St Trinian's (2007 film)
Encyclopedia
St Trinian's is the sixth in a long-running series of films based on the works of cartoonist Ronald Searle
. The first five films form a series, starting with The Belles of St Trinian's
in 1954, with sequels in 1957, 1960, 1966 and 1980.
The 2007 release, coming 27 years after the last entry and 53 years after the first film, is a rebooting of the franchise, rather than a direct sequel, with certain plot elements borrowed from the first movie.
St Trinian's
is an anarchic
school for uncontrollable girls run by eccentric headmistress Camilla Dagey Fritton (the reboot continues the tradition, established with Alistair Sim in the original film, of casting a male actor who plays the female character in drag, with Rupert Everett
inheriting the role)
), being admitted to St Trinians by her aunt Camilla (Rupert Everett
) and her father Carnaby (also Everett). She is terribly depressed, and after being knocked out of the way by a rush of girls, she meets head girl Kelly Jones (Gemma Arterton
) who shows her around the school and introduces her to various cliques – Posh Totty (slang for gorgeous upper class
girls), Chav
s, Emo
s, Geek
s, and First Years.
At her bed, Annabelle enquires what the girls are betting on. Kelly replies it's how long she'll last before cracking; a booby trap
pours a gooey substance and feathers onto Annabelle, who runs to the showers. To see what she's made of, the girls set up cameras directly connected to YouTube
, steal her clothes and all towels, and turn up the water temperature. Annabelle leaves the showers, only to realise that she is to run through the halls naked. Covering herself with her hands, she runs while the girls watch her on YouTube and laugh until Annabelle runs straight into a glass door and is knocked out for a few minutes. Two teachers walk past, slightly drunk, and remark uncaringly that she must be a new girl. When re-dressed, Annabelle phones Carnaby and demands to be taken home. Carnaby, however, pretends to lose reception as he is enjoying his freedom without Annabelle. In frustration, Annabelle shoots her mobile phone with a hockey stick across the hall until it hits a marble statue, smashing it into pieces. A teacher catches Annabelle in the act and instantly drafts her into the school's hockey
team.
Flash Harry
(Russell Brand
) pays a visit to the school to deal bootleg goods, and makes a deal with the girls for some lab-made vodka
. The last batch had side effects including blindness, paralysis, and death, all symptoms of methanol
poisoning, indicating lack of care in distillation. He refuses to sell 'designer tampons' made by the Chavs, and is in the process of inspecting some drugs from the Emos when Kelly interrupts him. After a brief discussion requesting her to ensure several teachers pay up on bets they owe him, Harry asks her to go out with him which she refuses, saying "I don't mix business with pleasure."
A few days later, St Trinian hosts a hockey match against Annabelle's old school – their rivals Cheltenham Ladies' College
, captained by Verity Thwaites (Lucy Punch
), the school bully
; Annabelle was her favourite victim. The girls give a hostile and violent welcome to their visitors and the match ends in a brawl; the St Trinian's matron (Celia Imrie
) is the referee and does not know the rules, so the girls cheat excessively. Eventually, there is a tie and the final shot is left up to Annabelle, but she cannot face Verity and is knocked out the way by a Cheltenham girl. Kelly takes her place, scores, and wins the game, accidentally knocking Verity out in the process.
During the match, Education Minister and Verity's father Geoffrey Thwaites (Colin Firth
) comes to the school. He is planning to force it to raise its very poor standards, and to use it as a warning for other schools, but when he sees Miss Fritton he is slightly distracted from his purpose as he is reminded that he was once in love with her. However, all romantic feelings are lost when Fritton's dog, Mr Darcy, tries to mate with his leg. Geoffrey sneaks into the school and discovers many horrors, including a girl trapped in a tank of water in the art rooms and the illegal vodka, which is so strong that he instantly becomes tipsy after a slight taste. He accidentally knocks over a tank of biting ants, which crawl all over his shoes. Geoffrey is about to escape the school when he hears the Posh Totty coming in. He hides from them in their dressing room behind the racks of clothes. They are in their lingerie, talking on the phone and doing their hair and make-up. Geoffrey suddenly notices that the biting ants are crawling up his trousers, and he pulls them down. Suddenly his phone rings, causing the Posh Totty to discover him and throw him out the window into a fountain. He walks out in wet clothes, angered by what the school is like and the fact that his daughter is being taken to hospital because of a hockey puck hitting her, and thus declares war on Miss Fritton.
Celebrating their win over Cheltenham, the St Trinian's girls have a wild party. The morning after the victory party a banker stops by to inform Miss Fritton that St Trinian's owes the bank over half a million pounds, and if they don't get the money in 4 weeks the school will be shut down. Kelly and the head of the Geeks, Polly (Lily Cole
), realise this and Kelly tells the girls they must earn the money or else they will have to go to normal schools. Some days later through electronic spy cameras, the girls and especially Annabelle witness Carnaby attempting to broker a business deal with Miss Fritton. Carnaby wants to sell the school, that way they can repay the debt and split the profits. She refuses, inquiring about Annabelle. Carnaby reveals his true feelings about Annabelle – he does not like her and is not sure if he is really her father. Annabelle is upset, feeling betrayed, and goes to see Miss Fritton that evening. It is revealed that she is an excellent painter. Camilla helps make Annabelle feel better, helping her to release her anger and making her feel like part of the family by having a punching match with her.
