The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954) User Reviews

Terrible tykes, gin and horses, and the great Alastair Sim as Millicent Fritton, headmistress at St. Trinian's

[Terrell-4 · 8/10 · 15 March 2008]

Choose your fate: The terrible tykes of the fourth form, playing practical jokes that involve axes, or the...ummm...well-developed girls of the sixth form, who discovered some time ago cigarettes, gin, sex and how easily men can be led astray. The problem is that one set comes with the other. They are all there at St. Trinian's, that remarkably easy-going English school for girls led by headmistress Millicent Fritton (Alastair Sim). As Miss Fritton is fond of pointing out, "In other schools girls are sent out quite unprepared into a merciless world, but when our girls leave here, it is the merciless world which has to be prepared." Miss Fritton sounds something like a melding of Julia Child and Eleanor Roosevelt, and definitely has Sim's droll and deadpan comic genes.

In The Belles of St. Trinian's, a sly, chaotic comedy from the team of Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat, St. Trinian's is, as usual, on the brink of financial disaster. Salvation may be at hand, however, when a rich sheik sends his daughter to join the fourth form and receive a proper English education. The sheik also is a horse owner and one of his prize racers, Arab Boy, is being trained near the school for a race. It's only a matter of time before the fourth- form girls form a racing pool and bet heavily on Arab Boy, with Miss Fritton adding to the pool what funds the school has left. (Much of the fourth-form girl's money comes from the gin they make in chemistry, then bottle and lower by rope to Flash Harry (George Cole), a Cockney fixer, for distribution. "It's got something...I don't know quite what," says Miss Fritton on sampling the stuff, "but send a few bottles up to my room.")

Miss Fritton, however, has a brother, Clarence Fritton (who, by some coincidence of casting, also is Alastair Sim), a bookmaker who not only has placed a bundle on another horse, but who also has a daughter. And he has placed the precocious Arabella in the sixth form to keep him informed. Soon the sixth form has kidnapped Arab Boy, the fourth form has taken the horse back, Flash Harry has joined forces with Miss Fritton, the sixth-form girls are determined that Arab Boy will not leave the second floor of St. Trinian's, Clarence and his Homburg-wearing gang have arrived, parents are driving up for Parent's Day and the Ministry of Education has arrived in the person of a very proper inspector. Total war breaks out at St. Trinian's. It's hard to say which is more dangerous, the African spears or the flour bombs.

Alastair Sim as Millicent Fritton turns in a tour de force performance. Miss Fritton is a tall woman with a stately bosom, fond of long gowns with embroidered lace and Edwardian hats with lots of feathers. She takes everything in stride, even a fourth-former pounding at something in chemistry class and, after hearing an explosion a few minutes later, the results. "Oh dear. I told Bessie to be careful with that nitro-glycerine!" She is firm in believing that St. Trinian's is "a gay arcadia of happy girls." Sim was one of Britain's great eccentric actors. Other than the sheer chaos of all the little (and not so little) girls doing terrible things, he delivers much of the film's pleasure.

St. Trinian's School For Young Ladies.

[hitchcockthelegend · 8/10 · 26 July 2014]

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

A classic British comedy

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 17 December 2012]

As the new term is about to begin everybody near St Trinian's School for Young Ladies prepares for the worst; even the local police sergeant locks himself in his own cell! St Trinian's reputation for crime and hooliganism is well deserved; in chemistry they make explosives and gin, in geography they learn where all the best wines are made and when they play hockey a large supply of stretchers are required! This term sees the arrival of a Fatima, an Arab princess, amongst the girls and the return of the headmistress's previously expelled niece who hopes to learn about Fatima's gather's prize racehorse, Arab Boy, which her father has bet against. When Headmistress Millicent Fritton learns that the girls are planning to place a bet on Arab Boy with the local spiv she is horrified... then bets all of the school funds on it! As the day of the race approaches two groups of girls each struggle to make sure a different horse wins the race; and if the wrong one wins the school will have to close. If that wasn't enough trouble an undercover policewoman has come to the school as the new gym teacher and a school inspector is going to pay a visit on parents' day.

