David Farrar comes to teach at a public school, and finds himself at war with senior master Marius Goring. Goring considers the new man an affront because he complains when he uses both bath tubs each morning -- one hot soak and one cold plunge -- borrows his umbrella without asking, and steals the imagined affection of Greta Gynt and the real affection of the schoolboys. Farrar comes to realize that Goring is insane, an insanity driven by the snide and pointless railings of the headmaster, Raymond Huntley.
It's based on a novel by the prolific Hugh Walpole, and makes me think of the adage that the reason academic fights are so vicious is because the stakes are small. Why anyone should be at this school is beyond me. Anyone who would send their children to this hidebound, rotten institute is clear neglect. Still, Goring is perfect in in his thankless role; he made a career of playing bizarre creatures, and this was near his peak.
It's based on a novel by the prolific Hugh Walpole, and makes me think of the adage that the reason academic fights are so vicious is because the stakes are small. Why anyone should be at this school is beyond me. Anyone who would send their children to this hidebound, rotten institute is clear neglect. Still, Goring is perfect in in his thankless role; he made a career of playing bizarre creatures, and this was near his peak.