With the help of Flash Harry, the girls decide to use crime to get the money and [Kelly's Idea] hatch a plan to steal the famous Girl with a Pearl Earring
(or as one of the girls puts it, "Scarlett Johansson
"). They organize a school trip to the London National Art Gallery where it is being held, to scope out the scene. After seeing how difficult it is going to be, they decide to use the TV quiz show School Challenge as a cover to get into the building. The finals of the competition would be filmed in the grand hall of the gallery.
As they make their plans, education minister Geoffrey Thwaites decides to show the media exactly what St Trinian's is really like. However, the girls spot them and change around the classrooms until they are in perfect order. The only classroom that isn't changed is the one where preparations for the heist are taking place. As the press are about to enter, Annabelle manages to distract them by revealing that Verity, Thwaite's daughter, was the school bully at her old school. Miss Fritton arrives down the stairs dressed as Queen Elizabeth I. In the midst of the conversation between them, Miss Fritton's dog once again tries to mate with Thwaites' leg. Irritated, Geoffrey kicks him, sending him flying out the window before crashlanding in the lawnmower instantly killing him. The headline in the newspaper reads "Minister kills dog", not really what Thwaites intended. The whole school shows their respect for their headmistress, mourning the loss of the little dog. In the middle of the night, Annabelle is woken up by the girls and as thanks for standing up for the school, is given a confidence-boosting makeover. Afterward when Kelly asks Annabelle how she feels, she replies "Like a St Trinian!" While still not fully accepted, she feels much stronger in herself.
Annabelle tries to persuade Flash Harry to act as a prestigious gay German art dealer named Gerhardt von Struebel so that he can sell a false version of the painting to Carnaby. He feels unsure but Kelly persuades him to comply (as he secretly has feelings for her, although she knows about them and uses them to her advantage; and he does not want to look stupid in front of her). The school team for School Challenge consists of the three Posh Totties, Chelsea (Tamsin Egerton
), Peaches (Antonia Bernath
), and Chloe (Amara Karan
). They reach the final by cheating (against Ampleforth
, two of the First Years steal the answers before the match; against Bedales
, they lace their opponents' drinks with magic mushrooms; the Eton
team is rendered clueless by their seduction).
During the final, Kelly, Chav Taylor (Katherine Drysdale), and emo Andrea (Paloma Faith
) foil the security for the painting that they're after and eventually retrieve it but on the way back the cable that they used to climb over the top of the audience of the final of School Challenge snaps just after Taylor and Andrea get over to the other side. Kelly gets stuck with no way to get to other side again. Miss Fritton sees that Kelly is trapped and goes to help, having to also distract Thwaites through a combination of liquor and seduction. Meanwhile, Annabelle takes care of Verity's threat to foil the girls' escape route by shooting her mobile phone with her hockey stick at Verity knocking her out. At the same time of these events, the girls win School Challenge. They had been using earpieces in which other students were feeding the answers to them, but after they stopped working the English teacher told them to use their own initiative, which had surprisingly good results.
The school successfully gets the painting and sells it to Carnaby who fails to realise until he buys it that it is not the genuine print which has been returned to the police under the cover of St Trinian's finding it, but a copy painted by Miss Fritton. He faints and Flash, dressed as Gerhardt to give him the art, races to the car that is waiting for him, which Kelly is driving. They receive a reward of £50,000 for returning the real painting, which they supposedly found. With the cash from Carnaby they pay back the money owed to the bank and St Trinian's stays in business.
The band members of Girls Aloud
(Nicola Roberts
, Kimberley Walsh
, Sarah Harding
, Nadine Coyle
and Cheryl Cole
) all make cameo appearances as the members of St Trinian's school band, and cameos in the film itself. Zöe Salmon
also makes a cameo appearance as an emo girl, while Nathaniel Parker
, the director's real-life brother, makes a short appearance as the Chairman of the National Gallery. Jeremy Thompson
also briefly appears, as himself.
on 21 December 2007, it was then released in Australia on 27 March 2008 and in New Zealand on 17 April 2008. Other European releases were planned for Belgium on 9 July 2008, and Germany on 7 August 2008.
St Trinian's was released in North American limited release
on 9 October 2009.
The DVD was released in Canada on 11 August 2009.
St Trinian's grossed £12,042,854 in the UK, surpassing its £7 million production budget. As of 18 July 2010, the film had grossed a worldwide total of $29,066,483. It was the fourth highest-grossing film during the 2007 Christmas season behind Enchanted, I Am Legend
and The Golden Compass. It ranks in the top grossing independent British films of the past decade.
