The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery

The Great Train Robbery of 1963 was a crime so audacious it had sufficiently embedded itself in the public consciousness for there even to be a topical reference to SPECTRE's "consultation fee for the British train robbery" at the annual stocktaking scene that opened 'Thunderball'.

Getting into the spirit of the sixties the time was therefore ripe for these desperadoes to be pitted against an even more formidable foe in the form of the girls of St Trinian's; although in reality the original train robbers were a ruthless gang of career criminals that it's hard to believe were really much like an old softy like Frankie Howard.

The fourth part of the St. Trinian's themed films is the first to be shot in colour, and also the point where someone should have realised that this series had run out of steam. Based on Ronald Searle's demonic schoolgirls, this outing cribs off of the topical Great Train Robbery of the 60s, retains George Cole as a reassuring presence, while adding Dora Bryan and Frankie Howerd for some acting solidification.

It's not a bad film as such, in fact the last quarter, where a whole host of train shenanigans come into play, is great fun, it's just that it feels tired, less risky, like the makers were hedging their bets to get a box office winner (which came to fruition). Fast framing is a bit of a cheat, Howerd is wasted - or sleepwalking through the film? But Bryan is on hand for a bit of quality while the girls are all boisterous and minxy.

Enjoyable enough for those so inclined, even if it's utterly forgettable come the final credits. 6/10

A lesser St Trinian's film, this does benefit from scatty Dora Bryan as the headmistress; Raymond Huntley as her MP beau; Richard Wattis and co as men from the ministry; and Frankie Howerd, Reg Varney, Arthur Mullard and others as train robbers.

If you have seen the other films, you know the formula. The St Trinian's schoolgirls are little terrors who frighten the life out of authority and everyone else. The teachers are boozers, smokers, fighters, and gamblers. Put these together and the plot will sizzle.

Not as good as the others, and drags a bit towards the end, but it is a fun film which diverts for at least an hour.

I really wasn't expecting to enjoy this movie. After all, the previous film in this series, 'The Pure Hell Of' was a bit of a disappointment and the question was, six years later, could this movie get the series back on track?

The answer is yes, 'The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery', after a slightly slow start, is a very funny movie, the funniest in the series since 'Blue Murder'. Learning from the mistakes of 'Pure Hell', this movie returns to the school-based comedy that we all know and love.

It has its faults, of course. For example some of the series' most familiar faces are absent (there is no Alistair Sim or Joyce Grenfell, for example), while a sadly ill-looking Eric Barker appears only for a few seconds. But all in all, the influx of new faces (including the likes of Frankie Howerd and Dora Bryan) works to the movie's advantage. Also the rail track capers that conclude the movie are very funny indeed.

The less said about the awful theme song, the better I think, but any movie that contains the line 'Knock them about democratically' deserves to be remembered.

The premise doesn't seem bad, that the school is relocated due to the fires and a group of thieves want to recover money hidden in the place where the new school is. However, it doesn't feel like a St. Trinian's film to me. Its the only one in color and of the characters from the other films only Harry is still there. There is no more Sargeant Gates, which would have helped. The movie goes along at a decent pace and Frankie Howerd is, of course, a good comic actor, but the film is watchable only because its part of the series not because it is such a great stand alone film. See it if you want to complete your watching of the original St. Trinian's films, but otherwise it is not essential viewing.