Fric-Fracs à gogo

Not the strongest film in the ‘St Trinians' series, but nevertheless enjoyable for fans of mid-50s British comedy. It tends to slapstick at times, particularly the scene where the policemen are looking for the diamond thief – a straight lift from `The Pirate of Penzance'.

The caste is the cream of British comedy at the time. Two mentions: a young George Cole, who went on to make a career of playing Cockney spivs, and Joyce Grenfell as Sgt Ruby Gates. The latter is a standout performance. Joyce Grenfell must surely be on of the finest female comedians of all time and the film is worth watching for her performance alone.

Italian Prince Bruno is looking for a wife. Unscrupulous matchmaker Flash Harry offers him the girls of St Trinian's. Headmistress Amelia Fritton and the teachers are all gone. The girls have gone wild. The government sends in the Army to no avail. Harry has a scheme to get the girls on a trip to Italy.

This is the second St Trinian's movie. It needs more time for the girls. It also needs to highlight a core group of three or four girls. It's supposed to be their movie and it doesn't hurt to show off these beautiful babes. Hopefully, they can act. The movie spends way too much time with all these old men. As for the army, I don't see the government sending in the army for a bunch of girls. I actually like the Keystone Cops better. They are more in line with a slapstick screwball comedy. I wouldn't mind a movie with the St Trinian's girls versus the Keystone Cops. Of course, the cops can't follow them out of the country. They would hand off the troublesome group to their European counterpart. As it stands, it has its moments of fun, but there could be more fun.

In the days before political correctness reared its ugly head, boys were boys and girls and girls, and ne'er the twain should meet - except for St. Trinian's where small girls were boys, at least in their behaviour, and large girls were rather pretty, in Sabrina's case voluptuous. The main characters were all well drawn with a splendid supporting cast and all very British. Alastair Sim was perfect as the headmistress, George Cole was the Cockney geezer, Joyce Grenfell the ever spurned policewoman while Eric Barker as Culpepper Brown and Richard Wattis as Bassett were truly superb archetypal education ministers. As for Terry-Thomas - well? Even a coach driver could be posh in those days! Stiff upper lip what, even with St. Trinian's on board. All good clean fun which had family audiences flocking to the local cinema. What a pity they don't show films like this any more on television because they beat the modern rubbish hollow for entertainment value.

This is the second installment in the St. Trinians set of films and it deals with the girls wanting to win a contest to go to Europe, specifically Rome, to meet a handsome bachelor prince. They creatively find a way to win the contest and they are on their way. The reason this film is not as immediate as the first is because it takes a while for them to finally make the trip. There is a story attached concerning stolen jewels also, which is germane to all this, but I didn't think it was all that interesting. However, there is better acting in this film. Terry Thomas is good and Joyce Grenfell returns as the sargeant, once again going undercover. So, not as good as "The Belles", but you'll want to see it because you want to see the films in the series.

Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Blue Murder At St Trinians. Before we get into it, here are my ratings:

Story - 1.25 Direction - 1.25 Pace - 1.50 Acting - 1.25 Enjoyment - 1.50

TOTAL - 6.75 out of 10

Though this romp isn't as satirical as previous and subsequent movies in the series, it still pulled a laugh a three from me: This was chiefly to do with the sight gags.

Blue Murder is a misleading title. There is no real outcry to speak of - not enough to warrant it being in the title, and nor is there a murder. A more apt epithet would be A Marriage At St. Trinians. As expected, the plot calls for the girls to get into loads of joyful trouble, which they do with wicked merriment. There's a Prince in Italy who is interested in some of the girls in the St Trinians Mariage Bureau. But for Flash to get them there before the deadline, the girls must win a schools contest, which they've already taken. Before the results are marked, the girls break into the Department of Education and swap out their answers for the correct ones, which leads to a terrific ongoing skit about council workers and their preference for a cuppa. Once the results are in, the girls are off to Europe, finishing in Italy. Throw into the mix a bank robber who's committed a jewellery heist and has decided to hide out at his daughter's school - St Trinians. Gilliat and Launder weave these elements into a rollicking good time.

Launder and the team even come up with some superb sequences. The best of which is the switching of the headmistress. In order for the Jewel thief to remain hidden, the girls dress him as the headmistress. When the real head arrives, the young ladies give her a resounding welcome. They sing the school song and parade her through the school and up towards her room. However, halfway up the stairs, a secret panel opens and the head is butterfly-netted away into the shadows. A couple of seconds later, the hellions responsible come from the opening and start singing as the disguised crook is escorted downstairs. The swap is complete. Next, we see the headmistress tied to a chair and hoisted upwards into the belfry. Brilliantly structured and executed. Such lovely fun.

Comedy is not always about the jokes, it's about their delivery and timing. Launder is a master at filming sight gags, while the cast proves they are just as skilled at vocal and slapstick delivery. Once again, we have a team of actors and actresses that cannot be faulted. Everyone who reprises their roles are just as crisp and fresh as in their first outing. It's also charming to see Alister Sim reprise his role as Miss Fritton, if even for a short time. Sim always makes me smile. Lionel Jefferies is awesome as the thief on the run. And Terry Thomas is Terry Thomas - hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Should you want an hour or so of fun and high-jinx then Blue Murder at St Trinians is a worthy watch. And luckily, the BBC have it on IPlayer along with The Pure Hell Of St Trinians, April-2022. I would happily recommend the original St Trinians film series. They never fail to put a smile on my face.

Please feel free to visit my Just For Laughs list to see where I ranked Blue Murder At St Trinians.

Take Care & Stay Well.