THE GREAT ST. TRINIAN'S TRAIN ROBBERY was the last of the St. Trinian's quartet (until the unwise attempt at revamping the series in 1980 with WILDCATS) and, to my mind, the most entertaining of the bunch. Whereas the earlier instalments of the 1950s were in black and white, quite slow moving and dated in their humour - nope, I don't find the sight of Alistair Sim in drag particularly funny - this is more like the British comedy films of the '60s and '70s that I know and love.
Headlining the cast is Frankie Howerd - hooray! - as a criminal mastermind who's successfully carried out a train robbery with his crooked gang, including plenty of familiar faces (such as Reg Varney of ON THE BUSES fame). The only problem is that the loot is hidden in an old building now inhabited by the St. Trinian's gang, so retrieving it is going to be tricky.
What follows is a quirky escapade full of the usual hooliganism and outrageous shenanigans as a battle of wits ensues between schoolgirls, teachers and robbers. George Cole is back as Flash Harry, although as usual he has little to do, but Dora Bryan is great value as quirky headmistress Amber Spottiswood. Watch out too for Eric Barker, Michael Ripper and Terry Scott popping up in brief roles.
Things really pick up for the extended climax set on the train tracks. Steam trains and carriages are flying back and forth to great effect and the film reaches farcical levels at this point, ending on a high.
Headlining the cast is Frankie Howerd - hooray! - as a criminal mastermind who's successfully carried out a train robbery with his crooked gang, including plenty of familiar faces (such as Reg Varney of ON THE BUSES fame). The only problem is that the loot is hidden in an old building now inhabited by the St. Trinian's gang, so retrieving it is going to be tricky.
What follows is a quirky escapade full of the usual hooliganism and outrageous shenanigans as a battle of wits ensues between schoolgirls, teachers and robbers. George Cole is back as Flash Harry, although as usual he has little to do, but Dora Bryan is great value as quirky headmistress Amber Spottiswood. Watch out too for Eric Barker, Michael Ripper and Terry Scott popping up in brief roles.
Things really pick up for the extended climax set on the train tracks. Steam trains and carriages are flying back and forth to great effect and the film reaches farcical levels at this point, ending on a high.