History Film / StTrinians

* OneGenderSchool: Only females. The only males who regularly are on the campus are the very put-upon Bursar and Flash.

The franchise would have to wait 27 more years before a new film came out, this time simply called ''St. Trinian's'' (''St. Trinian's School for (Bad) Girls'' in DVD release). In this one, the school is threatened with foreclosure by the bank and the ultra-conservative Minister of Education. Faced with threats from all sides, the girls decide to pull off the biggest heist ever concocted by a bunch of teenagers. This one features Creator/ColinFirth as the Minister of Education, and thus avoids the CelebrityParadox by making jokes about ''Film/AnotherCountry'', ''Film/PrideAndPrejudice'' and ''Film/GirlWithAPearlEarring''. It's also notable for having Colin Firth and Rupert Everett perform "Love is in the Air" over the end credits. There was also a poorly-received (though not bad) sequel, ''St. Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold'', in 2009 (featuring former Series/DoctorWho star David Tennant as the villain). A third film is planned.

* AbortedArc: Roxy's role in the second film. She's given a lot of focus at the start, which includes the students fawning over her and arguing about which group she's going to join, but then she just falls out of focus. She barely even speaks in the second half of the film.

* BlackAndGrayMorality: In an oddly comic way. The girls are criminal Karmic Houdini's who should be in juvenile detention at the very least. In spite of this they are usually not as bad as their enemies, and they are loyal to their friends and their school. Whatever they get up to is however usually very funny as well.

* CelebrityParadox: When looking at ''The Girl With A Pearl Earring'', one girl comments that Colin Firth was justified in wanting to shag her.

* DemonicPossession: Annabelle in ''St. Trinian's: The Legend Of Fritton's Gold'' gets possessed by her ancestor Captain Fritton. There is no real point to this scene, other then having the other girls scream, making the Emo do an exorcism, damaging Annabelle's self-esteem, and getting the second half of the clue.

* FakeBand: The Banned of St. Trinian's are featured in the 2009 film. As the DVD reveals, the actresses playing the band recorded the vocals for the two songs they're show performing. (A member of Girls Aloud, Sarah Harding, is a lead cast member in the second film, but does not perform with this group.)

* HeManWomanHater: In the 2009 film, an entire organization exists for hating women. Both Lord and [[IdenticalGrandson Sir Piers]] Pomfrey's motivations are solely because of this as well.

* JumpScare: Played for laughs, but a jump nevertheless, one of these happens in the 2009 film when Colin Firth's character encounters a possessed Annabelle returning to the school.
* KarmaHoudini: The girls are guilty of everything from forgery to kidnapping, but never seem to get into any real trouble.

* LastSecondWordSwap: In the 2009 film, Geoffrey nearly calls the girls "bitches" during a tirade [[spoiler: to gain Pomfrey's trust]], but can't bring himself to do so, saying "minxes" instead.

* LowerClassLout: The 2007 film has a clique of chavs. By the next film, they've become rude girls.

** In the ''Legend of Fritton's Gold'', the first scene with the policeman saying "They're back," is similar to the first scene of ''Belles ''. The travelling montage is very similar to that used in ''Blue Murder''.
* NaiveNewcomer: Annabelle when she first shows up at school and comes around to being a full fledged St. Trinian's girl by the time the first half of the movie is over.

* PirateGirl: Pirate Fritton from ''St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold''. [[spoiler: The entire school briefly borrows a pirate ship in order to get the proof Shakespeare was a girl.]]

* SamusIsAGirl: "That Sea Dog, was a she dog." Pirate Fritton ([[spoiler:who is William Shakespeare]]) is a woman. Unlike other examples of this trope, this is blatantly obvious from the get-go.[[note]]Unless you're familiar with [[Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Captain Jack Sparrow]] and his campy manners...[[/note]]

** Similarly, there are a number of shoutouts surrounding "The Girl With A Pearl Earring", starting with Colin Firth's role in the 2003 film of the same name, the explicit reference to Colin Firth wanting to shag her, and Chelsea initially thinking that the idea is to "steal Scarlett Johansson''.
** To ''TheItalianJob'', when the twins use a little too much explosive during the heist rehearsal.