This, the first of the St Trinian's film, may be almost sixty years old but it has lost none of its anarchic charm. Alastair Sim does a fine job playing both Miss Fritton and her bookie brother Clarence; sometimes in the same scene, Joyce Grenfell is good as the undercover Sgt, Gates and George Cole is fun as spiv Flash Harry... the real stars though are the numerous girls whose behaviour makes them amongst the most feared people in the country! They are portrayed as genuinely anarchic without being unlikably malicious. The plot is of course fairly silly but it works well enough for a comedy. If you enjoy classic British comedies then this one is a must see.

A Classic - The Forerunner of Sketch Comedy

[[e-mail] · 7 February 2003]

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!

Sim is true to form.

[adamjohns-42575 · 6/10 · 20 June 2022]

The Belles Of St Trinian's (1954) -

While I would have always said that the earlier St Trinian's films were the better ones, having only recently watched the reboot from 2007, I think that the first ever cinematic outing for the girls just lacked something that the newer one had (The sequel (2009) wasn't much good though) I can only assume that the following 'Blue Murder At' (1957) and 'Pure Hell Of' (1960) films were the ones that resonated with me as a younger viewer during school holidays. Those and 'The Great Train Robbery' (1966) of course, which I know was brilliant as it's the one I have seen most often.

This one was a bit of a simple story and the girls didn't seem to be as united as they later became, so it was difficult to know whose side to be on?

With the Rupert Everett ones, the girls are all working together to keep the school running, in order to continue their shenanigans unhampered, but this film had them all broken in to factions against the headmistress and each other, in a selfish way, which didn't show them at their best.

Alistair Sim was of course superb in the dual role of Miss Fritton and her Brother Clarence and the majority of the others did a good job too. Not to forget dear old George Cole, who will eternally be remembered as Flash Harry and how could he not be with that portrayal as good as it is.

There's no denying that it's still great fun to watch and lead the way for the others that followed admirably, as well as probably a number of other films that must surely have used this as a reference to realise genius comedy, full of innuendo for years after, but it's not my favourite of the collection.

577.22/1000.

Pleasant if dated

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 4 February 2012]

I've recently re-found my love of British comedy, so I've been checking out all the old classics on TV as of late. As I'd never seen a St Trinian's film before, I thought I'd better start right at the beginning with this one. First off, and let's be fair, this is a film that has dated somewhat. The laughs, seen today, are overly familiar and may provoke an odd chuckle or two, but there are certainly no belly laughs. The storyline seems to be all over the place at times, or it may just be that I prefer the lighter, more sketch-like appeal of the early CARRY ONs. What this is, in essence, is the getting-together of various bizarre characters and watching them create chaos. Alistair Sim is certainly memorable as the headmistress, Miss Fritton, but it's George Cole who steals all his scenes as the wheeler-dealer Flash Harry. Add in a cast of famous faces (including Joan Sims channelling Diana Dors) and you have a typically old-fashioned British comedy. A lot of the material with the unruly schoolgirls is funny and very much a product of its time, but I found that the sequels just got better and better.

British fun that spawned an industry

[chris-fowler · 9/10 · 3 August 2005]

The first of five St Trinian's films (although the last is usually discounted) was based around artist Ronald Searle's schoolgirl characters, and features the wonderful Alastair Sim in drag as Millicent Fritton, headmistress, as well as her own brother. Much of the humour is dated, yet curiously touching and outrageous in today's PC world - the girls drink, gamble, smoke and are later sold off to rich Arabs, yet always remain in charge, defeating bureaucrats, police, judges and other establishment figures as they maraud across England. Perhaps because the films have been so regularly seen on TV, St Trinians still inspires fancy dress parties and club nights. The films have recurring characters that include PC Ruby Gates (Joyce Grenfell) and Flash Harry (George Cole). The precursor to the entire series is a charming film called 'The Happiest Days Of Your Life' (1950).

