The Belles of St. Trinian's

The Belles of St Trinian's
DVD cover
Directed by	Frank Launder
Written by	Frank Launder Sidney Gilliat Val Valentine
Based on	cartoons of Ronald Searle
Produced by	Frank Launder Sidney Gilliat
Starring	Alastair Sim Joyce Grenfell George Cole Hermione Baddeley
Cinematography	Stanley Pavey
Edited by	Thelma Connell
Music by	Malcolm Arnold
Distributed by	British Lion Films London Films
Release date	28 September 1954 (1954-09-28)
Running time	86 minutes
Country	United Kingdom

The Belles of St Trinian's is a British comedy film set in the fictional St Trinian's school, released in 1954.^[1] It and its sequels were inspired by British cartoonist Ronald Searle.^[2] Directed by Frank Launder and written by Launder and Sidney Gilliat, it was the first of a series of four films.^[3]

Alastair Sim stars in a dual role as the headmistress Miss Millicent Fritton and her twin brother Clarence Fritton.^[4]

Plot[]

The Sultan of Makyad (Eric Pohlmann) sends his daughter Fatima off to a girls' school, St. Trinian's, in Barchester, England. There, she and her fourth form classmates receive a more "practical" education than one would expect. As Headmistress Millicent Fritton (Alastair Sim) explains, "At most schools, girls are sent out quite unprepared for a merciless world; but when our girls leave here, it is the merciless world which has to be prepared." Fritton's twin brother, bookmaker Clarence (also played by Alastair Sim), gets his sixth form daughter Arabella (Vivienne Martin) to befriend Fatima and get information on Arab Boy, the Sultan's racehorse, who will run in the upcoming Cheltenham Gold Cup against Blue Prince, the horse Clarence and his associates are backing.

Meantime, Barchester Police Superintendent Kemp Bird (Lloyd Lamble), in the hope of deterring the crime wave that occurs in his area with every term at St Trinian's, assigns his girlfriend, police sergeant Ruby Gates (Joyce Grenfell), to infiltrate the school undercover as games mistress "Chloe Crawley". There, she witnesses the fourth form girls using the science lab to make gin, which the school's business associate, Flash Harry (George Cole), sells for them. Sgt. Gates also observes the sixth form girls learning about French wine regions from the geography mistress. Later, as Crawley/Gates referees a field hockey match between St. Trinian's and a rival school, she is conked unconscious.

The next morning, Arab Boy runs the trial before the big horse race. He is timed by (1) the trainer, (2) Arabella, with other sixth form girls, and (3) a hidden group of fourth form girls. Then, to find out the weight of that day's jockey (Michael Ripper), the girls have Amanda (Belinda Lee) seduce him to get his weight. Afterwards, they determine Arab Boy is a shoo-in to win the race, and they arrange with Headmistress Fritton to place a £400 bet at 10-1 odds. Meanwhile, Arabella phones her father with the disastrous news of Arab Boy's strength. She conspires with some renegade sixth form girls to kidnap Arab Boy until the race is over. However, their plan is thwarted when the fourth form girls smuggle the horse to the races by hitching him to a milk cart. Later, as Headmistress Fritton is berated by parents over the way St Trinian's is run, Flash Harry bursts in with news that Arab Boy has won, netting St. Trinian's £4000 in winnings. Later, the sultan comes to the school to visit Fatima and award a trophy to one of the girls, but it and, subsequently, all the other trophies on display are stolen during two brief blackouts. Finally, the dais collapses, save the part on which a resigned and exasperated Fritton rests.

Cast[]

Ronald Searle appeared in a cameo role as a visiting parent.^[4] Roger Delgado plays the Sultan's aide.^[5] It was also the first film appearance of Barbara Windsor, then a teenager.^[6]

Music[]

The music for the file was written by the English composer Malcolm Arnold. The music was arranged as a concert suite for orchestra with piano four hands by Christopher Palmer.^[7][8] The suite was performed at the BBC Proms in 2003 and 2021.^[9][10]

Production[]

The film was based on the cartoons of Ronald Searle. He started doing sketches at the beginning of the war and continued to do them as a POW in Singapore. After the war they became very successful. By the time the film was made Searle had become tired of them.^[11]

Filming took place in April–May 1954. The opening scenes of the girls returning to school were filmed at what is now the All Nations Christian College near Ware, Hertfordshire. This includes the entrance gate of Holycross Road and the outside shots of the school.^[12] The bulk of the film was shot at Shepperton Studios in London.

Reception[]

Box Office[]

The film was the third most popular movie at the British box office in 1954, after Doctor in the House and Trouble in Store.^[13][14]

Critical[]

The New York Times wrote, "Credit Alastair Sim with doing excellently by the dual roles he essays...Joyce Grenfell makes a properly gangling, awkward and gullible lady sleuth; George Cole does a few delightful turns as the conniving Cockney go-between and last, but not least, the 'Belles of St. Trinian's' rate a vote of confidence for the whacky freedom of expression they exhibit. They all help make St. Trinian's a wonderfully improbable and often funny place to visit."^[15]

Censorship[]

The film was banned for children under 16 in South Africa.^[16]

See also[]

• BFI Top 100 British films

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]

• The Belles of St. Trinian's at IMDb
• The Belles of St. Trinian's at AllMovie
• The Belles of St Trinians at BFI Screenonline
• The Belles of St Trinian's at BFI
• The Belles of St Trinians at Letterbox DVD
• The Belles of St. Trinian's at British Comedy Guide