The film was released on DVD in March 2008. The DVD was released in the US on 26 January 2010.
wrote that the film "fuse[s] an understanding of what made the originals great with a modern feel – the writers have fulfilled their end of the bargain, even tweaking some of the weaker points of the original story." The Observer
wrote that it "is raucous, leering, crude and, to my mind, largely misjudged, with Rupert Everett playing Miss Fritton as a coquettish transvestite with the manners of a Mayfair madam. The attempts to shock us fail, though Cheltenham Ladies College may well be affronted to hear one of its teachers say 'between you and I'. But the preview was packed with girls aged from seven to 14 who found it hilarious, and especially enjoyed Russell Brand."
Derek Malcolm in the Evening Standard
wrote: "Structurally, the new movie is a mess, and it doesn't look too convincing either, with cinematography that uses all sorts of old-fashioned dodges to raise a laugh", and "when you look at it again, the old film was not only superior but rather more radical. This St Trinian's looks as if it is aiming at the lowest common denominator, and finding it too often."
On review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes
, St Trinian's currently holds a 32% 'Rotten' rating, with the consensus "Both naughtier and campier than Ronald Searle's original post war series, this St. Trinian's leans on high jinks instead of performances or witty dialogue."
that the sequel
, The Legend of Fritton's Gold, also directed by Oliver Parker and Barnaby Thompson, would be released in 2009. Filming began on 6 July 2009, and on 7 July 2009, it was announced that David Tennant
, Sarah Harding
and Montserrat Lombard
had all signed on to appear in the sequel. It was later announced in December 2009 shortly after the release of the second film that there will be a St Trinian's 3.
Ronald Searle
Ronald William Fordham Searle, CBE, RDI, is a British artist and cartoonist, best known as the creator of St Trinian's School. He is also the co-author of the Molesworth series....
. The first five films form a series, starting with The Belles of St Trinian's
The Belles of St Trinian's
The Belles of St Trinian's is a comedy film set in the fictional St Trinian's School, released in 1954. It and its sequels were inspired by British cartoonist Ronald Searle. Directed by Frank Launder and written by him and Sidney Gilliat, it was the first of a series of five...
in 1954, with sequels in 1957, 1960, 1966 and 1980.
The 2007 release, coming 27 years after the last entry and 53 years after the first film, is a rebooting of the franchise, rather than a direct sequel, with certain plot elements borrowed from the first movie.
St Trinian's
St Trinian's School
St Trinian's is a fictional girls' boarding school, the creation of English cartoonist Ronald Searle, that later became the subject of a popular series of comedy films....
is an anarchic
Anarchy
Anarchy , has more than one colloquial definition. In the United States, the term "anarchy" typically is meant to refer to a society which lacks publicly recognized government or violently enforced political authority...
school for uncontrollable girls run by eccentric headmistress Camilla Dagey Fritton (the reboot continues the tradition, established with Alistair Sim in the original film, of casting a male actor who plays the female character in drag, with Rupert Everett
Rupert Everett
Rupert James Hector Everett is an English actor. He first came to public attention in 1981, when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film Another Country as an openly gay student at an English public school, set in the 1930s...
inheriting the role)
Plot
The film opens with Annabelle Fritton (Talulah RileyTalulah Riley
Talulah Jane Riley-Milburn is an English actress whose films include Pride and Prejudice, St Trinian's, The Boat That Rocked and St...
), being admitted to St Trinians by her aunt Camilla (Rupert Everett
Rupert Everett
Rupert James Hector Everett is an English actor. He first came to public attention in 1981, when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film Another Country as an openly gay student at an English public school, set in the 1930s...
) and her father Carnaby (also Everett). She is terribly depressed, and after being knocked out of the way by a rush of girls, she meets head girl Kelly Jones (Gemma Arterton
Gemma Arterton
Gemma Arterton is an English actress. She played the eponymous protagonist in the BBC adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, and starred in the feature films St Trinian's, the James Bond film Quantum of Solace, Clash of the Titans, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Tamara...
) who shows her around the school and introduces her to various cliques – Posh Totty (slang for gorgeous upper class
Upper class
In social science, the "upper class" is the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Members of an upper class may have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area.- Historical meaning :...
girls), Chav
Chav
A chav is a term that is used in the United Kingdom to describe a stereotype of teenagers and young adults from an underclass background.-Etymology:...
s, Emo
Emo
Emo is a style of rock music and its associated subcultureEmo may also refer to:- Businesses :* Emo , an Irish oil company and filling station chain* Emo Speedway, a racetrack in Emo, Ontario...
s, Geek
Geek
The word geek is a slang term, with different meanings ranging from "a computer expert or enthusiast" to "a carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts", with a general pejorative meaning of "a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, esp[ecially] one who is perceived to...
s, and First Years.