The Sims (not a computer game)

[Spuzzlightyear · 7/10 · 15 November 2005]

For those of you unfamiliar with Alisdair Sims, he is of course THE definitive Scrooge of all them Christmas Carol movies. (Me? I guess I'm REALLY bad.. I haven't actually seen the darn thing). I guess those who HAVE seen Christmas Carol and so used to his character might find The Bells of St. Trinians rather surprising. You see, in this movie, Sims has two roles. One, he plays a heavy better, and in the other, he's in drag as a headmistress for a private girl's school! So once you get that through your thick skull, this movie offers plenty of delights. The plot is deals with the way the school tries to make some desperately needed money through a horse race. It's actually a little more complicated for the small kids to handle, but I think they would be preoccupied with their antics, and with the horses to really notice. The adults too might get tripped over all the thick accents being thrown around as well. But again, the story is reasonably light, the action crazy and frenetic, for one to really notice. PS, the kids all look like they come from the Eloise school of cuteness.

Classic

[Jabnic · 10/10 · 25 June 1999]

Alistair Simms is a wonder in this. He makes such a good headmistress. The role given here for George Cole was made for him. Hence, the casting job on this film was perfect. I think it was one of those rare occasions where everything clicked. the story line was good, the comic dialogue a scream and the older prefect girls a delight!! Each character you are endeared to, even the villains. Why can't we make films like this any more. Basically, this is a very English comedy with good movement and fluidity.

Cute and mildly amusing.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 17 December 2010]

Before I get to reviewing this film's merits, I should point out that this DVD needs captions--as it has none. While the English accents are not as thick as in some films, for us non-Brits it sure would help to have DVD captions or closed captioning--particularly if you are hard of hearing like I am.

The film is set at a god-awful girls school, St. Trinian's. The teachers are unqualified and indifferent--mostly because the kids are so incorrigible and unruly. It all seems to be this way because the Headmistress is a complete idiot. Interestingly, this lady is played by Alastair Sim--who also plays the part of her brother, a professional gambler. When the kids blow things up, kidnap or run amok, she seems to think it's a case of 'girls being girls'. All she really seems to care about it keeping her debt-ridden school afloat--by whatever means is necessary.

Watching this film was a lot like watching a hundred kids like the one from "Problem Child" as they go about their wicked ways. At first it was rather cute, but after a while I felt a bit numb about it. Fortunately, there is a bit of plot later in the film about gamblers and a kidnapped horse. While it's all mildly funny, I also was left inexplicably flat about it--and I am not sure why. I mean, seeing and hearing Sim playing a lady was great and the idea of a school full of horrid kids is cute...but the film didn't seem to have a lot more to offer--no deeper meaning or significance. It's decent but don't expect an Ealing comedy...though Sim is quite good.

The Belles of St. Trinian's

[studioAT · 3/10 · 26 October 2021]

A bit tame by todays standards, and by those set later by the 2007 remake/continuation, but this is good fun, and enjoyable British comedy fare.

It is made of course by Alistair Sim in his dual role.

Enjoyable enough for a one time watch.

An absolute gem.

[Jim B-2 · 10/10 · 15 August 1999]

This bright hilarious English comedy about school girl antics is a neglected gem. The significant question is where is the audience? The film is rated 10 by most voters, but how many voters is that? They don't make comedies like this anymore because the films don't get distributed or seen. I would never miss a chance to see this old art house classic again. But where are the art houses?

Hell hath no fury like teenage girls.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 9 August 2018]

The inmates are running the asylum in this very funny British comedy about an all girl's school in which the students run rings around the not so rosy teachers who couldn't control them with a chair and a whip. Yes, Alastair Sim's Miss Fritton might look like a more showered version of "Matilda's" Miss Trunchbull, but she has the discipline capacity of a kitten. Indeed, Alastair Sims is in drag here, as well as playing Miss Fritton's brother, a rather sordid fellow with ties to a horse racing syndicate. When the brother learns that a Muslim princess has become a student, he brings his expelled daughter (the student ringleader) back, using his family ties to get sister to forgive her niece and take her back. Unbeknownst to the faculty, a police officer in disguise as a new teacher has arrived, and it is the seemingly prim and proper Joyce Grenfell who uses liberal forms of education to try to keep the girls in line but finds even that method cannot control these heathens who are desperate to make some cash from the local horse racing syndicate themselves. This brings in a criminal element when a valuable horse is stolen by the girls, but never underestimate the power of hundreds of screaming teens as they set their sites on increasing their paltry bank accounts.

