Alfred Hitchcock puts Jane Wyman in harm’s way, as she tries to rescue her unworthy boyfriend Richard Todd from a murder charge. Is Jane proving her love, or are both of them being manipulated by a scheming actress, Marlene Dietrich? This is the movie in which Hitch inflicts a ‘frump complex’ on Ms. Wyman — she looks demoralized whenever she shares the screen with Dietrich. It’s also the movie that ponders the cinematic concept of ‘The Lying Flashback,’ which made perfect sense to Hitchcock but frustrated his audience. Also starring Michael Wilding, Alastair Sim and a cherry-picked list of English acting royalty.
Stage Fright
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1950 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 110 min. / Available at Amazon.com / Street Date January 25, 2022 / 21.99
Starring: Jane Wyman, Marlene Dietrich, Michael Wilding, Richard Todd, Alastair Sim, Sybil Thorndike, Kay Walsh, Miles Malleson, Joyce Grenfell, André Morell, Patricia Hitchcock, Alfie Bass, Irene Handl. Lionel Jeffries.
Cinematography:...
Stage Fright
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1950 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 110 min. / Available at Amazon.com / Street Date January 25, 2022 / 21.99
Starring: Jane Wyman, Marlene Dietrich, Michael Wilding, Richard Todd, Alastair Sim, Sybil Thorndike, Kay Walsh, Miles Malleson, Joyce Grenfell, André Morell, Patricia Hitchcock, Alfie Bass, Irene Handl. Lionel Jeffries.
Cinematography:...
- 1/29/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
“He was an abominable man. Why do women marry abominable men?”
Marlene Dietrich in Alfred Hitchcock’s Stage Fright (1950) will be available on Blu-ray January 25th from Warner Archive
In Alfred Hitchcock’s world, theaters are where danger stalks the wings, characters are not what they seem, and that “final curtain” can drop any second. The droll Stage Fright springs from that entertaining tradition. Jane Wyman plays drama student Eve Gill, who tries to clear a friend (Richard Todd) being framed for murder by becoming the maid of flamboyant stage star Charlotte Inwood (Marlene Dietrich). Filming in his native England, Hitchcock merrily juggles elements of humor and whodunit and puts a game ensemble through its paces. No one turns a theatre into a bastion of dread like Hitchcock, and Stage Fright is proof positive.
Special Features:
Featurette: “Hitchcock and Stage Fright”Original Theatrical Trailer (HD)
The post Marlene Dietrich in...
Marlene Dietrich in Alfred Hitchcock’s Stage Fright (1950) will be available on Blu-ray January 25th from Warner Archive
In Alfred Hitchcock’s world, theaters are where danger stalks the wings, characters are not what they seem, and that “final curtain” can drop any second. The droll Stage Fright springs from that entertaining tradition. Jane Wyman plays drama student Eve Gill, who tries to clear a friend (Richard Todd) being framed for murder by becoming the maid of flamboyant stage star Charlotte Inwood (Marlene Dietrich). Filming in his native England, Hitchcock merrily juggles elements of humor and whodunit and puts a game ensemble through its paces. No one turns a theatre into a bastion of dread like Hitchcock, and Stage Fright is proof positive.
Special Features:
Featurette: “Hitchcock and Stage Fright”Original Theatrical Trailer (HD)
The post Marlene Dietrich in...
- 1/3/2022
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
“An Alastair Sim Quartet”
By Raymond Benson
Alastair George Bell Sim, popularly known as Alastair Sim, was one of those great British actors famous for his remarkable facial features, physical presence, and vocal delivery. Primarily a renowned stage performer from the 1930s to the 1970s, Sim also made several films—mostly comedies, because he could do “irony” as well as, say, Alec Guinness. Sim is perhaps best-known for his definitive Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, but his work portraying acerbic and sarcastic characters in other pictures in the late 40s and through the 50s, is outstanding.
The impressive Film Movement label has released this 4-disk package that highlights a quartet of notable Alastair Sim appearances in what are deemed to be among the best post-war “very British” comedies. This was a time when Ealing Studios, for example, was making its mark in the genre.
