My Son, the Vampire Reviews

The last of the OLD MOTHER RILEY series (it began in 1937) sees Lucan again in drag as the Irish scullery maid who gets herself in all sorts of tough spots. In this one, Lucan gets involved with crazed scientist Lugosi, who is out to find the map of a uranium deposit in order to fuel his monster-robot, with which he seeks to control the world. The "vampire" tag was added by the producer in the hopes that an American distributor would decide to release the film in the States and was explained in the film by Lugosi's penchant for sleeping in coffins and having a strong desire for human blood (the nutty doctor just thought he was a vampire). The British retitled the film VAMPIRE OVER LONDON, still seeking American distribution, but no one took the bait. Desperate, the studio tried to create a new film by removing all the Lugosi footage and combining it with new scenes to make the never-to-be-seen epic KING ROBOT, but by this time Lugosi was too ill to participate, and the idea was scrapped. Eventually, American exploitation distributor Jack H. Harris bought the rights to the film and attempted to release it as CARRY ON VAMPIRE, but he was sued by the producers of the popular British comedy series. Finally OLD MOTHER RILEY MEETS THE VAMPIRE was released as MY SON THE VAMPIRE in America in 1963 (seven years after Lugosi's death), with an introduction by comedian Alan Sherman tacked on.