BLUE MURDER AT ST. TRINIAN's is the 1957 sequel to THE BELLES OF ST. TRINIAN'S and a definite improvement on the first stodgy movie. Alastair Sim is missing (for the most part), but his absence is more than made up for with a whole host of British comedy stars making this something of an ensemble affair. It's also a globetrotting adventures, taking the unruly pupils out of their school to wreak havoc on the continent instead.BLUE MURDER boasts a decent pace, plenty of workable gags and some inspired direction from Frank Launder, who seems to have had a shot of adrenaline pumped into his arm since he helmed the first flick. There are some great set-pieces here, including the water volleyball match and the robbery, all strung together by a preposterous but amusing narrative.While the likes of George Cole happily return to the fold, the real fun comes from the new stars present: a typical turn for Terry-Thomas and an inspired bit of cross-dressing from Lionel Jeffries, no less. Plenty of familiar faces appear in little roles too, including Terry Scott and Michael Ripper, and as a whole the production has the same lightness of touch and tone as the CARRY ONs of the era.

By sheer accident I recently saw the worst of this generally well-regarded British series (the 1980 "Wildcats of St. Trinian's"), so I thought to be fair I'd check out the best. Well, this is A LOT better. This is a genuinely hilarious film, not just in the jokes but in the absurd situations. It starts with the notorious title girls' school under military occupation, resulting in heavy casualties (for the military). The older "sixth form" girls decide they want to travel to Rome to meet a wealthy Italian count so they work with the younger "fourth form" hellions to break into the Ministry of Education and rig the results of a UNESCO exam. But when no respectable tour bus company will take this collection of monsters and minxes to the continent, they hire a shady operator (famed British comedian Terry-Thomas). Their "chaperone" meanwhile is the fugitive diamond-thief father of one of the girl's who is disguised as the new headmistress (they "disappear" the real headmistress), which turns the whole thing into a hilarious comedy caper film.It is a little disconcerting, as other reviewers have noted, that this film mixes the family-friendly scenes of the "fourth-form" ragamuffins with the scenes of the sexualized and sexually-predatory "sixth formers". But let's be honest--the first females most men sexually experienced or fantasized about were probably 16-18 years old, and those who claim to have no lingering attraction to girls that age are either lying or senile. Moreover, the "sixth formers" here are obviously played by somewhat older actresses, who are naturally pretty sexy. The most recognizable actress, for instance, is Italian sex bomb Lisa Gastoni. Now if you're sexually attracted to the "fourth formers", I'd say you have problems, but otherwise. . .But I digress. These British comedies would get a lot more racy moving into the 70's, but they were rarely as funny as this one. This ranks with the best of the "Carry on" series (i.e. "Carry on Camping", "Carry on Spying") and should be a must-see for any British comedy fan.

'The Belles of St Trinian's' was a hard act to follow, so it isn't surprising that this film doesn't even try. Apart from brief top and tail appearances of Alistair Sim as Miss Fritton, it is left to character actor Lionel Jeffries to take the mantle and lead the girls into glory, i.e. into George Cole's marriage bureau seeking to find a mate for a foreign prince in Rome.Familiar faces are back - Joyce Grenfell, Richard Wattis - alongside Terry-Thomas, Terry Scott, Kenneth Griffith, and other big names of the 1950s comedy scene. The girls are as riotous as ever, and there is a nice turn from Judith Furze as Dame Maud, the unfortunate replacement head of the worst girls' school in the world! 'Blue Murder at St Trinian's' flags at times, but some bits are extremely funny, and one can sympathise with the Ministry of Education and their need for calming pills!

Not the strongest film in the ‘St Trinians' series, but nevertheless enjoyable for fans of mid-50s British comedy. It tends to slapstick at times, particularly the scene where the policemen are looking for the diamond thief – a straight lift from `The Pirate of Penzance'. The caste is the cream of British comedy at the time. Two mentions: a young George Cole, who went on to make a career of playing Cockney spivs, and Joyce Grenfell as Sgt Ruby Gates. The latter is a standout performance. Joyce Grenfell must surely be on of the finest female comedians of all time and the film is worth watching for her performance alone.