The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954)

The Belle’s of St. Trinian’s (1954) DVD (Region One – playable in North America) Black & White Approx. 87 min. Beautifully re-mastered print.

Starring: Alastair Sim, Joyce Grenfell, George Cole, Hermione Baddeley and Betty Ann Davies. Written by Frank Launder, Sidney Gilliat and Val Valentine. Based on the cartoons of Ronald Searle. Directed by Frank Launder.

The arrival of Sultan's daughter Princess Fatima (Lorna Henderson) at England's famous and prestigious St. Trinian’s 'School for Young Ladies' precipitates even more chaos than usual. Her father's horse Arab Boy is due to run at the nearby Gold Cup so Clarence Fitton (Alastair Sim), bookie brother of headmistress Millicent (also Alastair Sim), ensures his own daughter is on hand to report progress. At the same time Barchester police have planted sergeant Ruby Gates (Joyce Grenfell) as a teacher, and the Ministry of Education are sending a third inspector down after the previous two disappeared without trace.

“Britain's holiday film gift is a funny antic as delicate as a hotfoot and as trenchant as a Mack Sennett comedy.” – New York Times

“What endures and still beguiles about the St. Trinian's movies is a mythic Englishness of wood panelled public school nicety and eccentric "grown-ups" completely sabotaged by a pack of street-wise urchins and long-legged lovelies in a hail of flour bombs and lacrosse sticks.” – Empire Magazine