** A deleted scene has the girls running a FightClub, which of course no one talks about.

* SweetPollyOliver: Half the main case of ''St. Trinian's 2'' dress as guys to infiltrate a boy's school. Disturbingly, several of the girls look more convincing as guys than some of the male actors cast to play the male students, including one who comes off as a dead ringer for Leonardo [=DiCaprio=], and another who is so handsome as a boy one of the St. Trinian's girls accidentally takes a shine to "him" before realising who she is.

* UncannyFamilyResemblance: in both the original film and the reboot. In ''The Belles of St. Trinian's'', Millicent and Clarence Fritton were both played by Alastair Sim. In the reboot film, Camilla and Carnaby Fritton were both played by Rupert Everett. Also Sir Piers Pomfrey and Lord Pomfrey were both played by David Tennant.
* UpToEleven: Fritton's Gold features an amp that does this.

* WritersCannotDoMath: One scene in the 2007 film had ''Stephen Fry'' award points to a team for concluding that the volume of a sphere is πr[[superscript:3]]. A fourteen-year-old could probably tell you that it's (4πr[[superscript:3]])/3.
* ZettaiRyouiki: Several senior girls.

* {{Blackface}}: In the ''Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery'' Frankie Howerd's character gets a face full of soot, which he then uses to impersonate a Pakistani worker (with a dreadful accent) to evade capture.

The franchise would have to wait 27 more years before a new film came out, this time simply called ''St. Trinian's'' (''St. Trinian's School for (Bad) Girls'' in DVD release). In this one, the school is threatened with foreclosure by the bank and the ultra-conservative Minister of Education. Faced with threats from all sides, the girls decide to pull off the biggest heist ever concocted by a bunch of teenagers. This one features Colin Firth as the Minister of Education, and thus avoids the CelebrityParadox by making jokes about ''Another Country'', ''PrideAndPrejudice'' and ''Film/GirlWithAPearlEarring''. It's also notable for having Colin Firth and Rupert Everett perform "Love is in the Air" over the end credits. There was also a poorly-received (though not bad) sequel, ''St. Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold'', in 2009 (featuring former Series/DoctorWho star David Tennant as the villain). A third film is planned.

** When Thwaites and Camilla meet, she says "Another time!" and he answers "Another country!" His response is the title of [[AnotherCountry a 1984 film]] in which Rupert Everett and Colin Firth first starred together.

->''We are the best,\\

Defenders of Anarchy!''

->-- '''Music/GirlsAloud''', ''St. Trinian's'' (2007)

* ActingForTwo: One notable thing about the films is the fact that in both the original series and the 2007 reboot, the Headmistress, Miss Fritton, is played by a man (Alistair Sim and Rupert Everett) who also plays [[HalfIdenticalTwins her brother]].

St Trinian's is a film series based on a series of cartoons by Ronald Searle (who also was responsible for the ''Literature/{{Molesworth}}'' books and ''Dick Deadeye, or Duty Done''). The films are set in a [[BoardingSchoolOfHorrors disreputable girls' school]] where the only rule is that there are no rules. The girls themselves are teen and pre-teen horrors who are not above using their feminine wiles to get away with murder. The teachers? [[AdultsAreUseless They're no use]], instead teaching the girls how to get away with crime in foreign countries and mixing drinks. The headmistress, Miss Fritton, has no interest in maintaining any form of order. And there's a local spiv, Flash Harry, who makes money from whatever schemes the girls cook up (usually).

