Mother Riley Meets the Vampire

Bela went abroad for this wacky British horror comedy and it was the last time he was seen on screen in his Dracula cape. There's a bit of an espionage plot, which results in the kidnapping of Mercedes at the film's beginning. However, the real star of the show here isn't Lucan as Mother Riley, but Lugosi as a maniac who thinks he's a vampire and wants to bring the world to its knees. He even has a massive robot as his command. Bela brings to his part an intensity that hadn't been seen since his performances of the early '30s. Worth it for him alone. This was released in the States years later as My Son the Vampire.

• comedy
• horror