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	==External links==		==External links==
	* {{IMDb title\|46766}}		*{{IMDb title\|46766}}
	* {{Allmovie title\|4760}}		*{{Allmovie title\|4760}}
	*~~[http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/487587/index.html~~ The Belles of St ~~Trinians] at BFI Screenonline~~		*{{BFI\|4ce2b6a5a3206\|The Belles of St Trinian's}}
	*~~[https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a5a3206~~ The Belles of St ~~Trinian's] at BFI~~		*{{Screenonline title\|487587\|The Belles of St Trinians}}
			* {{British Comedy Guide\|film\|the_belles_of_st_trinians}}
	*[https://letterboxd.com/film/the-belles-of-st-trinians/ The Belles of St Trinians] at Letterbox DVD		*[https://letterboxd.com/film/the-belles-of-st-trinians/ The Belles of St Trinians] at Letterbox DVD
	* {{British Comedy Guide\|film\|the_belles_of_st_trinians}}

	{{St Trinians}}		{{St Trinians}}
	~~{{Launder and Gilliat}}~~
	~~{{Alexander Korda}}~~

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Belles Of St Trinian's, The}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Belles Of St Trinian's, The}}

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	~~{{short description\|1954 British comedy film by Frank Launder}}~~
	~~{{EngvarB\|date=September 2013}}~~
	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=September 2013}}~~
	{{Infobox film		{{Infobox film
	~~\| name = The Belles of St Trinian's~~
	\| image = The Belles of St. Trinian's poster.jpg		\| image = The Belles of St. Trinian's poster.jpg
	\| caption =		\| caption =
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	[[Category:Films shot at Shepperton Studios]]		[[Category:Films shot at Shepperton Studios]]
	[[Category:1950s English-language films]]		[[Category:1950s English-language films]]
			[[Category:British school comedy films]]

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	{{Infobox film		{{Infobox film
	\| name = The Belles of St Trinian's		\| name = The Belles of St Trinian's
	\| image = The-Belles-of-St~~-Trinians~~.jpg		\| image = The Belles of St. Trinian's poster.jpg
	\| caption = ~~DVD cover~~		\| caption =
	\| director = [[Frank Launder]]		\| director = [[Frank Launder]]
	\| writer = Frank Launder<br>[[Sidney Gilliat]]<br>[[Val Valentine]]		\| writer = Frank Launder<br>[[Sidney Gilliat]]<br>[[Val Valentine]]

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{{short description|1954 British comedy film by Frank Launder}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2013}}
{{Infobox film
| name = The Belles of St Trinian's
| image = The-Belles-of-St-Trinians.jpg
| caption = DVD cover
| director = [[Frank Launder]]
| writer = Frank Launder [[Sidney Gilliat]] [[Val Valentine]]
| based_on = ''[[St Trinian's School|St Trinian's Cartoons]]'' by [[Ronald Searle]]
| producer = Frank Launder Sidney Gilliat
| starring = [[Alastair Sim]] [[Joyce Grenfell]] [[George Cole (actor)|George Cole]] [[Hermione Baddeley]]
| cinematography = [[Stanley Pavey]]
| editing = [[Thelma Connell]]
| music = [[Malcolm Arnold]]
| studio = [[London Films]] Individual Pictures
| distributor = [[British Lion Films]]
| released = {{Film date|1954|09|28|df=y}}
| runtime = 86 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
|language= English
| budget =
}}
'''''The Belles of St Trinian's''''' is a 1954 British [[comedy film]], directed by [[Frank Launder]], co-written by Launder and [[Sidney Gilliat]], and starring [[Alastair Sim]], [[Joyce Grenfell]], [[George Cole (actor)|George Cole]], [[Hermione Baddeley]]. Inspired by British cartoonist [[Ronald Searle]]'s ''[[St Trinian's School]]'' comic strips, the film focuses on the lives of the students and teachers of the fictional school, dealing with attempts to shut them down while their headmistress faces issues with financial troubles, which culminates in the students thwarting a scheme involving a racehorse.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a5a3206|title=The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954)}}</ref>

The film was among some of the most popular British films to be released in 1954, with critics praising the comedy and several of the cast members for their performances, including Sim's dual role as the headmistress Miss Millicent Fritton and her twin brother Clarence Fritton.<ref name=screenonline>{{cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/487587/index.html|title=BFI Screenonline: Belles of St Trinian's, The (1954)|website=www.screenonline.org.uk}}</ref> The film was the first to be produced in the ''St. Trinian's'' film series – three sequels were later produced and released after this film: ''[[Blue Murder at St Trinian's]]'' in 1957; ''[[The Pure Hell of St Trinian's]]'' in 1960; and ''[[The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery]]'' in 1966.