At her bed, Annabelle enquires what the girls are betting on. Kelly replies it's how long she'll last before cracking; a booby trap
Booby trap
A booby trap is a device designed to harm or surprise a person, unknowingly triggered by the presence or actions of the victim. As the word trap implies, they often have some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. However, in other cases the device is placed on busy roads or is...
pours a gooey substance and feathers onto Annabelle, who runs to the showers. To see what she's made of, the girls set up cameras directly connected to YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, steal her clothes and all towels, and turn up the water temperature. Annabelle leaves the showers, only to realise that she is to run through the halls naked. Covering herself with her hands, she runs while the girls watch her on YouTube and laugh until Annabelle runs straight into a glass door and is knocked out for a few minutes. Two teachers walk past, slightly drunk, and remark uncaringly that she must be a new girl. When re-dressed, Annabelle phones Carnaby and demands to be taken home. Carnaby, however, pretends to lose reception as he is enjoying his freedom without Annabelle. In frustration, Annabelle shoots her mobile phone with a hockey stick across the hall until it hits a marble statue, smashing it into pieces. A teacher catches Annabelle in the act and instantly drafts her into the school's hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
team.
Flash Harry
Flash Harry (St Trinian's)
Henry Cuthbert Edwards aka Flash Harry is a fictional character from the St. Trinian's series of films who first appears in the 1954 The Belles of St Trinian's. The term refers to "an ostentatious, loudly-dressed, and usually ill-mannered man", who may also be a spiv...
(Russell Brand
Russell Brand
Russell Edward Brand is an English comedian, actor, columnist, singer, author and radio/television presenter.Brand achieved mainstream fame in the UK in 2004 for his role as host of Big Brother spin-off, Big Brother's Big Mouth. His first major film role was in the 2007 film St Trinians...
) pays a visit to the school to deal bootleg goods, and makes a deal with the girls for some lab-made vodka
Vodka
Vodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....
. The last batch had side effects including blindness, paralysis, and death, all symptoms of methanol
Methanol
Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits, is a chemical with the formula CH3OH . It is the simplest alcohol, and is a light, volatile, colorless, flammable liquid with a distinctive odor very similar to, but slightly sweeter than, ethanol...
poisoning, indicating lack of care in distillation. He refuses to sell 'designer tampons' made by the Chavs, and is in the process of inspecting some drugs from the Emos when Kelly interrupts him. After a brief discussion requesting her to ensure several teachers pay up on bets they owe him, Harry asks her to go out with him which she refuses, saying "I don't mix business with pleasure."
A few days later, St Trinian hosts a hockey match against Annabelle's old school – their rivals Cheltenham Ladies' College
Cheltenham Ladies' College
The Cheltenham Ladies' College is an independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.-History:The school was founded in 1853...
, captained by Verity Thwaites (Lucy Punch
Lucy Punch
Lucy Punch is an English actress. Her credits include the television shows Doc Martin and The Class, and the films Hot Fuzz and Bad Teacher.-Life and career:...
), the school bully
School bullying
School bullying is a type of bullying that occurs in connection with education, either inside or outside of school. Bullying can be physical, verbal, or emotional and is usually repeated over a period of time.In schools, bullying occurs in all areas...
; Annabelle was her favourite victim. The girls give a hostile and violent welcome to their visitors and the match ends in a brawl; the St Trinian's matron (Celia Imrie
Celia Imrie
Celia Diana Savile Imrie is an English actress. In a career starting in the early 1970s, Imrie has played Marianne Bellshade in Bergerac, Philippa Moorcroft in Dinnerladies, Miss Babs in Acorn Antiques, Diana Neal in After You've Gone and Gloria Millington in Kingdom...
) is the referee and does not know the rules, so the girls cheat excessively. Eventually, there is a tie and the final shot is left up to Annabelle, but she cannot face Verity and is knocked out the way by a Cheltenham girl. Kelly takes her place, scores, and wins the game, accidentally knocking Verity out in the process.
During the match, Education Minister and Verity's father Geoffrey Thwaites (Colin Firth
Colin Firth
SirColin Andrew Firth, CBE is a British film, television, and theatre actor. Firth gained wide public attention in the 1990s for his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 television adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice...
) comes to the school. He is planning to force it to raise its very poor standards, and to use it as a warning for other schools, but when he sees Miss Fritton he is slightly distracted from his purpose as he is reminded that he was once in love with her. However, all romantic feelings are lost when Fritton's dog, Mr Darcy, tries to mate with his leg. Geoffrey sneaks into the school and discovers many horrors, including a girl trapped in a tank of water in the art rooms and the illegal vodka, which is so strong that he instantly becomes tipsy after a slight taste. He accidentally knocks over a tank of biting ants, which crawl all over his shoes. Geoffrey is about to escape the school when he hears the Posh Totty coming in. He hides from them in their dressing room behind the racks of clothes. They are in their lingerie, talking on the phone and doing their hair and make-up. Geoffrey suddenly notices that the biting ants are crawling up his trousers, and he pulls them down. Suddenly his phone rings, causing the Posh Totty to discover him and throw him out the window into a fountain. He walks out in wet clothes, angered by what the school is like and the fact that his daughter is being taken to hospital because of a hockey puck hitting her, and thus declares war on Miss Fritton.
Celebrating their win over Cheltenham, the St Trinian's girls have a wild party. The morning after the victory party a banker stops by to inform Miss Fritton that St Trinian's owes the bank over half a million pounds, and if they don't get the money in 4 weeks the school will be shut down. Kelly and the head of the Geeks, Polly (Lily Cole
Lily Cole
Lily Luahana Cole is an English model and actress. Cole's modelling career was launched by a chance encounter with Benjamin Hart in Soho, London when she was 14....
), realise this and Kelly tells the girls they must earn the money or else they will have to go to normal schools. Some days later through electronic spy cameras, the girls and especially Annabelle witness Carnaby attempting to broker a business deal with Miss Fritton. Carnaby wants to sell the school, that way they can repay the debt and split the profits. She refuses, inquiring about Annabelle. Carnaby reveals his true feelings about Annabelle – he does not like her and is not sure if he is really her father. Annabelle is upset, feeling betrayed, and goes to see Miss Fritton that evening. It is revealed that she is an excellent painter. Camilla helps make Annabelle feel better, helping her to release her anger and making her feel like part of the family by having a punching match with her.
With the help of Flash Harry, the girls decide to use crime to get the money and [Kelly's Idea] hatch a plan to steal the famous Girl with a Pearl Earring
Girl with a Pearl Earring
Girl with a Pearl Earring is a painting by Johannes Vermeer.Girl With a Pearl Earring may also refer to:* Girl with a Pearl Earring , by Tracy Chevalier* Girl with a Pearl Earring...
(or as one of the girls puts it, "Scarlett Johansson
Girl with a Pearl Earring (film)
Girl with a Pearl Earring is a 2003 drama film directed by Peter Webber. The screenplay was adapted by screenwriter Olivia Hetreed based on the novel by Tracy Chevalier. The film stars Scarlett Johansson, Colin Firth, Tom Wilkinson, and Cillian Murphy. The film is named after a painting of the same...
"). They organize a school trip to the London National Art Gallery where it is being held, to scope out the scene. After seeing how difficult it is going to be, they decide to use the TV quiz show School Challenge as a cover to get into the building. The finals of the competition would be filmed in the grand hall of the gallery.
As they make their plans, education minister Geoffrey Thwaites decides to show the media exactly what St Trinian's is really like. However, the girls spot them and change around the classrooms until they are in perfect order. The only classroom that isn't changed is the one where preparations for the heist are taking place. As the press are about to enter, Annabelle manages to distract them by revealing that Verity, Thwaite's daughter, was the school bully at her old school. Miss Fritton arrives down the stairs dressed as Queen Elizabeth I. In the midst of the conversation between them, Miss Fritton's dog once again tries to mate with Thwaites' leg. Irritated, Geoffrey kicks him, sending him flying out the window before crashlanding in the lawnmower instantly killing him. The headline in the newspaper reads "Minister kills dog", not really what Thwaites intended. The whole school shows their respect for their headmistress, mourning the loss of the little dog. In the middle of the night, Annabelle is woken up by the girls and as thanks for standing up for the school, is given a confidence-boosting makeover. Afterward when Kelly asks Annabelle how she feels, she replies "Like a St Trinian!" While still not fully accepted, she feels much stronger in herself.
Annabelle tries to persuade Flash Harry to act as a prestigious gay German art dealer named Gerhardt von Struebel so that he can sell a false version of the painting to Carnaby. He feels unsure but Kelly persuades him to comply (as he secretly has feelings for her, although she knows about them and uses them to her advantage; and he does not want to look stupid in front of her). The school team for School Challenge consists of the three Posh Totties, Chelsea (Tamsin Egerton
Tamsin Egerton
Tamsin Egerton is an English actress best known for her roles as Chelsea Parker in the 2007 film St Trinian's, Holly Goodfellow in Keeping Mum and Guinevere in the 2011 TV series Camelot.-Career:...
), Peaches (Antonia Bernath
Antonia Bernath
- Early life and education :Raised in Wiltshire, England, Bernath attended Godolphin School before going on to the University of Cambridge. She later dropped out of university when she gained entrance to the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.- Career :...
), and Chloe (Amara Karan
Amara Karan
Amara Karan is an English actress who made her film début as the love interest in Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited. The film premièred at the 2007 Venice Film Festival...
). They reach the final by cheating (against Ampleforth
Ampleforth College
Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire, England, is the largest Roman Catholic co-educational boarding independent school in the United Kingdom. It opened in 1802, as a boys' school, and is run by the Benedictine monks and lay staff of Ampleforth Abbey...
, two of the First Years steal the answers before the match; against Bedales
Bedales School
Bedales School is a co-educational independent school situated in Hampshire, in the south east of England. Founded in 1893 by John Haden Badley in reaction to the limitations of conventional Victorian schools, today the school is one of the most expensive in the UK, charging £9,985 per term for a...
, they lace their opponents' drinks with magic mushrooms; the Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
team is rendered clueless by their seduction).
During the final, Kelly, Chav Taylor (Katherine Drysdale), and emo Andrea (Paloma Faith
Paloma Faith
Paloma Faith is a British singer-songwriter and actress. In 2009, she released her debut single "Stone Cold Sober", then her debut album, Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?, which was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. Her debut album stayed within the top 40 album...
) foil the security for the painting that they're after and eventually retrieve it but on the way back the cable that they used to climb over the top of the audience of the final of School Challenge snaps just after Taylor and Andrea get over to the other side. Kelly gets stuck with no way to get to other side again. Miss Fritton sees that Kelly is trapped and goes to help, having to also distract Thwaites through a combination of liquor and seduction. Meanwhile, Annabelle takes care of Verity's threat to foil the girls' escape route by shooting her mobile phone with her hockey stick at Verity knocking her out. At the same time of these events, the girls win School Challenge. They had been using earpieces in which other students were feeding the answers to them, but after they stopped working the English teacher told them to use their own initiative, which had surprisingly good results.
The school successfully gets the painting and sells it to Carnaby who fails to realise until he buys it that it is not the genuine print which has been returned to the police under the cover of St Trinian's finding it, but a copy painted by Miss Fritton. He faints and Flash, dressed as Gerhardt to give him the art, races to the car that is waiting for him, which Kelly is driving. They receive a reward of £50,000 for returning the real painting, which they supposedly found. With the cash from Carnaby they pay back the money owed to the bank and St Trinian's stays in business.
Cast
| Actress/Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Rupert Everett Rupert Everett Rupert James Hector Everett is an English actor. He first came to public attention in 1981, when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film Another Country as an openly gay student at an English public school, set in the 1930s... |
Miss Camilla Dagey Fritton, St Trinian's Head Mistress Carnaby Fritton, Camilla's brother, Annabelle's father |
| Colin Firth Colin Firth SirColin Andrew Firth, CBE is a British film, television, and theatre actor. Firth gained wide public attention in the 1990s for his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 television adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice... |
Geoffrey Thwaites, the Education Minister |
| Russell Brand Russell Brand Russell Edward Brand is an English comedian, actor, columnist, singer, author and radio/television presenter.Brand achieved mainstream fame in the UK in 2004 for his role as host of Big Brother spin-off, Big Brother's Big Mouth. His first major film role was in the 2007 film St Trinians... |
Flash Harry Flash Harry (St Trinian's) Henry Cuthbert Edwards aka Flash Harry is a fictional character from the St. Trinian's series of films who first appears in the 1954 The Belles of St Trinian's. The term refers to "an ostentatious, loudly-dressed, and usually ill-mannered man", who may also be a spiv... , the spiv Spiv In the United Kingdom, a spiv is a particular type of petty criminal, who deals in stolen or black market goods of questionable authenticity, especially a slickly-dressed man offering goods at bargain prices... |
| Talulah Riley Talulah Riley Talulah Jane Riley-Milburn is an English actress whose films include Pride and Prejudice, St Trinian's, The Boat That Rocked and St... |
Annabelle Lealla Fritton, the new girl |
| Gemma Arterton Gemma Arterton Gemma Arterton is an English actress. She played the eponymous protagonist in the BBC adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, and starred in the feature films St Trinian's, the James Bond film Quantum of Solace, Clash of the Titans, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Tamara... |
Kelly Opposum Jones, the Head Girl |
| Tamsin Egerton Tamsin Egerton Tamsin Egerton is an English actress best known for her roles as Chelsea Parker in the 2007 film St Trinian's, Holly Goodfellow in Keeping Mum and Guinevere in the 2011 TV series Camelot.-Career:... |
Chelsea Parker, Posh Totty #1 |
| Antonia Bernath Antonia Bernath - Early life and education :Raised in Wiltshire, England, Bernath attended Godolphin School before going on to the University of Cambridge. She later dropped out of university when she gained entrance to the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.- Career :... |
Chloe, Posh Totty #2 |
| Amara Karan Amara Karan Amara Karan is an English actress who made her film début as the love interest in Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited. The film premièred at the 2007 Venice Film Festival... |
Peaches, Posh Totty #3 |
| Paloma Faith Paloma Faith Paloma Faith is a British singer-songwriter and actress. In 2009, she released her debut single "Stone Cold Sober", then her debut album, Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?, which was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. Her debut album stayed within the top 40 album... |
Andrea, the Emo |