The franchise would have to wait 27 more years before a new film came out, this time simply called ''St. Trinian's'' (''St. Trinian's School for (Bad) Girls'' in DVD release). In this one, the school is threatened with foreclosure by the bank , Headmistress Miss Fritton's brother (who wishes to build on the old ground) and the ultra-conservative Minister of Education. Faced with threats from all sides, the girls decide to pull off the biggest heist ever concocted by a bunch of teenagers. This one features Colin Firth as the Minister of Education, and thus avoids the CelebrityParadox by making jokes about ''Another Country'', ''PrideAndPrejudice'' and ''Film/GirlWithAPearlEarring''. It's also notable for having Colin Firth and Rupert Everett perform "Love is in the Air" over the end credits. There was also a poorly-received (though not bad) sequel, ''St. Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold'', in 2009 (featuring former Series/DoctorWho star David Tennant as the villain). A third film is planned.

* VillainProtagonist: The girls (it is ''St. Trinian's'' after all) are usually portrayed as organised criminals at best. On the other hand who ever their current enemy is is usually worse: bookmakers and the 6th form in the first film, kidnappers in the third, and a bunch of train robbers in the fourth. On the other hand the 6th Form in the ''The Belles'' and the entire school in ''Blue Murder at St. Trinian's'' are explicitly only acting to further their own plans. Flash usually falls into this niche as well.

One notable thing about the films is the fact that the Headmistress, Miss Fritton, is played by a man (Alistair Sim and Rupert Everett) who [[ActingForTwo also plays]] [[HalfIdenticalTwins her brother]]. The only constant, however, is Flash Harry (played by RussellBrand in the 2007 film).

* ''The Belles of St Trinian's'' (1954): The decrepit school is desperately in need of some money, so the headmistress allows the girls to place bets on a horserace. Things get out of hand when the classes place bets on rival horses.
* ''Blue Murder at St Trinian's'' (1957): Flash Harry (George Cole here) sets up a marriage agency, resulting in a prince wanting to meet the girls. Problems arise when the jewel-thief father of one of the girls decides to hide out at the school.
* ''The Pure Hell of St Trinian's'' (1960): The girls are kidnapped and forced to defend themselves against the sons of an Arabian Emir, who want them as their wives.

The series was revived in 1980 with ''The Wildcats of St Trinian's''. In this movie, Joe Melia replaced George Cole as Flash Harry, and the film was not a success.

The franchise would have to wait 27 more years before a new film came out, this time simply called ''St. Trinian's'' (''St. Trinian's School for (Bad) Girls'' in DVD release). In this one, the school is threatened with foreclosure by the bank , Headmistress Miss Fritton's brother (who wishes to build on the old ground) and the ultra-conservative Minister of Education. Faced with threats from all sides, the girls decide to pull off the biggest heist ever concocted by a bunch of teenagers. This one features Colin Firth as the Minister of Education, and thus avoids the CelebrityParadox by making jokes about ''Another Country'', ''PrideAndPrejudice'' and ''Film/GirlWithAPearlEarring''. It's also notable for having Colin Firth and Rupert Everett perform "Love is in the Air" over the end credits. There was also a poorly-received (though not bad) sequel, ''St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold'', in 2009 (featuring former Series/DoctorWho star David Tennant as the villain). A third film is planned.

* BadassCreed: ''"At other schools, they send young girls unprepared into a cold merciless world. But here at St Trinians, it is the merciless world which must be prepared."''

* {{Blackface}}: In the ''Great St Trinians Train Robbery'' Frankie Howerd's character gets a face full of soot and he then uses it to impersonate a Pakistani worker (with a dreadful accent) to evade capture.

* CallBack In the ''Legend of Fritton's Gold'', the first scene with the policeman saying "They're back" is similar to the first scene of ''Belles ''. Also the travelling montage is very similar to that used in ''Blue Murder''.

* ContinuityNod: In the 2007 film, the current Miss Fritton's "Great Aunt Millicent" is depicted in the form of a portrait and a bust of Alistair Sim (who played the original Millicent Fritton in ''The Belles of St. Trinian's'').
* ContinuityReboot: The 2007 film borrows the script A near-remake of ''Belles of St. Trinian's''.