==Plot==
The Sultan of Makyad enrols his daughter Fatima at St. Trinian's - a girl's school in England, run by its headmistress Millicent Fritton. Upon her arrival, she discovers that Millicent runs the school to prepare her students to for a merciless world, by having her students fight against authoritative figures in both the police and the government, as many of the girls are unruly and have criminal relations. As a result, the school's curriculum focuses mainly on lessons in crime and illicit, all while the students thwart efforts by the local police and the Ministry of Education (a fictional British government department) to shut down the school. However, Millicent faces problems as St. Trinian's is on the verge of bankruptcy, and is seeking any means to clear the school's debt.

Millicent's twin brother, gambling bookkeeper Clarence Fritton, visits the school to check in on his sister, and learns about Fatima's enrolment. Knowing that her father owns a racehorse due to take part in a major horse racing event, Clarence decides to enrols his daughter Arabella at the school, with instructions to befriend Fatima and to subtlety extract information from her about the horse. At the same time, local police superintendent Kemp Bird assigns female police sergeant Ruby Gates, whom he is in a relationship with, to infiltrate the school undercover as a games mistress, while the Ministry assigns Manton Bassett to send in a new inspector to St. Trinian's after two others disappeared - unaware that they now work at the school.

Clarence soon learns from Arabella that the Sultan's racehorse is likely to win the horserace, and soon assigns his daughter to abduct it until the race is over. At the same time, several girls report of the horse's performance to Millicent, who becomes convinced to place a sizeable wager on it. When Fatima discovers Arabella leading a contingent of renegade sixth form girls to kidnap the horse, she leads a group of her fourth form classmates to recover the animal and smuggle back it to the racecourse before the race begins. As the police and Ministry are left embarrassed in their failing to prevent trouble, the girls ensure the racehorse wins. As Millicent is berated by the girl's parents over the way she has run the school, Harry arrives with news of the win, which has netted the school the money it needed to stay open, much to her relief.

== Cast ==
{{Cast listing|
*[[Alastair Sim]] as headmistress Millicent Fritton / Clarence Fritton
*[[Joyce Grenfell]] as Sergeant Ruby Gates
*[[George Cole (actor)|George Cole]] as [[Flash Harry (St Trinian's)|Flash Harry]]
*[[Hermione Baddeley]] as Miss Drownder
*[[Betty Ann Davies]] as Miss Waters
*[[Renée Houston]] as Miss Brimmer
*[[Beryl Reid]] as Miss Wilson
*[[Irene Handl]] as Miss Gale
*[[Mary Merrall]] as Miss Buckland
*[[Joan Sims]] as Miss Dawn
*Balbina as Mlle de St Emilion
*Jane Henderson as Miss Holland
*Diana Day as Jackie
*Jill Braidwood as Florrie
*Annabelle Covey as Maudie
*Pauline Drewett as Celia
*Jean Langston as Rosie
*[[Lloyd Lamble]] as Superintendent Kemp Bird, boyfriend of Ruby Gates
*[[Richard Wattis]] as Manton Bassett, civil servant in the Ministry of Education
*[[Guy Middleton]] as Eric Rowbottom-Smith, a ministry inspector, now a teacher at the school
*[[Arthur Howard]] as Wilfred Woodley, another ministry inspector, also now a teacher
*[[Michael Ripper]] as Albert Faning
*[[Eric Pohlmann]] as The Sultan of Makyad
*[[Sid James]] as Benny, one of Clarence Fritton's racing associates
*[[Martin Walker (actor)|Martin Walker]] as Hankinson
*[[Noel Hood]] as Bilston School Mistress
*[[Vivienne Martin (actress)|Vivienne Martin]] as Arabella
*[[Elizabeth Griffiths]] as Gladys
*[[Andrée Melly]] as Lucretia
*[[Belinda Lee]] as Amanda
}}

[[Ronald Searle]] appeared in a cameo role as a visiting parent.<ref name=screenonline/> [[Roger Delgado]] plays the Sultan's aide.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f0782de|title=Roger Delgado}}</ref> It was also the first film appearance of [[Barbara Windsor]], then a teenager.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35189130|title=In pictures: Dame Barbara Windsor|date=30 December 2015|publisher=BBC}}</ref>