“An Alastair Sim Quartet”
By Raymond Benson
Alastair George Bell Sim, popularly known as Alastair Sim, was one of those great British actors famous for his remarkable facial features, physical presence, and vocal delivery. Primarily a renowned stage performer from the 1930s to the 1970s, Sim also made several films—mostly comedies, because he could do “irony” as well as, say, Alec Guinness. Sim is perhaps best-known for his definitive Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, but his work portraying acerbic and sarcastic characters in other pictures in the late 40s and through the 50s, is outstanding.
The impressive Film Movement label has released this 4-disk package that highlights a quartet of notable Alastair Sim appearances in what are deemed to be among the best post-war “very British” comedies. This was a time when Ealing Studios, for example, was making its mark in the genre.
- 5/14/2020
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Staring down his prey with sunken eyes and a sinister smile, Alastair Sim was the fiend Charles Addams never got around to drawing. Sim was a quick-change artist who didn’t need makeup to transform from a grasping monster into your favorite uncle – it’s why he remains the greatest interpreter of Ebenezer Scrooge. Whether playing a cold-blooded assassin in The Green Man or a kindly army chaplain in Folly to be Wise he understood as well as anyone why the masks of tragedy and comedy are intertwined.
Sim is one of those figures who’s been consigned to the history books for decades. But by releasing a Blu ray set of the great man’s comedies in 2020, Film Movement Classics, like Scrooge, hasn’t lost their senses – they’ve come to them.
Alastair Sim’s School for Laughter
Blu ray
Film Movement Classics
1954, ’60, ’51, ’47 / 1.67:1, 1.37:1 / 86, 97, 93, 82 min.
Starring Alastair Sim,...
Sim is one of those figures who’s been consigned to the history books for decades. But by releasing a Blu ray set of the great man’s comedies in 2020, Film Movement Classics, like Scrooge, hasn’t lost their senses – they’ve come to them.
Alastair Sim’s School for Laughter
Blu ray
Film Movement Classics
1954, ’60, ’51, ’47 / 1.67:1, 1.37:1 / 86, 97, 93, 82 min.
Starring Alastair Sim,...
- 4/25/2020
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Andrew Heard 21st August 1958 - 9th January 1993
The artist Andrew Heard was a combination of contrasts, contradictions and charm. Although his large immensely detailed canvases referenced quintessentially English topics, it is a testament to their brilliance of construction that the viewer didn't need to know who his subjects were in order to be engaged by them. Usually British actors, comedians and neglected television personalities held centre stage. It helped, enhanced and enriched the viewing experience if you knew them, but as he was more successful in Europe, the references were secondary to the visual impact of the work. Heard had more recognition in Germany where his paintings sold well via the Friedman-Guinness Gallery in Frankfurt, he also exhibited at Turske & Turske in Zurich, where the essentially English comic Arthur Askey held little in the way of a visual translation abroad. His work was initially monochromatic and stark but developed into a cavalcade of color.
The artist Andrew Heard was a combination of contrasts, contradictions and charm. Although his large immensely detailed canvases referenced quintessentially English topics, it is a testament to their brilliance of construction that the viewer didn't need to know who his subjects were in order to be engaged by them. Usually British actors, comedians and neglected television personalities held centre stage. It helped, enhanced and enriched the viewing experience if you knew them, but as he was more successful in Europe, the references were secondary to the visual impact of the work. Heard had more recognition in Germany where his paintings sold well via the Friedman-Guinness Gallery in Frankfurt, he also exhibited at Turske & Turske in Zurich, where the essentially English comic Arthur Askey held little in the way of a visual translation abroad. His work was initially monochromatic and stark but developed into a cavalcade of color.
- 1/7/2018
- by robert cochrane
- www.culturecatch.com
Hammer horror fans are in for a treat, as respective collections of five William Castle films and five Hammer horror movies are coming out on Blu-ray in August, and The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant has been set to come out on Blu-ray.
The William Castle and Hammer horror collections will respectively come out on DVD August 18th from Mill Creek. The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant, meanwhile, is slated for release later this year by Kino Lorber. Stay tuned to Daily Dead for further updates.
From Mill Creek: "Iconic horror director William Castle created a simple, but winning formula for his films: a little comedy, a lot of scares, a preposterous gimmick, and a clear sense that fright films should be fun. This even meant Castle would, like Alfred Hitchcock, appear in his trailers and even the movies themselves. Though his career spanned 35 years and included everything from westerns to crime thrillers, he'll...
