The Pure Hell of St Trinian's
Encyclopedia
The Pure Hell of St Trinian's was a 1960 British comedy film
set in the fictional St Trinian's School
. Directed by Frank Launder
and written by him and Sidney Gilliat
, it was the third in a series of five films.
by a judge keen on leggy blonde Rosalie (Julie Alexander). They are freed, however, when Professor Canford of the University of Bagdad
(Cecil Parker) claims he can rehabilitate the girls with the tutelage of teacher Miss Harker-Parker (Irene Handl), and requests they be placed in his custody for a probationary period. Canford’s real scheme is not so benevolent, and he has ulterior motives for sending the St. Trinian’s Sixth Form
girls, along with Flash Harry (George Cole) and police Sgt. Ruby Gates (Joyce Grenfell), on a bogus cultural tour of the Greek Islands aboard a luxury yacht
. Canford and Alphonse O'Reilly (Sid James) intend to take the girls to a Middle Eastern harem as wives for a sheik and his many sons. O’Reilly discovers Canford, Gates and Flash Harry hiding under a lifeboat tarpaulin
, and without their knowledge sets the boat adrift at sea. All three end up stranded on a deserted island. They arrive at the sheik's palace and the sons try to have their pick. But the kidnapped girls fight back in a madcap climactic brawl when the Fourth Form comes to the rescue, burning down the new school.
", Cecil Parker
as Professor Canford, John Le Mesurier
as the Minister of Education, Joyce Grenfell
as local policewoman Sergeant Ruby Gates, and Lloyd Lamble
as Superintendent
Kemp-Bird, the reluctant fiancé of Ruby Gates.
Raymond Huntley
appeared as the Judge, Cyril Chamberlain
as the Army Captain, Sid James
as Alphonse O'Reilly (nicknamed 'Wyatt Earp
' by the girls), and Irene Handl
as headmistress Miss Harker-Parker.
The civil servants of the Ministry of Education
were played by Eric Barker
as Culpepper-Brown, and Thorley Walters
as Butters.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
set in the fictional St Trinian's School
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....
. Directed by Frank Launder
Frank Launder
Frank Launder was an English writer, director and producer, who made more than 40 films, many of them in collaboration with Sidney Gilliat....
and written by him and Sidney Gilliat
Sidney Gilliat
Sidney Gilliat was an English film director, producer and writer.He was born in the district of Edgeley in Stockport, Cheshire. In the 1930s he worked as a scriptwriter, most notably with Frank Launder on The Lady Vanishes for Alfred Hitchcock, and its sequel Night Train to Munich , directed by...
, it was the third in a series of five films.
Plot
The girls burn their school to the ground, and subsequently manage to get acquitted at the Old BaileyOld Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
by a judge keen on leggy blonde Rosalie (Julie Alexander). They are freed, however, when Professor Canford of the University of Bagdad
University of Baghdad
The University of Baghdad is the largest university in Iraq and the second largest Arab university following the University of Cairo.- Nomenclature :Both University of Baghdad and Baghdad University are used interchangeably....
(Cecil Parker) claims he can rehabilitate the girls with the tutelage of teacher Miss Harker-Parker (Irene Handl), and requests they be placed in his custody for a probationary period. Canford’s real scheme is not so benevolent, and he has ulterior motives for sending the St. Trinian’s Sixth Form
Sixth form
In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...
girls, along with Flash Harry (George Cole) and police Sgt. Ruby Gates (Joyce Grenfell), on a bogus cultural tour of the Greek Islands aboard a luxury yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
. Canford and Alphonse O'Reilly (Sid James) intend to take the girls to a Middle Eastern harem as wives for a sheik and his many sons. O’Reilly discovers Canford, Gates and Flash Harry hiding under a lifeboat tarpaulin
Tarpaulin
A tarpaulin, colloquially tarp, is a large sheet of strong, flexible, water-resistant or waterproof material, often cloth such as canvas or polyester coated with urethane, or made of plastics such as polyethylene. In some places such as Australia, and in military slang, a tarp may be known as a...
, and without their knowledge sets the boat adrift at sea. All three end up stranded on a deserted island. They arrive at the sheik's palace and the sons try to have their pick. But the kidnapped girls fight back in a madcap climactic brawl when the Fourth Form comes to the rescue, burning down the new school.