| Juno Temple Juno Temple -Early life:Juno Temple was born in London, and is the daughter of producer Amanda Pirie and film director Julien Temple. She grew up in Somerset, England and attended Enmore Primary School, Bedales School, and King's College, Taunton... |
Celia, the "Trustafarian" one |
| Kathryn Drysdale Kathryn Drysdale Kathryn Drysdale is an English actress best known for her role as Louise in the BBC comedy series Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps from 2001 until her departure from the show in 2009 alongside Sheridan Smith... |
Taylor, the Chav |
| Lily Cole Lily Cole Lily Luahana Cole is an English model and actress. Cole's modelling career was launched by a chance encounter with Benjamin Hart in Soho, London when she was 14.... |
Polly, the Geek |
| Holly Mackie Cloe and Holly Mackie Cloe Isabella Mackie and Holly Elizabeth Mackie are British actresses, best known for playing Tania and Tara, respectively, in the two latest St Trinian's films. They were born on 16 May 1998.-Biography:... & Cloe Mackie Cloe and Holly Mackie Cloe Isabella Mackie and Holly Elizabeth Mackie are British actresses, best known for playing Tania and Tara, respectively, in the two latest St Trinian's films. They were born on 16 May 1998.-Biography:... |
Tara & Tania, the Twins |
| Lena Headey Lena Headey Lena Headey is an English actress. Headey's performance in a one-off show when she was 17 caught the attention of a casting agent, who took a photo and asked her to audition and eventually she got a supporting role alongside Jeremy Irons and Ethan Hawke in the 1992 British drama film Waterland and... |
Miss Dickinson, the English Teacher |
| Fenella Woolgar Fenella Woolgar Fenella Woolgar is an English actress. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1999 and has since appeared in several film, television and theatre productions. She also works as an audio book narrator and voice over artist... |
Miss Cleaver, the Sports Teacher |
| Caterina Murino Caterina Murino -Biography:She was born in Cagliari, Sardinia, and initially wanted to be a doctor, but switched career paths to pageantry after twice failing the medical school entrance exams. She came fourth in the 1996 Miss Italy contest... |
Miss Maupassant, the Foreign Languages Teacher |
| Jodie Whittaker Jodie Whittaker Jodie Auckland Whittaker is an English actress, perhaps best known for her work in the film Venus . She also starred in the ITV1 series Marchlands playing the young Ruth who had lost her daughter Alice.-Career:... |
Beverly, the receptionist |
| Toby Jones Toby Jones Toby Edward Heslewood Jones is an English actor.-Early life:Jones was born in Hammersmith, London, the son of actors Jennifer and Freddie Jones... |
St Trinian's Bursar |
| Celia Imrie Celia Imrie Celia Diana Savile Imrie is an English actress. In a career starting in the early 1970s, Imrie has played Marianne Bellshade in Bergerac, Philippa Moorcroft in Dinnerladies, Miss Babs in Acorn Antiques, Diana Neal in After You've Gone and Gloria Millington in Kingdom... |
St Trinian's Matron |
| Stephen Fry Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also... |
Himself, the School Challenge presenter |
| Anna Chancellor Anna Chancellor -Family:Chancellor was born in Richmond, London, England, the daughter of the Hon. Mary Alice Jolliffe and John Paget Chancellor. Through her mother's mother, Lady Perdita Rose Mary Asquith, Chancellor is the great-granddaughter of The Hon. Raymond Aquith and the great-great-granddaughter of Prime... |
Miss Bagstock, Cheltenham's Head Mistress |
| Lucy Punch Lucy Punch Lucy Punch is an English actress. Her credits include the television shows Doc Martin and The Class, and the films Hot Fuzz and Bad Teacher.-Life and career:... |
Verity Thwaites, the Minister's daughter, and Cheltenham's school bully |
| Mischa Barton Mischa Barton Mischa Anne Marsden Barton is a British-American fashion model, film, television, and stage actress, best known for her role as Marissa Cooper in the American television series The O.C..-Early life:... |
JJ French, the PR Guru, and previous Head Girl |
| Steve Furst Steve Furst Steven Larry Furst is a comedian, actor and writer. Furst says his father told him that he arrived as an immigrant from Hungary with "nothing but a violin under my arm"... |
Bank Manager |
| Dolly the Dog | Mr Darcy, the school's dog |
The band members of Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud are a British and Irish pop girl group based in London. They were created through the ITV1 talent show Popstars The Rivals in 2002. The group consists of Cheryl Cole , Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. They are signed to Fascination Records, a Polydor...
(Nicola Roberts
Nicola Roberts
Nicola Maria Roberts is a British recording artist and entrepreneur. In 2002 Roberts auditioned for the reality televisions series and competition Popstars The Rivals which saw her finish in the final line-up of a girl group named Girls Aloud...
, Kimberley Walsh
Kimberley Walsh
Kimberley Jane Walsh is an English singer-songwriter, dancer, model, television presenter and actress. She is best known for being a member of girl group Girls Aloud, formed through ITV's reality television programme Popstars: The Rivals...
, Sarah Harding
Sarah Harding
Sarah Nicole Harding is an English singer-songwriter, actress and model best known for being a member of the pop group Girls Aloud, formed through ITV's reality television programme Popstars: The Rivals...