* CustomUniform: Due to the [[{{Understatement}} rather relaxed]] rules at St.Trinians, all the girls wear custom uniforms apart from Annabel at first. Averted for laughs in one scene, where instead of scolding a student for dangling a girl off of the stairs, a teacher demands that she tuck her shirt in.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: In ''The Belles of St. Trinian's'', the girls are not a united group, but are instead acting at cross purposes. The 6th Form's actions also explicitly endanger the survival of the school, while later films have the 4th and 6th Forms form a united group and protecting the school is usually their main priority.
* EnfanteTerrible: And how.

* VillainProtagonist: The girl's (it is ''St.Trinian's'' after all) who are usually portrayed as at best organised criminal's. On the other hand who ever their current enemy is is usually worse. Bookmakers/the 6th form in the first film, kidnappers in the third, and a bunch of train robbers in the fourth. On the other hand the 6th Form in the ''The belles'' and the entire school in ''Blue Murder at St. Trianians'' are explicitly only acting to further their own plans. Flash usually falls into this niche as well.

** Clearly the writer extrapolated from πr[[superscript:2]] giving the area of a circle. Stephen Fry is much better versed in humanities than science, otherwise he might have spotted this one.

* BadassCreed: ''"At other schools, they send young girls unprepared into a cold merciless world. But here at St Trinians, it is the merciless world which must be prepared."
** The theme song for the 2007 and 2009 films (quoted at the top of this page) is heavily implied to be, at least in part, a school song. Students can be heard chanting part of it before the hockey game in the first movie ("Feel the fear; we're maniacs.") and quietly singing the chorus before going into battle in the sequel

* FilleFatale: The Posh Totties are all Sixth Form students, which would make them 17-18 (and the age of consent in Britain is 16). In addition, "posh tottie" in BritishEnglish often refers to attractive young women of any age up to mid-to-late twenties affecting an upper-muddle-class or upper-class style.
* GargleBlaster: The vodka some of the girls distill in the 2007 movie is powerful enough that a tiny taste makes Geoffrey quite drunk for a few minutes, and a shotglass full of it is powerful enough to knock a Russian girl unconscious. Previous versions apparently made people go blind and may have killed a woman.
** The vodka that Geoffrey tastes is labelled as 100% proof!

* HandcarPursuit: ''The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery''

* InspiredBy: St. Trinnean's School in Edinburgh, established by Miss C. Fraser Lee in 1922 and was believed to operate on an extremely relaxed theory of educational freedom. Ronald Searle created the first of the St. Trinian's cartoons after meeting the daughters of a couple he knew, who went to the real school. He tried tried to imagine what kind of school would produce the pair of pre-teen hellraisers, and created a British institution.
** Fans of the movies may be disappointed to learn that the reality is nothing like fiction. The school differed from other middle-class girls' boarding schools only in that the students were allowed to determine their own homework schedules. At the time, though, this was seen as revolutionary and somewhat suspect. (Also, the school had a lacrosse team rather than field hockey.)
* JumpScare: Played for laughs, but a jump nevertheless, one of these happens in St. Trinian's 2 when Colin Firth's character encounters a possessed Annabelle returning to the school.
* KarmaHoudini: The girl's who are guilty of everything from forgery to kidnapping, but never seem to get into any real trouble.
* LaserHallway: The 2007 film gives us just about every heist movie trope in the space of thirty minutes.
** And any not covered in that film are covered in the 2009 film.
* LastSecondWordSwap: In the 2009 film, Geoffrey [[spoiler:nearly calls the girls "bitches" during a tirade to gain Pomfrey's trust, but can't bring himself to do so, saying "minxes" instead]].

* LowerClassLout: The 2007 film has a clique of chavs. By the next film, they've become rude girls

* OneGenderSchool: Only females. The only males who regularly are on the campus is the very put-upon Bursar and Flash
* OnlySaneMan: The undercover policewoman Ruby, compared to the other teachers. Oddly enough Flash himself brief falls into this role during ''Great St. Trianian's train robbery'', upon learning the girls plan to take the train robbery money for themselves, he exclaims they'll never get away with something like that. Somewhat subverted in that when one of the girls points out how much they ''have'' gotten away with before, he goes along with things. He's right though the police show up shortly after, and the girls have to turn the money over.

