The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery
Dir: Sidney Gilliat, Frank Launder
1966
***
The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery is the fourth of the original five St. Trinian's films and the first one to be filmed in colour. Credited for getting the series back on track, I would argue that it is only slightly better than its predecessor and really not that good at all. However, I have a real soft spot for British 1960's comedies. The story is a convoluted mix of current trends; The Great Train Robbery had occurred a couple of years before, Harold Wilson was pushing his comprehensive school agenda and the James Bond films were at the peak of their success. As much as I love Frankie Howard, he didn't really fit into the film as well as the brilliant Alastair Sim and Terry-Thomas had in the previous film but he is one of the better elements of the film. Dora Bryan steals the show as Headmistress of the school but is arguably given the best lines. George Cole returns to the series as Flash Harry (the films wouldn't be the same without him), Reg Varney plays a small but fun supporting role as does the wonderful Richard Wattis. It is seeing the long gone comedy greats together on screen that I really enjoy about these old films, rather than the films themselves. I always wondered why they never thought to give any good roles to any of the schoolgirls, something they would correct in the 2007 remake. Apart from a great script, the story is a bit flat and tiresome. It also features a rather unfortunate scene whereby Frankie Howard 'Blacks up' to imitate a Pakistani Station Master, played by a white actor who is also 'Blacked up'. It would be offensive if it weren't for the fact that they both spoke with Jamaican accents, suggesting that rather than trying to offend, they just got the whole thing very wrong. I would still challenge anyone not to wince though. The series should have ended here but for some puzzling reason they made another and then rebooted the series.