Cast
George Cole as "Flash HarryFlash 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...
", Cecil Parker
Cecil Parker
Cecil Parker was an English character and comedy actor with a distinctive husky voice, who usually played supporting roles in his 91 films made between 1928 and 1969....
as Professor Canford, John Le Mesurier
John Le Mesurier
John Le Mesurier was a BAFTA Award-winning English actor. He is most famous for his role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the popular 1970s BBC comedy Dad's Army.-Career:...
as the Minister of Education, Joyce Grenfell
Joyce Grenfell
Joyce Irene Grenfell, OBE was an English actress, comedienne, diseuse and singer-songwriter.-Early life:...
as local policewoman Sergeant Ruby Gates, and Lloyd Lamble
Lloyd Lamble
Lloyd Nelson Lamble was an Australian actor who worked in theatre, television, radio and film. He lived and worked two-thirds of his life in the United Kingdom .- Personal life :...
as Superintendent
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
Kemp-Bird, the reluctant fiancé of Ruby Gates.
Raymond Huntley
Raymond Huntley
Raymond Huntley was an English actor who appeared in dozens of British films from the 1930s through to the 1970s...
appeared as the Judge, Cyril Chamberlain
Cyril Chamberlain
Cyril Chamberlain was an English film and television actor. He appeared in a number of the early Carry On, Doctor in the House and St. Trinian's films....
as the Army Captain, Sid James
Sid James
Sid James was an English-based South African actor and comedian. He made his name as Tony Hancock's co-star in Hancock's Half Hour and also starred in the popular Carry On films. He was known for his trademark "dirty laugh" and lascivious persona...
as Alphonse O'Reilly (nicknamed 'Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American gambler, investor, and law enforcement officer who served in several Western frontier towns. He was also at different times a farmer, teamster, bouncer, saloon-keeper, miner and boxing referee. However, he was never a drover or cowboy. He is most well known...
' by the girls), and Irene Handl
Irene Handl
-Life:Irene Handl was born in Maida Vale, London, the daughter of an Austrian banker father and French mother. She took to acting at the relatively advanced age of 36, and studied at the acting school run by the sister of Dame Sybil Thorndike...
as headmistress Miss Harker-Parker.
The civil servants of the Ministry of Education
Ministry of Education (United Kingdom)
The administration of education policy in the United Kingdom began in the 19th century. Official mandation of education began with the Elementary Education Act 1870 for England and Wales, and the Education Act 1872 for Scotland...
were played by Eric Barker
Eric Barker
Eric Leslie Barker born in Thornton Heath, Surrey, was an English comedy actor. He is most remembered for his roles in the popular British Carry On films.-Career:...
as Culpepper-Brown, and Thorley Walters
Thorley Walters
Thorley Walters was an English character actor.He is probably best remembered for his comedy film roles such as in Two-Way Stretch and Carlton-Browne of the FO...
as Butters.
- Cecil ParkerCecil ParkerCecil Parker was an English character and comedy actor with a distinctive husky voice, who usually played supporting roles in his 91 films made between 1928 and 1969....
as Professor Canford - George Cole as Flash Harry
- Joyce GrenfellJoyce GrenfellJoyce Irene Grenfell, OBE was an English actress, comedienne, diseuse and singer-songwriter.-Early life:...
as Sergeant Ruby Gates - Eric BarkerEric BarkerEric Leslie Barker born in Thornton Heath, Surrey, was an English comedy actor. He is most remembered for his roles in the popular British Carry On films.-Career:...
as Culpepper-Brown - Thorley WaltersThorley WaltersThorley Walters was an English character actor.He is probably best remembered for his comedy film roles such as in Two-Way Stretch and Carlton-Browne of the FO...
as Butters - Irene HandlIrene Handl-Life:Irene Handl was born in Maida Vale, London, the daughter of an Austrian banker father and French mother. She took to acting at the relatively advanced age of 36, and studied at the acting school run by the sister of Dame Sybil Thorndike...
as Miss Harker-Parker - Dennis PriceDennis PriceDennis Price was an English actor, remembered for his suave screen roles, particularly Louis Mazzini in Kind Hearts and Coronets, and for his portrayal of the omniscient valet Jeeves in 1960s television adaptations of P. G...
