The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954)

These schoolgirls are more interested in racing forms than books as they try to get-rich-quick. They are abetted by the head-mistress' brother, played by Alastair Sim, who also plays the head-mistress.

Director:

Frank Launder

Writers:

Frank Launder (screenplay), Sidney Gilliat (screenplay)

Stars:

Alastair Sim, Joyce Grenfell, George Cole

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alastair Sim	...	Millicent Fritton / Clarence Fritton
Joyce Grenfell	...	P.W. Sgt. Ruby Gates
George Cole	...	Flash Harry
Hermione Baddeley	...	Miss Drownder
Betty Ann Davies	...	Miss Waters
Renee Houston	...	Miss Brimmer (as Renée Houston)
Beryl Reid	...	Miss Wilson
Irene Handl	...	Miss Gale
Mary Merrall	...	Miss Buckland
Joan Sims	...	Miss Dawn
Balbina	...	Mlle de St. Emilion
Jane Henderson	...	Miss Holland
Diana Day	...	Jackie
Jill Braidwood	...	Florrie
Annabelle Covey	...	Maudie

Storyline

The arrival of Sultan's daughter Princess Fatima at England's famous and prestigious 'School for Young Ladies' precipitates even more chaos than usual. Her father's horse Arab Boy is due to run at the nearby Gold Cup so Clarence Fitton, bookie brother of headmistress Millicent, ensures his own daughter is on hand to report progress. At the same time Barchester police have planted sergeant Ruby Gates as a teacher, and the Ministry of Education are sending a third inspector down after the previous two disappeared without trace.

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Plot Keywords:

school | schoolgirl | steeplechase | horse racing | woman played by man | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 October 1954 (Ireland)

Also Known As:

Ballade i pigepensionen

Filming Locations:

All Nations College, Easneye, Stanstead Abbotts, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

London Film Productions,British Lion Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Flash Harry Edwards was born in 1928. When he was 12 years old in 1940, Miss Fritton employed him as a boot boy.

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Goofs

The shadow on the wall of Arab Boy seen by Ruby Gates is obviously made by a cut-out.

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Quotes

Supt. Kemp-Bird: You wouldn't mind giving me the name of your phyciatrist, would you?
Manton Bassett: Delighted, old chap.

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Connections

Referenced in Midsomer Murders: Death in the Slow Lane (2011)

User Reviews

Huge fun - the finest of the series

The St Trinian's film series, in which a rowdy crowd of girls, their drunken and appalling teachers, and their 'refined' headmistress (played by a man, natch), remain high in any league table of Britain's comedy moments.

In a cast headed by the superb Alistair Sim (Miss Fritton, the headmistress; and her brother, race shark Clarence) we also find Joyce Grenfell as a policewoman joining the staff undercover (and no one was better than Grenfell at this jolly hockey kind of stuff), Beryl Reid as a mannish, drunken chemistry teacher, Hermoine Baddeley and Irene Handl as memorably unsuitable members of staff, George Cole as 'flash' Harry, an odd-job man who deals with the export of the St Trinian's bathtub gin and places racing bets for the girls, and the incomparable Richard Wattis as a harassed Ministry of Education inspector.

The girls themselves include some memorable turns - Vivienne Martin as chain-smoking Bella, Belinda Lee as horny Amanda, also Barbara Windsor and Carol White are somewhere in there.

The plot revolves around a race horse, Arab Boy, who ends up in the fourth-former's dormitory; a side plot involves missing Ministers of Education, who have become part of the staff as 'the Lotus Eaters'.

Probably the funniest of the series, this film is fast-paced, furious, with some violent 'old girls', some wonderful set-pieces, and a nice script from Launder and Gilliat.