The William Castle and Hammer horror collections will respectively come out on DVD August 18th from Mill Creek. The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant, meanwhile, is slated for release later this year by Kino Lorber. Stay tuned to Daily Dead for further updates.
From Mill Creek: "Iconic horror director William Castle created a simple, but winning formula for his films: a little comedy, a lot of scares, a preposterous gimmick, and a clear sense that fright films should be fun. This even meant Castle would, like Alfred Hitchcock, appear in his trailers and even the movies themselves. Though his career spanned 35 years and included everything from westerns to crime thrillers, he'll...
- 7/31/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
James Garner movies on TCM: ‘Grand Prix,’ ‘Victor Victoria’ among highlights (photo: James Garner ca. 1960) James Garner, whose film and television career spanned more than five decades, died of "natural causes" at age 86 on July 19, 2014, in the Los Angeles suburb of Brentwood. On Monday, July 28, Turner Classic Movies will present an all-day marathon of James Garner movies (see below) as a tribute to the Oscar-nominated star of Murphy’s Romance and Emmy-winning star of the television series The Rockford Files. Among the highlights in TCM’s James Garner film lineup is John Frankenheimer’s Monaco-set Grand Prix (1966), an all-star, race-car drama featuring Garner as a Formula One driver who has an affair with the wife (Jessica Walter) of his former teammate (Brian Bedford). Among the other Grand Prix drivers facing their own personal issues are Yves Montand and Antonio Sabato, while Akira Kurosawa’s (male) muse Toshiro Mifune plays a...
- 7/25/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
★★★★☆Some films could only have been made in England, during a certain era and with a particular cast. The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954) - newly released by StudioCanal to mark its sixtieth anniversary - is one such film. Though its popularity led to a string of sequels throughout the 1950s and 60s - as well as an unfortunate revival in 2007 - it is the original film, directed by Frank Launder and starring Alistair Sim, George Cole and Joyce Grenfell, which remains the archetypal celluloid visualisation of artist Ronald Searle's comic creation. It's the new term at St. Trinian's - the girl's public school in the heart of England's home-counties, where anyone, other than the pupils themselves, fears to go.
- 4/29/2014
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
The world premiere of Saving Mr Banks got a rousing reception from the audience as the closing film of the London Film Festival on Sunday night and mostly favourable reviews.
The tale of Walt Disney's struggle to bring Pl Travers' Mary Poppins to the screen was co-produced by Essential Media and Entertainment.s Ian Collie and executive produced by Hopscotch Features. Troy Lum.
Directed by The Blind Side.s John Lee Hancock and scripted by Kelly Marcel and Aussie Sue Smith, the film stars Tom Hanks as Disney with Emma Thompson as the Australian-born novelist and Colin Farrell as her father. Financed by the Disney Co. the film opens in Australia in January and in the UK on November 29.
The studio initially threatened legal action to shut down the project, which was developed by Essential Media and Alison Owen's Ruby Films, before finally giving the greenlight in late 2011.
After...
The tale of Walt Disney's struggle to bring Pl Travers' Mary Poppins to the screen was co-produced by Essential Media and Entertainment.s Ian Collie and executive produced by Hopscotch Features. Troy Lum.
Directed by The Blind Side.s John Lee Hancock and scripted by Kelly Marcel and Aussie Sue Smith, the film stars Tom Hanks as Disney with Emma Thompson as the Australian-born novelist and Colin Farrell as her father. Financed by the Disney Co. the film opens in Australia in January and in the UK on November 29.
The studio initially threatened legal action to shut down the project, which was developed by Essential Media and Alison Owen's Ruby Films, before finally giving the greenlight in late 2011.
After...
- 10/20/2013
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
By Lee Pfeiffer
Sony has released the 1963 remake of the 1932 James Whale horror film The Old Dark House as a burn-to-order DVD. The difference between the versions is supposedly night and day (I haven't seen the original). The remake is a broad, comedic take on the horror genre that keeps only the basic premise of the story, which was based on a novel by J.B. Priestly. Tom Poston, in a rare leading role, plays Tom Pendrel, an American living in London where he works as a car dealer. His flatmate Caspar Femm (Peter Bull) is a strange man who he hardly ever sees. Nevertheless, Caspar induces Tom to deliver his new car to the family's estate in the British countryside. When Tom arrives, he finds Caspar dead, supposedly from an accidental fall. He's already laid out in his coffin in a parlor. Tom then finds himself among a strange group of other Femms,...