as Gore Blackwood - Sid JamesSid JamesSid James was an English-based South African actor and comedian. He made his name as Tony Hancock's co-star in Hancock's Half Hour and also starred in the popular Carry On films. He was known for his trademark "dirty laugh" and lascivious persona...
as Alphonse O'Reilly - Julie Alexander as Rosalie Dawn
- Lloyd LambleLloyd LambleLloyd Nelson Lamble was an Australian actor who worked in theatre, television, radio and film. He lived and worked two-thirds of his life in the United Kingdom .- Personal life :...
as Superintendent Samuel Kemp-Bird - Raymond HuntleyRaymond HuntleyRaymond Huntley was an English actor who appeared in dozens of British films from the 1930s through to the 1970s...
as Judge - Nicholas PhippsNicholas PhippsNicholas Phipps was a British actor and screenwriter who appeared in more than thirty films during a career that lasted between 1938 and 1970. He was born in London in 1913. He made his screen debut in the 1938 television film Hands Across the Sea. He appeared mainly in British comedy films, often...
as Major - Lisa Lee as Miss Brenner
- John Le MesurierJohn Le MesurierJohn Le Mesurier was a BAFTA Award-winning English actor. He is most famous for his role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the popular 1970s BBC comedy Dad's Army.-Career:...
as Minister of Education - George BensonGeorge Benson (actor)George Christopher Benson was a Welsh and English actor of both theatre and screen, whose career spanned from the 1930s to the late 1970s...
as Defence Counsel - Elwyn Brook-JonesElwyn Brook-JonesElwyn Brook-Jones was a British film and television actor.-Life:Brook-Jones was born in Sarawak on the island of Borneo. After a private education, he attended Jesus College, Oxford. His public debut was in Australia, aged 11, as a concert pianist; he later made cabaret appearances in America...
as Emir - Basil DignamBasil DignamBasil Dignam was an English character actor.Basil Dignam, a native of Sheffield, acted on film and television between 1951 and 1975. He often appeared as an authority figure, such as a police officer, army general or peer....
- Cyril ChamberlainCyril ChamberlainCyril Chamberlain was an English film and television actor. He appeared in a number of the early Carry On, Doctor in the House and St. Trinian's films....
as Army Captain - Michael RipperMichael RipperMichael Ripper was an English character actor born in Portsmouth.He began his film career in quota quickies in the 1930s and until the late 1950s was virtually unknown; he was seldom credited. He played one of the two murderers in Richard III. Ripper became a mainstay in Hammer Film Productions...
as Liftman - Mark DignamMark DignamMark Dignam was a prolific English actor.Born in London, the son of salesman in the steel industry, Dignam grew up in Sheffield and was educated at the Jesuit College where he appeared in numerous Shakespearean plays....
as Prosecuting Counsel - Monte LandisMonte LandisMonte Landis is an American character actor best known for playing the comic foil in multiple episodes of The Monkees, most notably the Devil in "The Devil and Peter Tork".-Partial filmography:*The Mouse That Roared...
as Octavius - Warren MitchellWarren MitchellWarren Mitchell is an English actor who rose to initial prominence in the role of bigoted cockney Alf Garnett in the BBC television sitcom Till Death Us Do Part , and its sequels Till Death... and In Sickness and in Health , all of which were written by Johnny Speight...
as Tailor - Clive MortonClive MortonClive Morton was an English actor who made many screen appearances, especially on television. In 1955, he appeared in Laurence Olivier's Richard III and is recalled by fans of Doctor Who for his role as Trenchard in The Sea Devils in 1972...
as V.I.P. - Wensley PitheyWensley PitheyWensley Pithey was a South African character actor who had a long stage career.Pithey was born in Cape Town, South Africa. A graduate of the University of Cape Town where he studied music and drama, he travelled to England in 1947...
as Chief Constable - Bill ShineBill ShineBill Shine, born Wilfred William Dennis Shine, was a British theatre, film and television actor. Shine was born into a family of theatre actors; among others, Shine's father, mother, grandmother, two uncles and an aunt had worked in theatre. His father Wilfred Shine was a theatre actor who also...
as Usher - Harold Berens as British Consul
- Liz Frazer as Police Constable Susan Partridge
- Maria Lennard as Millicent
- Dawn Beret as Jane