Review for The Belles of St. Trinian's

I’ve always loved the St. Trinian’s films (well, up until the dreadful re-make in 2007) and ‘Belles’ is the best of the lot. Of course anyone who watched TV in the 70’s and 80’s would recognise them as a welcome staple on almost constant rotation on the BBC and they were always guaranteed to raise a smile.

Despite having got copies on VHS and then DVD, I’m delighted to see the first of the four get a really top-notch Blu-Ray release from Studio Canal, apparently to mark its sixtieth anniversary.

‘Belles’ was made in 1954, the dizzying heyday of fifties Britcom, and reflects the atmosphere of the classic Ealings, Boultings and Ranks of the time with a superb cast and a deft script full of hilarious sideswipes at the establishment. Directed by Frank Launder and starring Alistair Sim at his surreal best in not one, but two roles - ably abetted by George Cole and Joyce Grenfell and a host of other English comedy stalwarts, like Joan Sims, Beryl Reid and Irene Handl. Even Barbara Windsor is there somewhere in a ‘blink and you’ll miss her’ cameo.

The film not only boasts a title sequence featuring Ronald Searle’s scratch drawings but which took its inspiration from the same. I don’t recall reading any St. Trinians compendium cartoon books (perhaps their popularity had waned by the mid-sixties) though I devoured the ‘Down with Skool’ run of books which were also illustrated in Searle’s inimitable style.

The film starts with the arrival of a new term at St.Trinians, a public school where chaos reigns supreme. The local police and magistrate are already at their wits end and we even see a local Bobby lock himself up rather than face the inevitable onslaught of a new term.

The students (a category that includes ‘sixth formers’ who look well into their twenties) have their own brewery, their own betting syndicate and a stolen racehorse. But despite that, and the sheer anarchy that they create, there seems to be something admirable about their intrinsic loyalty to one another and the sheer efficiency of their teamwork, which allows them to run rings around the staff.

And talking of the staff, the school is a ‘labour of love’ for headmistress Miss Millicent Fritton (played sublimely by Sim), who sees the violence and anarchy as evidence of ‘spirit and vigour’ and does little to stop it. Sim also plays her incorrigible brother, Clarence Fritton, a bookmaker and a committed gambler always on the lookout for either a loan or a good racing tip.

George Cole is perfectly cast as 'Flash Harry' – a typical post-war spiv who deals in black-market goods, not least the Gin created by the schoolgirls in their chemistry lessons. (Cole would revive the character, albeit an older version, for his long-running 1980’s series ‘Minder’ in later years).

The film rattles along at an entertaining pace from the off and is a great way to spend any wet Sunday afternoon. It also has that unique quality of never becoming tired, no matter how many times it's viewed, always rewarding with light laughs, great characters and lots of action. I never tire of watching it and now, thanks to Studio Canal’s breath-taking Blu-Ray restored mastering, I can see it in all its glory.

The extra features here are also very worthwhile and will more than justify the double-dip upgrade for fans who already have this on DVD.

There are some charming interviews (in ‘The Girls of St. Trinians’) with some of the original ‘schoolgirls’ recounting their memories of filming and their reactions to older members of the cast. It’s notable that one girl, younger than others at the time of filming, found Sim to be ‘scary’ whilst the older girls found him to be utterly charming. An interview with Sim’s daughter, Meredith McKendrick is also illuminating.

Then there are a series of interviews with academic scholars – something I for one would like to see a lot more of on classic releases like this. After all, these are people who have studied these movies in great detail, as well as their historic context, and it’s great to hear them share the fruits of these labours. Indeed, if such a thing is allowed in a review, I would like to personally extend my thanks to them by way of future encouragement . So many thanks to Geoff Brown (Film Historian), Steve Chibnall (Professor of British Cinema) and Melanie Williams (Senior Lecturer in Film Studies). Really illuminating and worthwhile interviews.

A superb release in every respect.