Blue Murder at St. Trinian's (1957)

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy	None
Rating
Year Of Production	1957
Running Time	82:55
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Frank Launder
Studio Distributor	British Lion Films Universal Pictures Home Video	Starring	Terry-Thomas George Cole Joyce Grenfell Alastair Sim Sabrina Lionel Jeffries Lloyd Lamble Raymond Rollett Terry Scott Ferdy Mayne Thorley Walters Cyril Chamberlain Richard Wattis
Case	?
RPI	$14.95	Music	Malcolm Arnold

    "Trample on the weakest, glory in their plight". All right class, settle down please. Now, can anyone tell me what school has those words in their school anthem? Jenkins, will you please settle down? What, oh, sorry, yes you can, but put your hand up next time, now hurry along before you have an accident. Ah yes, Smythe-Jenkins ... that's right, it's St. Trinian's, that awful girls school. Can anyone tell me their motto? Davies, please stop elbowing Carlton-Hicks in the midriff. Hmm. Thomas? ... yes, it is "Get Your Blow In First". I'm afraid we are going to be watching that tragic documentary Blue Murder at St. Trinian's shortly, so please, don't anyone get any ideas.

    Ah, this all brings back memories of teaching days long gone. If you have just joined us for the first time, please check out my earlier review of The Belles of St. Trinian's now, and then come back and tell me in 25 words or less what it added to the history of British Cinema. Oops, sorry, still in teaching mode, get off that pedestal. Blue Murder at St. Trinian's is the second in the series of five films based on the cartoons of Ronald Searle and depicting the riotous events at the girls school of the same name.

    The current film opens with 'Flash' Harry (George Cole, in a part right up his dark alley) in Rome representing the St. Trinian's Marriage Bureau. His prospective client is interested in some members of the school hockey team but is advised that they have all been sold to an Arab sheik, who apparently couldn't make his mind up. Not to worry, there are still lots of attractive young ladies available, now, how to get them to Rome to meet the rich bachelor? Well, as luck would have it, there is a competition being run by the Department of Education which has a trip around Europe as the prize - could the fix be in?

    Back at the school, we find a monument has been erected to the former headmistress, Miss Fritton (Alastair Sim), tragically and unexpectedly taken away. No, she hasn't died, she is in jail! The army have been called in to pacify the school, but they are having a hard time doing it. Once again poor police Sgt Ruby Gates (Joyce Grenfell in another nicely judged performance) is assigned to keep an eye on things, especially when a suspected jewel thief is seen heading for the school. The Department is having a difficult time finding transportation for the girls and fall back upon Romney (Terry Thomas) who has some of the creakiest motors you will see on celluloid up for hire. The girls eventually set off on tour - Europe beware!

    I personally found this film even funnier than the first, which was itself a good laugh, but then I have a strange sense of humour, and this might not appeal if you don't have some Monty Python in your funny bone. The scene with the gladiators and the lions facing off the lower forms from St. T. is worth the admission price on its own. Once again there are some stalwarts of 1950s British cinema adding to the fun (including Richard Wattis and Lionel Jeffries). The pace of the film flags a little in the middle, but picks up nicely again at the end. The family audience have added this one to their favourites list, and at the budget price being asked for it, you should too. Now, if they would only release the third film in the series (The Pure Hell of St. Trinian's) here in Region 4. Oh well, in the meantime, be sure to check back soon for The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery.

Video

    The picture on offer here is strictly average. It is apparent that no restoration work has been done - we get what was on the print when they pulled it out of storage.

    The aspect ratio is 1.33:1, not 16x9 enhanced, which is acceptably close to the ratio of 1.37:1 it would have been filmed at.

    The picture is acceptably sharp for the most part. Shadow detail is mixed, satisfactory at times but poor at others (see the awful night scene at 11:58). There is minimal low level noise.

    We have the original crisp black & white picture to enjoy. With older films that have not been restored it is a relief that black & white film stock generally stands up better to the ravages of time than colour. There are occasionally variations in shade, but the gradation in the greyscale is pleasant for the most part.

    Most of the artefacts known to man show up at some time in this picture. There is telecine wobble during the opening credits, and once or twice thereafter. You can spot aliasing at various points (including the book cover at 4:41), and there are frequent reel change marks (the first is at 19:12). There are some diagonal white marks around 42:43 and smaller positive and negative artefacts at other times. What can I say? The film is showing its age in terms of wear and tear, but is still good enough to watch.

    There are no subtitles and there is no layer change.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio transfer is presented in all of its original mono grandeur.

    There is only one audio track, an English Dolby Digital 2.0 effort encoded at a bitrate of 224 Kb/s.

    The dialogue is clear at all times, and audio sync is fine, which is a good thing in a comedy film.

    Thankfully, the music is once again by noted composer Malcolm Arnold, and is again very effective. He really has a fine feel for the comedic action (would you believe comedic Wagner as a style?). There is a wonderful school anthem during the opening credits, complete with lyrics and bouncing ball to sing along to; give it a go, it's really funny. At times the music is a little too loud in relation to the dialogue, but is generally a key contributor to the enjoyment of the film.

    The soundtrack is mono, so there is no surround presence to note. The dialogue wanders at times across the front of the screen; switching to other sound modes is no improvement. While I don't mind listening to the original soundtrack on older films, I do wish they would do something about making sure that 2.0 mono tracks have better placement of sound.

    Subwoofer - no.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    Aargh - no Extras (again, again, again ....).

Menu

    Play Movie - Scene Selection (10, off the Main Menu: no sub-menu for selection).

Theatrical Trailer

    No, sorry, they must have lost it.

Featurette - St. Trinian's: A Retrospective

    No, sorry, couldn't afford stuff like that on a budget title.

    This film does not appear to be available in Region 1. In Region 2 it is available in a boxed set of the first four St. Trinian's films, and since the third of the series is not yet available in Region 4 this would be an attractive proposition if you can find it at a reasonable price.

    Blue Murder at St. Trinian's is a very funny entry in the series, and if you like silly British Comedy as much as I do, you should get hold of this, particularly at the low asking price. While the picture and sound are strictly average, and the lack of Extras is again annoying, grab this now and don't let the Brits have all the fun.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall