The Belles of St. Trinian's

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]

The Belles of St Trinian's
DVD cover
Directed byFrank Launder
Written byFrank Launder
Sidney Gilliat
Val Valentine
Based oncartoons of Ronald Searle
Produced byFrank Launder
Sidney Gilliat
StarringAlastair Sim
Joyce Grenfell
George Cole
Hermione Baddeley
Betty Ann Davies
CinematographyStanley Pavey
Edited byThelma Connell
Music byMalcolm Arnold
Distributed byBritish Lion Films
London Films
Release date
  • 28 September 1954 (1954-09-28)
Running time
86 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom

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), arrives with his previously expelled sixth form daughter Arabella (Vivienne Martin). He gets his sister to re-enroll her so she can 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 he and his associates have backed.

Meantime, Barchester Police Superintendent Kemp Bird (Lloyd Lamble), in the hope of deterring the crime wave that has occurred in his area with every term at St Trinian's, goes to London to meet with Ministry of Education official Manton Bassett (Richard Wattis). But Bassett refuses to help: the two inspectors he has sent there have both disappeared. Kemp Bird thus arranges to send his girlfriend, police sergeant Ruby Gates (Joyce Grenfell), to St Trinian's, undercover, as games mistress Chloe Crawley. While there, she finds the fourth form girls using the science lab to make gin, which the school's business associate, Flash Harry (George Cole), sells for them. The policewoman 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

Notes

    References
    1. "The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954)".
    2. "Trinian's cartoonist Searle dies". 11 January 2018 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
    3. "Belles Of St. Trinian's, The (1954) - Misc Notes - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies.
    4. "BFI Screenonline: Belles of St Trinian's, The (1954)". www.screenonline.org.uk.
    5. "Roger Delgado".
    6. "In pictures: Dame Barbara Windsor". BBC. 30 December 2015.
    7. "Malcolm Arnold: The Belles of St. Trinians – Comedy Suite: Orchestra". Music Room. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
    8. "Malcolm Arnold - The Complete Catalogue of Published Works" (PDF). Malcolm Arnold Society. 2004. p. 10.
    9. "Prom 38 – Great British Film Music". BBC. 2003.
    10. "20th-Century British Film Music". BBC. 2021.
    11. "FEATURES The Belles Of St. Trinian's LITTLE MONSTERS ALL". The Sun-Herald. New South Wales, Australia. 14 February 1954. p. 22. Retrieved 12 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
    12. Monkey, Silver. "Reelstreets – Belles of St. Trinian's, The". www.reelstreets.com.
    13. "JOHN WAYNE HEADS BOX-OFFICE POLL". The Mercury. Hobart, Tasmania. 31 December 1954. p. 6. Retrieved 24 April 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
    14. Thumim, Janet. "The popular cash and culture in the postwar British cinema industry". Screen. Vol. 32 no. 3. p. 259.
    15. "'Belles of St. Trinian's' Opens at Plaza". movies.nytimes.com.
    16. "CABLE NEWS IN BRIEF". The Advertiser. 97 (29, 986). Adelaide, South Australia. 22 November 1954. p. 6. Retrieved 12 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
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