The Belles of St. Trinian's

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.

I remember seeing this movie on U.S. Television way before Monty Python or Benny Hill. This was my introduction to British Comedy. I had not seen the film for about 25 years until I found it on video. It was just as funny as when I saw it as a child!

It's funny, camp and silly. I can watch it over and over again. Alistair Sim in drag in a hoot! The stereotypes are hysterical. I believe this was the film that inspired Carry-On movies, which in turn inspired other sketch comedies. If you can look past the fact that this movie is almost 50 years old, I strongly recommend getting a hold of it for some good, old-fashioned bawdy laughs!

The Belles of St. Trinian's is directed by Frank Launder and co-written by Launder, Sidney Gilliat and Val Valentine. It stars Alastair Sim, Joyce Grenfell, George Cole, Hermione Baddeley and Betty Ann Davis. Music is by Malcolm Arnold and cinematography by Stanley Pavey.

Inspired by the cartoon drawings of Ronald Searle, The Belles of St. Trinian's is the first part of a franchise that still thrives even today. With 7 films currently under the Trinian's banner, the roguish behaviour of the girls and their manner of dress sense passed into pop culture and is still going strong today. Either for sexual titillation (the St. Trinian's look has always been popular at fancy dress parties) or as a tag for unruly girls in British schools, it's hard to believe that Searle envisaged the ever lasting appeal of his creations. Unfortunately the films are a mixed bunch, with a couple of them just plain bad. This however is not a problem with The Belles, the best of the bunch by some margin.

The Barchester Bedlam.

Pic is fronted by Sim in a dual role of brother and sister. The art of drag has been tarnished over the years by some of the more stuffy members of the human race, but in the right hands it often works so well, as evidence by the wonderful Sim here. The plot involves a gambling sting at the big horserace on the horizon, with Flash Harry (Cole) aided and abetted by the terrors of St. Trinian's. It's all very chaotic and horsey, both in the equine sense and in horseplay terms. Grenfell is the policewoman who goes under cover as a teacher in the school, where the staff roster is populated by British stars of the future like Beryl Reid, Joan Sims and Irene Handl.

The girls, of various stages of their schooling, smoke, toke, drink and take every opportunity to cause mischief. Their reputation precedes them, as the train that carries them inward bound for the new term approaches, the town citizens start to board the place up, even the chickens run off into hibernation! This is the on going joke that works right to the film's conclusion, sadly it would run out of steam by the time The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery pulled into the station in 1966. But Belles is great fun, very British of course and very clever. From Sim being dry as the Sahara and Grenfell's Duracell Bunny performance, to those rascal girls, the school is open for frolics and energised bedlam. Enjoy. 8/10

I first saw this film in the late fifties or early sixties on tv. If I recall correctly there were a few other films in the story of the St. Trinian's Belles. I don't remember the others quite well, but the first one is without question one of the funniest films out of Britain I have ever seen. For that matter, out of anywhere. The sight gags are fast and furious, the dialogue is to die for and almost all the characters are brilliantly drawn and just plain funny. Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves immensely. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who appreciates good old fashioned comedy (not rated R) and I think even children will love it. This is one of those movies (and its sequels) that I would pay almost anything to own. Enjoy it if you ever get a chance to see it.

The Belles of St. Trinian's was the first of the St. Trinian's film series, based on the popular cartoons by Ronald Searle, which followed the exploits of the tearaway students and scurrilous staff at a notorious all-girls boarding school.

The audience for these films can be divided into two main groups: Young kids, for whom the St.Trinian's girls' rebellious behaviour provides a source of wish fulfilment; and middle-aged men, who watch for the more shapely, older students, with their short skirts, stockings, suspenders, and oh-so-tight gym shorts. I used to be in the first category; now I'm in the second.

The plot is predictable comic book high jinks, the naughty fourth formers trying to win a bundle by betting on Arab Boy in the Gold Cup, the horse belonging to the wealthy Sultan of Makyad (Eric Pohlmann), father of new student Princess Fatima (Lorna Henderson). Meanwhile, the sixth formers attempt to steal the horse so that another nag will win the race, making a nice bundle for Clarence Fritton (Alistair Sims), brother of headmistress Millicent (who has bet the school's last few hundred pounds on Arab Boy!).

In the tradition of the great British pantomime, The Belles of St. Trinian's features a man in drag as a principle character (Sims also plays Millicent), lots of slapstick, and just a bit of sauciness. This formula has made the series a much-loved institution in the UK, the series rebooted in 2007, and the sexy schoolgirl uniform still a popular choice for fancy-dress parties and hen-nights.

The cast all look as though they're having a great time joining in on the mayhem, and the fun is infectious. Also serving to make this film hugely entertaining are Joyce Grenfell as undercover cop P.W. Sgt. Ruby Gates, George Cole as shifty spiv 'Flash' Harry (whose appearance is accompanied by his own jaunty theme music), and several familiar faces amongst the supporting players: Joan Sims, Irene Handl, and Beryl Reid as teachers, Sid James as Clarence's pal Benny, Hammer horror regular Michael Ripper as stable lad Albert, and Shirley Eaton and Barbara Windsor as students (but good luck in spotting them).

7.5/10, rounded up to 8 for tragic Brit bombshell Belinda Lee as sexy sixth form girl Amanda. Phwoar!