, Nadine Coyle
Nadine Coyle
Nadine Coyle is an Irish singer, songwriter, actress, and model who rose to fame in the early 2000s as a member of the band Six before becoming a member of successful girl-group Girls Aloud. The group amassed a joint fortune of £25 million by May 2009...
and Cheryl Cole
Cheryl Cole
Cheryl Ann Cole is an English pop and R&B recording artist, songwriter, dancer, actress and model. She rose to fame in late 2002 when she auditioned for the reality television show Popstars: The Rivals on ITV. The programme announced that Cole had won a place as a member of the girl group, Girls...
) all make cameo appearances as the members of St Trinian's school band, and cameos in the film itself. Zöe Salmon
Zöe Salmon
Zöe Salmon is a television presenter who hosted the children's television show Blue Peter from 23 December 2004 to 25 June 2008. She also appeared on Dancing on Ice in early 2009.-Life and career:...
also makes a cameo appearance as an emo girl, while Nathaniel Parker
Nathaniel Parker
Nathaniel Parker is an English actor best known for playing Detective Inspector Thomas "Tommy" Lynley in the BBC crime drama series The Inspector Lynley Mysteries.-Personal life:...
, the director's real-life brother, makes a short appearance as the Chairman of the National Gallery. Jeremy Thompson
Jeremy Thompson
Jeremy Gordon Thompson is a presenter on Sky News, regularly presenting Live at Five weeknights at 5pm.-Broadcasting career:Thompson was educated at King's School Worcester and was a contemporary of Chris Tarrant. Thompson is frequently Sky News' leading anchor on major stories, often presenting...
also briefly appears, as himself.
Release and reception
St Trinian's premiered in London on 10 December 2007 and in wide releaseWide release
Wide release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing nationally . Specifically, a movie is considered to be in wide release when it is on 600 screens or more in the United States and Canada.In the US, films holding an NC-17 rating almost never have a...
on 21 December 2007, it was then released in Australia on 27 March 2008 and in New Zealand on 17 April 2008. Other European releases were planned for Belgium on 9 July 2008, and Germany on 7 August 2008.
St Trinian's was released in North American limited release
Limited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
on 9 October 2009.
The DVD was released in Canada on 11 August 2009.
St Trinian's grossed £12,042,854 in the UK, surpassing its £7 million production budget. As of 18 July 2010, the film had grossed a worldwide total of $29,066,483. It was the fourth highest-grossing film during the 2007 Christmas season behind Enchanted, I Am Legend
I Am Legend (film)
I Am Legend is a 2007 post-apocalyptic science fiction film directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Will Smith. It is the third feature film adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel of the same name, following 1964's The Last Man on Earth and 1971's The Omega Man. Smith plays virologist Robert...
and The Golden Compass. It ranks in the top grossing independent British films of the past decade.
The film was released on DVD in March 2008. The DVD was released in the US on 26 January 2010.
Critical reception
Critically, St Trinian's received mixed reviews. EmpireEmpire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
wrote that the film "fuse[s] an understanding of what made the originals great with a modern feel – the writers have fulfilled their end of the bargain, even tweaking some of the weaker points of the original story." The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
wrote that it "is raucous, leering, crude and, to my mind, largely misjudged, with Rupert Everett playing Miss Fritton as a coquettish transvestite with the manners of a Mayfair madam. The attempts to shock us fail, though Cheltenham Ladies College may well be affronted to hear one of its teachers say 'between you and I'. But the preview was packed with girls aged from seven to 14 who found it hilarious, and especially enjoyed Russell Brand."
Derek Malcolm in the Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
wrote: "Structurally, the new movie is a mess, and it doesn't look too convincing either, with cinematography that uses all sorts of old-fashioned dodges to raise a laugh", and "when you look at it again, the old film was not only superior but rather more radical. This St Trinian's looks as if it is aiming at the lowest common denominator, and finding it too often."
On review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, St Trinian's currently holds a 32% 'Rotten' rating, with the consensus "Both naughtier and campier than Ronald Searle's original post war series, this St. Trinian's leans on high jinks instead of performances or witty dialogue."
Sequels
It was announced at the 2008 Cannes Film FestivalCannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
that the sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
, The Legend of Fritton's Gold, also directed by Oliver Parker and Barnaby Thompson, would be released in 2009. Filming began on 6 July 2009, and on 7 July 2009, it was announced that David Tennant
David Tennant
David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...
, Sarah Harding
Sarah Harding
Sarah Nicole Harding is an English singer-songwriter, actress and model best known for being a member of the pop group Girls Aloud, formed through ITV's reality television programme Popstars: The Rivals...
and Montserrat Lombard
Montserrat Lombard
Montserrat Lombard is a British actress best known for playing WPC Sharon 'Shaz' Granger in the BBC Drama series Ashes to Ashes.Lombard was born in London. She is half Spanish and half Italian...
had all signed on to appear in the sequel. It was later announced in December 2009 shortly after the release of the second film that there will be a St Trinian's 3.