It is the performances here which are quite more memorable than the film itself which runs about 15 minutes too long and isn't quite as funny as I hoped it would be. Certainly, Sim is superb, a comic genius even in playing humorless officials in other films, and of course, best known for arguably the most popular version of "A Christmas Carol". He fortunately does not overplay the femininity of Miss Fritton or camp it up, so he simply just looks like a rather large, eccentric British matron. Grenfell, an actress I've caught in a few movies and tremendously enjoyed, underplays her part as well, although I missed her eccentric voice that she utilized in other films. That aspect alone shows her versatility, although on occasion, you can catch a glimpse of that part of her personality. She knew that this was a straight role, so she kept that aspect of her acting chops out of it. Still, memories of those other films (and an imitation of her by Kaye Ballard on "The Mothers-in-Law") prevail. so Grenfell is an actress quite worth exploring.

Some of the other well known British character actors really are just part of the ensemble including Beryl Reid, deliciously teaching her students geography through the history of champagne, and a very masculine made up Hermoine Baddeley, but it is the ensemble of girls (one of whom is drawn and quartered in an attempt to get information from) who get the most laughs in addition to Sim and Grenfell.

My brief review of the film

[sol- · 4/10 · 26 April 2005]

Alastair Sim in a double role lights up this production that otherwise I did not find too much fun to watch. There are a few amusing moments during the film, but I generally found it to be rather overdone and too absurd to be funny. Many of these old British comedies still have charm and the power to make me laugh, but I would not place this film in that category. The characters actually felt rather stale, and I found it all rather annoying. I do realise that I'm in the minority here, so maybe it's just me. I suppose if one is into zaniness this might be good to watch, and Alastair Sim fans should see it for him playing two roles rather well, but otherwise I just personally cannot recommended it.

Huge fun - the finest of the series

[didi-5 · 17 October 2004]

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.

The Belles of St. Trinian's

[CinemaSerf · 6/10 · 4 November 2022]

Alastair Sim was always an excellent comedy actor - his timing and facial expressions always managed to raise a smile for me. Here is has the dual role of the headmistress "Millicent" and of her scheming bookmaker brother "Clarence" as both, in their own way, try to make a killing on an horse owned by the wealthy father of her newest pupil "Princess Fatima". The local village - and constabulary - live in terror of her establishment and of it's rowdy and lawless student body, so they decide to send the plucky and enthusiastic "Sgt. Gates" (Joyce Grenfell) in to masquerade as the games mistress and to gather intelligence as to the dodgy goings on at "St. Trinian's" enabling the law to shut it all down... A solid supporting cast of British actors - George Cole and Hermione Baddeley amongst them prop up well the central dynamic from Sim and the also rather effective Grenfell - another who had super comedy timing. The story is a little cringe-making at times, but the fact that all of the naughtiness comes from these devious and extremely innovative girls makes for a fun ninety minutes of escapades and japes. Plenty of flour fights and who's ever seen an instrument of torture adapted from a laundry wringer? Like so many of the British comedies of the 1950s, it's not comedy that could, or even ought, to be made now - but taken in the spirit of a search for some post war mischief and glee, it's still good fun to watch even now.

I Got The Horse Right Here

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 6 October 2011]

The Belles Of St. Trinian's are raising all kinds of mayhem once again with headmistress Alastair Sim in drag oblivious to all. It seems as though headmistress Sim and her brother the bookmaker are at odds over what to do about a racehorse.