Sony has released the 1963 remake of the 1932 James Whale horror film The Old Dark House as a burn-to-order DVD. The difference between the versions is supposedly night and day (I haven't seen the original). The remake is a broad, comedic take on the horror genre that keeps only the basic premise of the story, which was based on a novel by J.B. Priestly. Tom Poston, in a rare leading role, plays Tom Pendrel, an American living in London where he works as a car dealer. His flatmate Caspar Femm (Peter Bull) is a strange man who he hardly ever sees. Nevertheless, Caspar induces Tom to deliver his new car to the family's estate in the British countryside. When Tom arrives, he finds Caspar dead, supposedly from an accidental fall. He's already laid out in his coffin in a parlor. Tom then finds himself among a strange group of other Femms,...
- 12/19/2012
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
October 31st sees the DVD release for the first time ever of Time to Remember!
Time To Remember is a series recounting through the exclusive use of British Pathe’s newsreel footage the dramatic social, political and cultural transformation of the Western World in the first half of the 20th century. Divided into 12 thematic episodes, this series is based on the stunning footage and narrative of the 1960s landmark documentary of the same name.
Executively produced by David Okuefuna, Time To Remember explores the iconic and pivotal moments, as well as the new and passing social trends, which served to define the first half of the 20th century. From Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee to the allied victory in 1945, via suffragettes, flappers and music hall stars, all aspects of the society are featured in this wide-ranging series. All of which is held together by an exceptional script, brought to life...
Time To Remember is a series recounting through the exclusive use of British Pathe’s newsreel footage the dramatic social, political and cultural transformation of the Western World in the first half of the 20th century. Divided into 12 thematic episodes, this series is based on the stunning footage and narrative of the 1960s landmark documentary of the same name.
Executively produced by David Okuefuna, Time To Remember explores the iconic and pivotal moments, as well as the new and passing social trends, which served to define the first half of the 20th century. From Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee to the allied victory in 1945, via suffragettes, flappers and music hall stars, all aspects of the society are featured in this wide-ranging series. All of which is held together by an exceptional script, brought to life...
- 10/25/2011
- by Matt Holmes
- Obsessed with Film
Shirley MacLaine, Irma la Douce on TCM Shirley MacLaine is Turner Classic Movies' "Summer Under the Stars" star of the day today, August 10. This evening, TCM is presenting its last four Shirley MacLaine movies: Billy Wilder's Oscar winner The Apartment (1960), which is on right now; Vincente Minnelli's Some Came Running (1958), which earned MacLaine her first Best Actress Academy Award nomination; Lewis Milestone's Ocean's Eleven (1960), in which MacLaine has a mere cameo; and Anthony Asquith's omnibus feature The Yellow Rolls Royce (1964), in which MacLaine is one of about a dozen stars in several individual stories. [Shirley MacLaine Movie Schedule.] It's too late for me to recommend The Apartment, though recommendable it is. For one thing, this collaboration between Billy Wilder and screenwriter I.A.L. Diamond features what is, in my view, Fred MacMurray's best performance by far. Usually an intolerable leading man — macho, reactionary, humorless, unsexy, dull — MacMurray could be a fascinating slimeball,...
- 8/11/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
After seeing the 2007 remake, one of the stars of the original St Trinian's films decided to track down her fellow schoolgirls – and now they're getting together for a special screening
Annabelle Heath is a church steward from Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex. "I had to torture Jill Evans. That's me turning the mangle," she boasts proudly. She is talking about events long ago, when she played "Maudie the bookie" in 1954's The Belles of St Trinian's. "I was only about 11. I wasn't one of the ones with stockings and suspender belts." Heath – who appeared on screen under the name Annabelle Covey – describes her costume with just a touch of regret in her voice.
Fifty-seven years on, Heath has assembled a small army of St Trinian's old girls (her torture victim Jill Evans among them) to attend a special screening of the film at the Barbican next week. No, they won't be...