==Music==
The music for the file was written by the English composer [[Malcolm Arnold]]. The music was arranged as a concert suite for orchestra with [[piano four hands]] by [[Christopher Palmer]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Malcolm Arnold: The Belles of St. Trinians – Comedy Suite: Orchestra |url=https://www.musicroom.com/malcolm-arnold-the-belles-of-st-trinians-comedy-musnov951698 |website=Music Room |access-date=10 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Malcolm Arnold - The Complete Catalogue of Published Works |url=https://www.malcolmarnoldsociety.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/MAcatalogue.pdf |publisher=Malcolm Arnold Society |page=10 |date=2004}}</ref> The suite was performed at the [[BBC Proms]] in 2003 and 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=Prom 38 – Great British Film Music |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/eqj4fx |publisher=BBC |date=2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=20th-Century British Film Music |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ezdwxj |publisher=BBC |date=2021}}</ref>

==Production==
The film was based on the cartoons of [[Ronald Searle]]. He started doing sketches at the beginning of the war and continued to do them as a POW in Singapore. After the war they became very successful. By the time the film was made Searle had become tired of them.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12644845 |title=FEATURES The Belles Of St. Trinian's LITTLE MONSTERS ALL |newspaper=[[The Sun-Herald]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=14 February 1954 |access-date=12 August 2020 |page=22 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

Filming took place in April–May 1954. The opening scenes of the girls returning to school were filmed at what is now the [[All Nations Christian College]] near Ware, Hertfordshire. This includes the entrance gate of Holycross Road and the outside shots of the school.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reelstreets.com/films/belles-of-st-trinians-the/|title=Reelstreets – Belles of St. Trinian's, The|first=Silver|last=Monkey|website=www.reelstreets.com}}</ref> The bulk of the film was shot at [[Shepperton Studios]] near [[London]]. The film's sets were designed by the [[art director]] [[Joseph Bato]].

==Reception==
===Box Office===
The film was the third most popular movie at the British box office in 1954, after ''Doctor in the House'' and ''Trouble in Store''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27253063|title=JOHN WAYNE HEADS BOX-OFFICE POLL.|newspaper=[[The Mercury (Hobart)|The Mercury]]|location=Hobart, Tasmania|date=31 December 1954|access-date=24 April 2012|page=6|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/Screen_Volume_32_Issue_3/page/n17|magazine=Screen|page=259|volume=32|issue=3|title=The popular cash and culture in the postwar British cinema industry|first=Janet|last=Thumim}}</ref>

===Critical===
''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote, "Credit Alastair Sim with doing excellently by the dual roles he essays...Joyce Grenfell makes a properly gangling, awkward and gullible lady sleuth; George Cole does a few delightful turns as the conniving Cockney go-between and last, but not least, the 'Belles of St. Trinian's' rate a vote of confidence for the whacky freedom of expression they exhibit. They all help make St. Trinian's a wonderfully improbable and often funny place to visit."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E01EFDC113FE33BBC4B51DFB467838F649EDE|title='Belles of St. Trinian's' Opens at Plaza|website=movies.nytimes.com}}</ref>

===Censorship===
The film was banned for children under 16 in South Africa.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47618013 |title=CABLE NEWS IN BRIEF |newspaper=[[The Advertiser (Adelaide)|The Advertiser]] | location=Adelaide, South Australia |volume=97 |issue=29,986 |date=22 November 1954 |access-date=12 August 2020 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[BFI Top 100 British films]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|46766}}
* {{Allmovie title|4760}}
*[http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/487587/index.html The Belles of St Trinians] at BFI Screenonline
*[https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a5a3206 The Belles of St Trinian's] at BFI
*[https://letterboxd.com/film/the-belles-of-st-trinians/ The Belles of St Trinians] at Letterbox DVD
* {{British Comedy Guide|film|the_belles_of_st_trinians}}

{{St Trinians}}
{{Launder and Gilliat}}
{{Alexander Korda}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belles Of St Trinian's, The}}
[[Category:1954 comedy films]]
[[Category:1954 films]]
[[Category:British black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Frank Launder]]
[[Category:Films scored by Malcolm Arnold]]
[[Category:Films set in schools]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat]]
[[Category:St Trinian's films]]
[[Category:British comedy films]]
[[Category:Field hockey films]]
[[Category:British Lion Films films]]
[[Category:Films shot at Shepperton Studios]]
[[Category:1950s English-language films]]