Sim the bookmaker gets his daughter who was kicked out in the previous St. Trinian's film reinstated to buddy it up with a new girl whose father is an Arab sheik. The sheik played by Eric Pohlman has a racing stable with a new 3 year old that's greased lightning on the track. Naturally inside information about the horse is of big concern to the bookmaker. As the story unfolds brother and sister are at odds over what to do with information and then with the horse itself when it's kidnapped by the St. Trinian's girls foiling a kidnapping plot engineered by the bookmaker's friends.

As in the first St. Trinian's film this is an Alastair Sim show. Alec Guinness has nothing on Sim in playing a part in drag. I liked Sim in drag as the absolutely clueless headmistress who is oblivious to all around her. English Music Hall entertainer Sid James is always a treat as one of bookmaker Sims enforcers.

Of course there is a horse race at the climax of the film, You could do worse than see this very funny British comedy and find out what happens.

An art house classic minus an audience

[Jim B-2 · 10/10 · 16 August 1999]

This comic classic of English school girl antics is and was one of the great art house classics. Then the art house disappeared with the arrival of videos. And so did the audience for this movie. The loss is not to the art houses or to this great film. The loss is to those who will never have a real opportunity to view this memorable laugh filled cinematic masterpiece. But I am preaching to the converted aren't I. Who else would search for this flick?

The Forerunner of British comedy for years to come.

[alexanderdavies-99382 · 7/10 · 16 July 2017]

"The Belles of St. Trinian's" was the first of 4 comedies to feature a rather notorious school for Girls where the pupils had overtaken the school and the teachers were always outsmarted. Alastair Sim is cast as both the headmistress Miss Fritton and her dishonest brother. As with most of his films, he steals the show. However, the supporting cast are brilliant, particularly George Cole and Joyce Grenfell. The latter is a police officer who goes undercover as a teacher, so as to discover what those dastardly pupils are planning next. From the opening scene, it is clear that the establishment ceased to be a school many years earlier! The laughs are plentiful and I rate this film as the best one by a long way. Released in 1954, "The Belles of St. Trinian's" was a huge commercial success and rightly so.

A True Classic of the Genre

[LateNighter · 10/10 · 22 February 2005]

There are other movies about boarding schools and the antics of the students and staff, but "The Belles of St. Trinian's" towers above them all! The plot has been thoroughly summarized by other posters, so I won't cover the same ground. I just want to say that it's a shame that it's FINALLY out on DVD, but in a format that can't be used in the U.S.! :-(

Enjoy, fellow fans in New Zealand and Australia! And if anyone reading this has any pull in such matters, PLEASE help get it released on DVD with Region 1 encoding! Also, is it possible to be notified via e-mail when (I won't say "if") it is released on DVD in the United States? Thanks!

Faded but still a hard movie to dislike.

[GiraffeDoor · 7/10 · 12 April 2019]

Although somewhat dates, it's still so easy to like this paean to anarchy. It's a timelessy appealing concept; a girls' school where the kids are terrible and the teachers are even worse.

Admittedly it is kind of a one joke movie in this respect and the little girls being so dangerous is at first a mostly informed attributed. However, the professionalism in Alistair Sim's excellent performance reminds us how a man drag can still be the height of comedic charm (Sandler and Perry, this is how it's done).

Slacking in many parts only to return with swell visual gags as well as a fine plot where the school, Millicent's brother (Sim's in another super performance) AND the fuzz try to get one up over the other as horses are kidnapped and lowered out of windows and then ridden up the stairs as we swing to a fine climax of all out inter-scholastic war.

The little girls have their done splendidly to resemble the original comics and the main one (who speaks most of the lines) is so adorable she haunts my dreams.

It's nothing close to the badassdom and Riot Grrrl of the later reboot but it still makes crucial viewing and I suggest seeing this first to get some background. It still maintains that same wonderful depiction of outcasts and youngsters outsmarting the authorities, even if I'm a little baffled by the how it resolved.

It's also interesting for having a role for a young Joan Sims.

Oh, and the music is perfect for the rule tone of vintage rule breaking, it's stylistically very rich. Just wanted to put that in there.

In one scene the head mistress shows round their new games mistress (pig in disguise). They pass by a door that says words to the effect of "Sex education". She says "I think we'll skip this one until you're more accustomed to our ways".

And this 1952!

Tremendous fun

[Welly-2 · 9/10 · 5 February 2008]

Tremendous fun both as a film and as an excuse to sit back and play the 'oh, that's whassis name' game. Every star of the golden age of English films seems to be in this one and it was a joy to see them. And the greatest of them all, Richard Wattis, was as tremendous as ever.

There is actually a plot that trundles along very nicely, there's also some splendid jokes and comedic moments, but the key to this films triumph is the characters within it. Alastair Sim is magnificent and somehow convinces you that a six foot, big-boned Scotsman could be the headmistress of a girl's boarding school. George Cole, Beryl Reid and Irene Handl all have their moments but, with Alastair and Richard, the star of the show is Joyce Grenfell. She is an absolute one-off and brings a smile whenever she's on the screen...her rolling-walk and plum accent done to perfection.

And for those playing the , that's whassis name' game, you can even spot Arthur Mullard, Barbara Windsor and Ronald Searle if you look carefully.

Alastair Sim as Miss Fritton

[greenbudgie · 7/10 · 14 January 2024]

Confining this review to the role of the headmistress in this movie, she has to be my most favorite characters of all. Millicent Fritton is a maiden lady who still dresses in the Edwardian garb of her younger day. Ostensibly she is a genteel character who is horrified by the contemporary declining standards of post-war England. But her own ethics are questionable when she needs to save her school from financial ruin. Her carelessness and her permissiveness as regards to her pupil's destructive rampages are to blame for the monetary disaster hanging over her. Alastair Sim must have relished the dry wit of the dialogue he delivers as Miss Fritton. He is able to alter his deep voice into female tones and he is padded out to take on a more womanly shape. With a hairpiece piled high on the top of his head he towers above the rest of the cast including himself as Miss Fritton's twin brother, resulting in something like a mother hen clucking around her chicks. Miss Fritton is particularly motherly to her fourth-form girls with her kindly smile, but doesn't believe in smother-loving as she wants her girls to be able to take on a merciless world when they leave school. For her teaching staff, she hires misfits including Miss Walters who is on the run from the law. It's a toss up to fortune whether Miss Fritton will end up in Holloway Prison herself when her school comes under surveillance from the police.

George Cole is brilliant.......

[walmington · 31 October 2000]

the first and probably the best of the three original St. Trinian's films. What with Alastir Sim and Joyce Grenfell, this film will definitely make you laugh. however, I personally think what makes the film what it is is Flash Harry, the local cockney spiv played expertly well by George Cole. The interaction between Cole, Sim and Grenfell is magic. Flash Harry is a fantastic character and can't but make you laugh. A classic, classic film.

The girls school run amok

[SimonJack · 6/10 · 9 May 2016]

"The Belles of St. Trinian's" is a British comedy similar to other films about schools run amok. It has a different twist however. Here the disorder and havoc are fomented by an unorthodox "faculty" as much as by a generally unruly student body. Indeed, the film leads one to wonder how many of the faculty have their faculties.

The humor in this setup soon wears thin, and the screaming hordes after a while become grating. What saves the film, or makes it in the first place are the performances of three of the cast. Alastair Sim is very funny in his double role, especially as St. Trinian's head mistress. He/she is Millicent Fritton, sister of Clarence, also played by Sim.

Two excellent performances are given by George Cole as Flash Harry and Joyce Grenfell as a police sergeant, Ruby Gates. She goes undercover to check on illegal activities suspected of going on through the school. The film is worth seeing for these three performances that generate most of the laughs.

Here's a funny exchange between Millicent and Flash Harry. Millicent, "She says there is an illicit still on the premises." Harry, "It ain't a still. It's a homemade gadget for makin' bath tub gin." Millicent, "There is a man her called Flash Harry …" Harry, "Yeah. But she's no right to call me that in official documents." Millicent, "… who acts as a contact man." Harry, "Oh, that's a lie. I'm a go-between."