Film Review
The second gloriously silly outing for the St Trinian's mob suffers
from an acute deficit of Alastair Sim (who appears in only two short
scenes) but this is at least partly compensated for by the addition of
Terry-Thomas as a characteristically caddish womaniser. The
victim of Tel's murky machinations is a deliciously wimpish Joyce Grenfell
who, along with George Cole, provide very welcome reprises of their
roles from
The Belles of St. Trinian's
(1954). The one false note is Lionel Jeffries, who is
out-performed and out-classed by his co-stars and fails to deliver the
comedy goods, even when he is dragged up to the nines. This is the
film that gave us the famous
St Trinian's battle song,
an anti-authoritarian rallying cry to
adolescent rebellion that was particularly well-suited to the time.
Although somewhat less satisfying and polished than the first
St Trinian's film, this makes a
better than average follow-up, even if the humour does descend to the
level of an early Mack Sennett comedy, with pantomime policemen
charging about the corridors of the school, subjecting themselves to
the usual barrage of schoolgirl pranks. The character humour is
much more effective than the boisterous farce and gives the film the
backbone it badly needs to avoid looking as weak and spineless as Ruby Gates. From
Richard Wattis, the put-upon schools official, to Michael Ripper, the
sympathetic lift attendant (later to become a stalwart of Hammer's
horror films), there is hardly a character that is not
cast and played to perfection. What makes the film so memorable
is not the anarchic antics of the devilish schoolgirls, nor the devious
machinations of Flash Harry, but the exquisite, and quite poignant,
rapport between Terry-Thomas and Joyce Grenfell, who bring
more than a glimmer of emotional realism to their scenes together.
It's not quite
Brief Encounter,
but it is moving all the same. Never happy with her association with the
St Trinian's films, Grenfell would appear
in one further episode in the series,
The Pure Hell of St. Trinian's (1960).
© James Travers 2010
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Frank Launder film:
The Pure Hell of St. Trinian's (1960)
Film Synopsis
With headmistress Miss Fritton taking leave at her Majesty's pleasure,
St Trinian's has descended into a state of total anarchy. Not
even the British army is equipped to maintain order until a replacement
head teacher is found. As his schoolgirl chums battle it
out against the hopelessly ill-prepared soldiers, Flash Harry pays a
visit to an Italian prince, hoping to sell one of the more attractive
sixth formers through his illicit marriage brokering agency. The
prince insists on seeing the goods before he makes his purchase, which
presents Harry with a problem: how is he to get the girls to Rome
before the end of term? A UNESCO essay writing competition
offering a prize tour of the continent provides the solution. By
their usual skulduggery, the girls win the contest and are about to
invade an unsuspecting Europe when another setback comes their
way. The new headmistress, Dame Maud Hackshaw, intends to veto
the expedition. Just before Dame Maud arrives, the school is
visited by a jewel thief Joe Mangan, who is looking for somewhere to
hide out after his latest heist. With the police net closing in
on him, Mangan is forced to impersonate Dame Maud, who is now safely
locked up in the bell tower. With some barely roadworthy
transport supplied by a crooked ex-army captain, Romney
Carlton-Ricketts, the girls are soon on their way, unaware that their
translator is Ruby Gates, a police sergeant who is determined to unmask
the jewel thief. The atrocities of Attila and his ravaging hordes
are nothing compared with the onslaught that Europe faces from the
demonic rabble of St Trinian's...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.