Annabelle Heath is a church steward from Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex. "I had to torture Jill Evans. That's me turning the mangle," she boasts proudly. She is talking about events long ago, when she played "Maudie the bookie" in 1954's The Belles of St Trinian's. "I was only about 11. I wasn't one of the ones with stockings and suspender belts." Heath – who appeared on screen under the name Annabelle Covey – describes her costume with just a touch of regret in her voice.
Fifty-seven years on, Heath has assembled a small army of St Trinian's old girls (her torture victim Jill Evans among them) to attend a special screening of the film at the Barbican next week. No, they won't be...
- 4/7/2011
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- The Guardian - Film News
Let’s go back to when Britain had its own cinema and see who some of our homegrown stars were then. If we dissolve back to 1960, we find a plethora of movie stars - enough to guarantee full houses in all the West End, and regional theatres, in the country. Here are just some of them: Margaret Rutherford, Joyce Grenfell, John Mills, Leslie Phillips, Joan Sims, Virginia McKenna, Denholm Elliott, Fenella Fielding, Alec Guinness, Leo McKern, Diana Dors, Terry Thomas, Richard Burton, Dirk Bogarde, Peter Sellers, Laurence Olivier, Joan Greenwood, Hermione Baddeley, Moira Lister, Oliver Reed, Dennis Price, Michael Hordern, Robert Shaw, Michael Redgrave, Robert Morley, Laurence Harvey, Paul Scofield, Richard Harris, Tom Courtenay, Leslie-Anne Down, George Formby, Peter Ustinov, Peter Finch, Harry Andrews, Maxine Audley, Nigel Stock, Eric Porter, Noel Coward, Dinsdale Landen, Bernard Cribbins, Patrick Wymark, Shirley-Anne Field, and Moira Redmond…...
- 12/23/2010
- by Jonathan Gems
- Pure Movies
It might look rather old school today, but St Trinian's was once a subversive force in British cinema
I blame Harry Potter. I blame him for a lot of stuff: for the resurrection of those weedy Cs Lewis novels, for inducting a generation of new readers through the door marked "Fantasy", and I even blame him for the new generation of St Trinian's movies, which should have remained where they belonged and made most sense: in sexually repressed, austerity-ridden 1950s England.
Remove the hussies and hoydens of St Trinian's – referred to in the last St film as "Hogwarts for pikeys" – from that context and they deteriorate into anachronism, like National Service comedies or Carry On films made after 1969. They belong to a period when public schools, which educated only a minuscule percentage of Britons, seemed so much part of the national psyche that the entire country was familiar with their strange,...
I blame Harry Potter. I blame him for a lot of stuff: for the resurrection of those weedy Cs Lewis novels, for inducting a generation of new readers through the door marked "Fantasy", and I even blame him for the new generation of St Trinian's movies, which should have remained where they belonged and made most sense: in sexually repressed, austerity-ridden 1950s England.
Remove the hussies and hoydens of St Trinian's – referred to in the last St film as "Hogwarts for pikeys" – from that context and they deteriorate into anachronism, like National Service comedies or Carry On films made after 1969. They belong to a period when public schools, which educated only a minuscule percentage of Britons, seemed so much part of the national psyche that the entire country was familiar with their strange,...
- 12/12/2009
- by John Patterson
- The Guardian - Film News
The William Castle Film Collection (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, $80.95) includes eight pictures produced and directed by master showman Castle. In Part One of this lengthy DVD review, I dissected four of them—13 Ghosts, Homicidal and the two best, The Tingler and Mr. Sardonicus. Believe you me, it was a ghastly business! As Sardonicus would say, “I have known a ghoul—a disgusting creature that opens graves and feeds on corpses.” Like a DVD reviewer. See here.
In this epic conclusion, I am fitted out with a Strait-jacket (about time!) and also chronicle Zotz!, 13 Frightened Girls and The Old Dark House, the three Castle entries new to DVD (which lack the short, individual “making of” documentaries accompanying the other five). Only two of these eight flicks were shot in color (Girls, House); theatrical trailers are included with all of the movies. And that’s all you need to know as we continue—in amazing Screamarama,...
