Death Goes to School

DEATH GOES TO SCHOOL is a low rent British murder mystery that provides a neat counterpoint to the more popular hilarity of the ST. TRINIANS movies, which were just taking off during the decade. The production company was the little-known Independent Artists, who knocked out a few quota quickies before moving into TV production in the 1960s. The excellent NIGHT OF THE EAGLE is undoubtedly their best (and well-known) production.

This story is a typical murder mystery with a couple of sleuths in an all-girl school, hot on the trail of a murderer who took down the headmistress by strangulation with a scarf. All they have is a footprint to go on, but they soon uncover a hotbed of hatred and false identity, and they must piece together the clues to discover the one responsible.

The film features a leading role for a youthful Gordon Jackson as the no-nonsense detective and the ubiquitous Sam Kydd (who's uncredited for some reason) as his right hand man. The characterisation is slim, and the denouement is rather unremarkable, but the plot remains focused throughout. The all-girl school setting is a good one that Hammer would later use in the likes of LUST FOR A VAMPIRE in the 1970s. This film was shot at the attractive Merton Park Studios in Wimbledon, later the setting for the obscure Michael Gough horror, THE CORPSE.

This is typical whodunit in the grand tradition of Agatha Christie (but definitely inferior to her best murder mysteries ): a place where a murder was committed and where everyone's a suspect,for everyone bore a grudge against the strangled victim .

And the suspects are all teachers in a girls school , that is people who should be models to their pupils ; using flashbacks is quite derivative,but it allows us to make acquaintance with these women who are not exactly the persons they claim to be .

This is OK murder mystery and the murderess 's motive makes sense .

Apart from the '50's sexism, which for the most part is now comical, this isn't too bad a murder mystery.

When the body of one of the teachers is discovered dead on the Girlschool's grounds the police are called in. Enter DI Campbell (Jackson) and Sergeant Harvey (Kydd) to solve the crime. However, they are initially worried about solving the case as, "who can figure out the reasons in a woman's mind?"... problems we still suffer from today. They needn't have worried though as Miss Shepherd (Murray) is on the case too. Being a teacher at the school and a lover of mystery novels she takes it upon herself to investigate.

One of the good things about this story is that unlike many sleuths, Miss Marple and Father Brown as examples, the police actually utilise Miss Shepherd. It's nice that the "outside" investigator isn't a thorn in the polices side but a help.

Gordon Jackson is in his element as a hard-nosed don't hold back copper. You can see elements of his character in The Professionals, George Cowley, coming through in his portrayal of DI Campbell. So this remembrance, for me, helped to submerge me into the film, right from his appearance.

This is a well scripted and written story. There are plenty of suspects to be the murderer... in fact, most of the staff at the school could be guilty of the crime. The way the story unfolds is nicely done, though the narration from Miss Shepherd is a little irksome. However, I've never been a fan of the narration - unless it's "The Twilight Zone" style. I think narration should be shown by the camera and not heard. If somebody says, "They were shocked to..." then show them shocked. They're actors, the director should use their skills.

That said though, I would recommend this to all whodunnit buffs and murder mystery lovers. It's a short film, at just over an hour in runtime, so would be good for a quick fix. A good afternoon flick for the armchair detectives out there.

Produced by former director Victor Hanbury, who died the following year shortly after 'fronting' for the blacklisted Joseph Losey on the even more histrionic 'The Sleeping Tiger'. This is also a fascinating artefact from the buttoned-down early fifties (with a conclusion involving assisted suicide that possibly encountered problems with the censor), adapted by Maisie Sharman from her own novel 'Death in Seven Hours' (1952), published under her pseudonym Stratford Davis.

Set in a girls' school in which the repressed passions of both staff & pupils have long ago reached boiling point; murder being the result (an outlet already manifest in the psychotic violence being displayed by the belles of St. Trinian's)!

All I can say, is this movie was taken from a book written by the author Stratford Davis - and it didn't do her justice. Yup, a little background. The male name Stratford Davis was actually the pen name of a female with the birth name Maisie Sharman who wrote several books under the male name just so she could be published during the thirties. She later penned several more books under the name Miriam Sharman (last name was real until she married a Bolton in Hampshire, and then went under the name Miriam Bolton for several screenplays for the BBC). The reason I know this trivia about a little known author is simply because she was my great-aunt on my maternal Grandfather's side. I have collected several of her books from her later periods (50's and 60's); and while they would never be on a par with Conan Doyle or P.D. James, I found them enjoyable for a short bout of escapism.