The Pure Hell of St. Trinian's (1960)

This, the third 'St. Trinian's' film, opens with the school being burnt to the ground; this leads to all the pupils being put on trial. It looks as though they will be split up and sent to various approved schools until Professor Canford a man with progressive views on education suggests that not only can he keep them together, he can also turn them into civilised girls. Thus St. Trinian's reopens near to its old site. They haven't been back long when Canford suggests taking the Sixth Form girls on a tour of the Greek Islands. The new headmistress isn't so sure but eventually they depart but their ship doesn't head to the Mediterranean; instead it sails round Africa to Arabia where the girls are taken into the harem of a local emir who intends to marry them off to his sons. Luckily Superintendent Samuel Kemp-Bird was suspicious and had Sgt Ruby Gates stowaway aboard the ship to see what was going on. When news gets back to England the nearest regiment are contacted to rescue the girls and two civil servants are sent to assist… of course nothing goes according to plan but never fear the fourth form will save the day!Things got off to a fine start with the girls burning the school down then ending up on trial but once Professor Canford was introduced it became clear that his character, along with Flash Harry and Sgt Gates where going to be the protagonists rather than any of the girls. Indeed none of the girls are proper characters; the fourth form are just there to be wild and the sixth formers, who are thankfully clearly in their twenties, are there to look sexy in skimpy gym kits (or less)! There are some nicely surreal moments such as the civil servants who deal with stress by dancing and the regiment which is a 'mobile bath unit'. The end came as a bit of a disappointment; when the fourth form turned up I was expecting to climactic mayhem but instead they just turn up and we are told that the sixth form has been rescued. Overall I'd say this is worth watching if you enjoyed the earlier two films but it certainly isn't a classic.

This film begins with the school burning down and there is a trial for arson against the girls (all of them!). They are found guilty but set free by the judge. The girls are taken on a ship, supposedly going to the Greek Isles. The ever lovelorn Sargeant Gates (the wonderful Joyce Grenfell) goes to meet up with them to see whats going on. She ends up on a desert island with Flash Harry (George Cole) and another man who has designs on her. Will they save the girls? Do they need saving? This film is not as good as the other two, since it deemphasizes the girls. Its a lot more of an adult film, they are much more prominent. Its not bad, just not quite as good. As for whether Sargeant Gates gets married..see the film. Its fine, just not essential unless you want to watch the series (all 4 films are available in a box set but unfortunately with no extras). So, check it out if you want to.

I just watched this on TV, and it was great to see so many well known actors looking young ! This film is very interesting as a part of our British cultural heritage, and a window on a time when Pythonesque humour was developing.The idea of a British schoolgirl being a stripper in a club called "Mohammed's" in "Arabia" may seem awfully non-PC today, but the other characters are also caricatures of British types. I particularly enjoyed the British Officer in the "Bath" unit and his preoccupation with Scotch. But as another reviewer has said, George Cole is outstanding.Great fun.

I can't claim to be an expert on THE ST TRINIAN series . I have some vague notion that it's about some hellcat girl pupils which in today's political climate would probably never been considered as a film seriesStrangely enough the film starts with a liberal agenda after the pupils have burnt down their school and are shown compassion , but at this point the film deviates from what you'd expect . The title is THE PURE HELL OF ST TRINIANS right ? so why does the film then revolve around Flash Harry and a couple of other characters being stuck on a desert island with the naughty schoolgirls absent for most of the narrative . It's also difficult to work out what the plot is since the movie feels rather episodic . It is interesting to see foreign office types going to a city called Bahgdad with some of the comedy coming out of this situation but this makes the film feel even more dated than it already is No doubt made for a British commercial market THE PURE HELL OF ST TRINIAN is something of a reminder of more innocent times but that's probably its only reason to watch as entertainment in 2005 . Compare this with the CARRY ON films of the early 1960s and see what series has aged better