053 - The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954)

DVD Box
The Belles of St. Trinian's is a English comedy about a bunch of boarding school girls turned bad.

The film is summed up in one scene:

The headmistress has called a staff meeting, informing the staff that they cannot be paid because she has bet all of the school funds on a horse. They are told that they have to retrieve the horse which has gone missing.

The said horse is in an upstairs dormitory as the 4th form try to find a way past the 6th form who have barricaded the door under the instruction of the headmistress's brother who has bet on another horse. He has brought in his mob who are helping to guard the 6th form from the teachers.

Meanwhile, the parents are arriving for parents evening an are guided away from the building by Flash, the alcohol trafficker and gambling aide who informs the parents - and the school inspector - that the guide's fire is not something to be missed.

Theatrical Poster
Source: Wikipedia
Of course, there is a bit of meat around the main event, but it is equally as farcical.

The setting for the film is Southern England, where all the posh toffs live - seeing as I live 15 minutes from the location I feel I am able to categorise my neighbours in such a way.

For a 1950's film the jokes have aged rather well, and even the current event jokes are still logical by nowadays standards.

By far the best character is Flash Harry, whose directing towards the end of the film had me laughing like a deranged man at the television. He is shortly followed by the greedy, ignorant headmistress, who, incidently is played by Alastair Sim, who also plays the headmistress's brother. This dual role is cleverly portrayed, and is seamless in the directing and editing.

Fantastic film and a ludicrously funny comedy.

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