In this epic conclusion, I am fitted out with a Strait-jacket (about time!) and also chronicle Zotz!, 13 Frightened Girls and The Old Dark House, the three Castle entries new to DVD (which lack the short, individual “making of” documentaries accompanying the other five). Only two of these eight flicks were shot in color (Girls, House); theatrical trailers are included with all of the movies. And that’s all you need to know as we continue—in amazing Screamarama,...
- 10/21/2009
- by no-reply@starlog.com (David McDonnell)
- Starlog
Onward Production and Black Swan State Theatre Company’s anthology evening Seven Deadly Sins, Four Deadly Sinners, which they are presenting at The Playhouse Theatre between 21 October and 1 November.
Seven Deadly Sins, Four Deadly Sinners is an anthology evening of wicked comedy, heavenly drama, devilishly tall tales, enchanting poetry and seductive stories. Starring four deadly beautiful temptresses, who will enlighten you on how to survive, or even live by, the Seven Deadly Sins!
Seven Deadly Sins, Four Deadly Sinners has been compiled from the works of nearly everyone with a sense of humour (sometimes unintentional!) - from Chaucer to Victoria Wood, from Woody Allen to Oscar Wilde via Flanders & Swann, Joyce Grenfell, Steven Berkoff and Noel Coward - by the award-winning scriptwriter and author of the first six of the Carry On... films, Norman Hudis.
Wendy Hughes, one of Australia's best known stage, TV and film actresses (My Brilliant Career,...
Seven Deadly Sins, Four Deadly Sinners is an anthology evening of wicked comedy, heavenly drama, devilishly tall tales, enchanting poetry and seductive stories. Starring four deadly beautiful temptresses, who will enlighten you on how to survive, or even live by, the Seven Deadly Sins!
Seven Deadly Sins, Four Deadly Sinners has been compiled from the works of nearly everyone with a sense of humour (sometimes unintentional!) - from Chaucer to Victoria Wood, from Woody Allen to Oscar Wilde via Flanders & Swann, Joyce Grenfell, Steven Berkoff and Noel Coward - by the award-winning scriptwriter and author of the first six of the Carry On... films, Norman Hudis.
Wendy Hughes, one of Australia's best known stage, TV and film actresses (My Brilliant Career,...
- 9/30/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
LONDON -- Remaking eccentric English comedies is seldom a good idea, especially the ones from Ealing Studios with all those wonderful character actors. But against all odds, the new version of St. Trinian's almost pulls it off.
Based on characters created by cartoonist Ronald Searle as a distraction during World War II, the original films from the 1950s and '60s starred the incomparable Alastair Sim as headmistress of a girls' school whose pupils turn to anarchy. It was all stocking tops and hockey sticks with the likes of Terry-Thomas, George Cole and Lionel Jeffries ogling the wild young beauties while Joyce Grenfell, Beryl Reid and Hermione Baddeley tried to maintain order.
Directors Oliver Parker and Barnaby Thompson, who have tried their hands at Oscar Wilde, bring the St. Trinian's girls up to date with Rupert Everett, who apparently had the idea, taking the Sim role as Miss Fritton. It's like water off a duck's back even though no one could match the original actor's extraordinary comic gifts.
Everett's pretty good, though, playing off himself as the schoolmarm's conniving brother Carnaby and flirting outrageously with Colin Firth as Geoffrey Thwaites, the minister of education who is trying to close the joint down. The headmistress greets him carrying a small dog named Mr. Darcy.
Firth is in good form too, once again displaying his talent for physical comedy, as he becomes the victim of some aggressively silly pranks by the formidably inventive young ladies.
The semblance of plot follows Carnaby's daughter Annabelle (Talulah Riley) as she moves to St. Trinian's as part of her father's scheme to sell the school for the real estate. She quickly learns the outrageous rules and learns that the enterprising young women also manufacture specialty goods such as killer liquor and designer tampons for a local criminal named Flash Harry, played with assurance by hot British comedian Russell Brand.
When the education minister's plan to close the school meshes with Carnaby's desire to profit from its sale, Miss Fritton sets on a scheme to make enough money to carry on misbehaving in the school's tradition.
When a popular television quiz for schools is to be held at the National Gallery, they plot to enter the contest so they can steal a famous painting. Mischa Barton (The O.C.) and Stephen Fry have small cameos as the film turns into a reasonably entertaining caper film featuring lots of very appealing young women, which makes a pleasant change from the usual sweating heavies.
