... Kitty McShane
- Jim ... Garry Marsh
- Captain Daincourt ... Cyril Chamberlain
- Chief 'Stinker' Carstairs ... Robert Adams
- James Orders ... Roddy Hughes
- Harry Benson ... Willer Neal
- Estelle ... Anita D'ray
- Morgan the Pirate ... Sebastian Cabot
- Flying Officer Prang ... Bill Shine (actor)
- Steve ... Peter Butterworth
- Mr Benson ... Peter Swanwick
- Slim ... Harry Lane
- Jake ... Michael Ripper
- Air Hostess ... Maria Mercedes
- Ted ... Gerald Rex
Critical reception
edit- TV Guide called the movie, a "relentlessly absurd farce...A film in the stylized vein of British comedy (as are all the pictures in the "Old Mother Riley" series) that continues through the films of Monty Python."[4]
- David Parkinson writes in Moviemail.com, " a discreet veil should be drawn over the last third of Jungle Treasure (1951), as its racial stereotyping outdoes anything seen in a Tarzan adventure."[8]
References
edit- ^ "Old Mother Riley's Jungle Treasure - Sky Movies HD". Skymovies.sky.com. 23 May 2002. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
- ^ "A Gender Variance Who's Who: Old Mother Riley". Zagria.blogspot.co.uk. 10 September 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
- ^ Bourne, Stephen (23 August 2008). "Josie Woods: Tap-dancing star of music hall". Independent. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
- ^ a b "Old Mother Riley's Jungle Treasure Review". Movies.tvguide.com. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
- ^ "Buy Movies at Movies Unlimited - The Movie Collector's Site". Moviesunlimited.com. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
- ^ Beifuss, John (15 June 2010). "An (Un)Real Mother For Ya: Old Mother Riley on DVD - The Bloodshot Eye". Blogs.commercialappeal.com. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
- ^ "Screen Snapshots: Law of the Jungle (1942) - Monogram and the Importance of Mantan Moreland". Screensnapshots.blogspot.co.uk. 20 May 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
- ^ "Old Mother Riley: In Paris & MP DVD | Classic Movies | Films by Movie Mail UK". Moviemail.com. 30 January 2006. Retrieved 22 February 2014.