The Great St Trinian’s Train Robbery ** (1966, George Cole, Frankie Howerd, Dora Bryan, Reg Varney) – Classic Movie Review 2798

The 1966 fourth episode of Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat’s broad farcical St Trinian’s comedies, based on the cartoons of Ronald Searle, is unfortunately a rather weary effort. Alas there is neither Alastair Sim nor Joyce Grenfell, but George Cole appears as Flash Harry for one last time, and Frankie Howerd, Dora Bryan and Reg Varney are the headlining stars.

This time the infamous school for scandal St Trinian’s is providing the cover for great train robbers, who are thwarted by the all-girl school pupils in their bid to recover their stolen money of £2,500,000 hidden in their school.

A highly welcome scene-stealing Sixties British vintage comedy cast fights Frank Launder and Ivor Herbert’s strained, tired screenplay, with not enough pace, invention or laughs.

Some laughs are to be found though, mostly through the hard-working efforts of the cast. And it was popular enough for one more sequel belatedly in 1980, The Wildcats of St Trinian’s, with a different cast and Joe Melia playing Flash Harry, before the reboot St Trinian’s in 2007 with Rupert Everett and its 2009 sequel.

Also in the cast are Desmond Walter-Ellis, Raymond Huntley, Richard Wattis, Arthur Mullard, Eric Barker, Aubrey Morris, Michael Ripper (as the liftman), Godfrey Winn, George Benson, Barbara Couper, Margaret Nolan, Elspeth Duxbury, Portland Mason, Leon Thau, Meredith Edwards, Norman Mitchell, Jeremy Clyde, William Kendall, Terry Scott, Colin Gordon, Lisa Lee, Peter Gilmore, Jonathan Cecil, Sally Geeson, Ingrid Boulting and Stratford Johns  (voice) as The Voice.

Cole is one of only two actors (along with Michael Ripper) to appear in all four of the original St Trinian’s films: The Belles of St Trinian’s (1954), Blue Murder at St Trinian’s (1957), The Pure Hell of St Trinian’s (1960) and The Great St Trinian’s Train Robbery (1966).

George Cole died on August 5 2015, aged 90. Adieu, dear departed.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2798

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