Old Mother Riley in Paris – 1938 | 97 mins | Comedy | B&W

Plot Synopsis

The second and probably most amusing of the long-running Mother Riley series, created in the music hall by befrocked Arthur Lucan and featuring real-life wife Kitty McShane. This irresistible espionage romp in pre-war France has plenty of tired cooking and mother-in-law jokes but there are entertaining moments of energetic slapstick humour.

Charwoman Mother Riley is sacked from her job and struggling to keep a roof over the head of her and daughter Kitty. They rely on the income of lodger Joe (Jerry Varno), who Mother Riley disapproves of but Kitty is engaged to marry. The idea of Mother Riley as a mother-in-law gives Joe cold feet, so he persuades his tourist employers to transfer him to their Paris branch.

Against a Parisian backdrop, Joe is unwittingly central to an espionage ring involving attractive spy Madame Zero (Magda Kun). Meanwhile, back in England, Mother Riley chaperones her daughter to Paris to reunite Kitty with her fiancé. In France, Mother Riley lacks a passport and is mistakenly identified as a spy, only to snare a real one herself.