ST. TRINIAN'S
Entertainment Film Distributors (U.K.)
Ealing Studios, Fragile Films
Credits:
Directors: Oliver Parker, Barnaby Thompson
Writers: Piers Ashworth, Nick Moorcroft, based on the Ronald Searle cartoons
Producers: Oliver Parker, Barnaby Thompson
Executive producers: Rupert Everett, Nigel Green, James Spring
Director of photography: Gavin Finney
Production designer: Amanda McArthur
Music: Charlie Mole
Costume designers: Rebecca Hale, Penny Rose
Co-producer: Mark Hubbard
Editor: Alex Mackie
Cast:
Miss Fritton: Rupert Everett
Geoffrey Thwaites: Colin Firth
Beverly: Jodie Whittaker
Miss Dickinson: Lena Headey
Flash Harry: Russell Brand
Annabelle: Talulah Riley
Matron: Celia Imrie
Kelly: Gemma Arterton
Bursar: Toby Jones
JJ French: Mischa Barton
Quiz host: Stephen Fry
Running time -- 101 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Based on characters created by cartoonist Ronald Searle as a distraction during World War II, the original films from the 1950s and '60s starred the incomparable Alastair Sim as headmistress of a girls' school whose pupils turn to anarchy. It was all stocking tops and hockey sticks with the likes of Terry-Thomas, George Cole and Lionel Jeffries ogling the wild young beauties while Joyce Grenfell, Beryl Reid and Hermione Baddeley tried to maintain order.
Directors Oliver Parker and Barnaby Thompson, who have tried their hands at Oscar Wilde, bring the St. Trinian's girls up to date with Rupert Everett, who apparently had the idea, taking the Sim role as Miss Fritton. It's like water off a duck's back even though no one could match the original actor's extraordinary comic gifts.
Everett's pretty good, though, playing off himself as the schoolmarm's conniving brother Carnaby and flirting outrageously with Colin Firth as Geoffrey Thwaites, the minister of education who is trying to close the joint down. The headmistress greets him carrying a small dog named Mr. Darcy.
Firth is in good form too, once again displaying his talent for physical comedy, as he becomes the victim of some aggressively silly pranks by the formidably inventive young ladies.
The semblance of plot follows Carnaby's daughter Annabelle (Talulah Riley) as she moves to St. Trinian's as part of her father's scheme to sell the school for the real estate. She quickly learns the outrageous rules and learns that the enterprising young women also manufacture specialty goods such as killer liquor and designer tampons for a local criminal named Flash Harry, played with assurance by hot British comedian Russell Brand.
When the education minister's plan to close the school meshes with Carnaby's desire to profit from its sale, Miss Fritton sets on a scheme to make enough money to carry on misbehaving in the school's tradition.
When a popular television quiz for schools is to be held at the National Gallery, they plot to enter the contest so they can steal a famous painting. Mischa Barton (The O.C.) and Stephen Fry have small cameos as the film turns into a reasonably entertaining caper film featuring lots of very appealing young women, which makes a pleasant change from the usual sweating heavies.
ST. TRINIAN'S
Entertainment Film Distributors (U.K.)
Ealing Studios, Fragile Films
Credits:
Directors: Oliver Parker, Barnaby Thompson
Writers: Piers Ashworth, Nick Moorcroft, based on the Ronald Searle cartoons
Producers: Oliver Parker, Barnaby Thompson
Executive producers: Rupert Everett, Nigel Green, James Spring
Director of photography: Gavin Finney
Production designer: Amanda McArthur
Music: Charlie Mole
Costume designers: Rebecca Hale, Penny Rose
Co-producer: Mark Hubbard
Editor: Alex Mackie
Cast:
Miss Fritton: Rupert Everett
Geoffrey Thwaites: Colin Firth
Beverly: Jodie Whittaker
Miss Dickinson: Lena Headey
Flash Harry: Russell Brand
Annabelle: Talulah Riley
Matron: Celia Imrie
Kelly: Gemma Arterton
Bursar: Toby Jones
JJ French: Mischa Barton
Quiz host: Stephen Fry
Running time -- 101 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 12/21/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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