* PirateGirl: Pirate Fritton from ''St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold''. [[spoiler: The entire school briefly borrow a pirate ship in order to get the proof Shakespeare was a girl]]

* SexySchoolwoman: Some of the senior girls.
** Particularly in the reboot film (emphasized by the fact the vast majority of the cast were in their 20s).

* SweetPollyOliver: Half the main case of St. Trinian's 2 dress as guys to infiltrate a boy's school. Disturbingly, several of the girls look more convincing as guys than some of the male actors cast to play the male students, including one who comes off as a dead ringer for Leonardo [=DiCaprio=], and another who is so handsome as a boy one of the St. Trinian's girls accidentally takes a shine to "him" before realising who she is.
* TheCaper: The break-in at the Ministry in ''Blue Murder at St.Trinian's'', the girls break into the ministry, break through a ceiling, crack a safe and carry out their plan to [[spoiler: substitute some test answers, to make sure they win a prize of a European tour so they can get to Italy and the VI form can meet their Italian suitors]]. They get away with it undetected even though [[spoiler: they left a huge hole in the ceiling which though papered over is discovered in the morning]].
** The great Train robbers in ''The great St. Trinian's Train robbery,'' they pull off the perfect heist, hide the millions and look set to get away with it...well until [[spoiler: It turns out they hid the loot in a house that's since been acquired as St. Trinian's new base of operations]], they then plan another caper, hoping to get the money back. [[spoiler: Works out about as well as expected where the girls are involved]]
* UncannyFamilyResemblance: in both the original film and the reboot. In the Belles of St Trinians, Millicent and Clarence Fritton were both played by Alastair Sim. In the reboot film, Camilla and Carnaby Fritton were both played by Rupert Everett.
** Also Sir Piers Pomfrey and Lord Pomfrey (played by David Tennent).

* ActorAllusion: Not only did Annabelle Fritton attend Cheltenham Ladies' College before being involuntarily transferred by her father to St. Trinian's, so did her actress, Talulah Riley (attend Cheltenham, that is; St. Trinian's doesn't really exist).
* AdultsAreUseless: Invoked in the 2007 film. "No use relying on the grown-ups. We need to sort this out ourselves."
** Although Miss Fritton ends up being very helpful

* BlackAndGrayMorality: In an oddly comic way. The girls are criminal Karmic Houdini's who should be in Juvenal detention at the very least. In spite of this they are usually not as bad as their enemies, and they are loyal to their friends and their school. Whatever they get up to is however usually very funny as well.
* BlackComedyRape: In the 2007 movie, Geoffrey Thwaites has a drink with his old lover, Miss Fritton, and wakes up naked in her bed the next morning.
** Note that the sex did not necessarily happen; Miss Fritton (played by Rupert Everett) euphemistically implies it, but the alcohol (its intensity boosted by an unspecified prescription medicine from her purse) knocked him out ''cold''. (And is not exactly known to necessarily be helpful in sexual situations.)

* CloudCuckoolander: The receptionist, Beverly. It's established in the first episode that this is partially because she's often very, very high
* ContinuityReboot: Given that it's a near-remake of ''Belles of St. Trinian's'', and 27 years separate it and the last ''St. Trinian's'' release, the 2007 film is a fresh start for the series.
** Debatable, since references are made to the current Miss. Fritton's "Great Aunt Millicent", the same Miss Millicent Fritton played by Alastair Sim in the original films. A portrait and a bust of Sim as Miss Fritton (both of which also featured in ''The Belles of St. Trinian's'') also appear. It could be argued that this is still a continuation of the original series. The current Flash Harry could be the original's grandson.
* CorruptTheCutie: Princess Fatima in ''The Belles of St Trinian's''. Annabel Fritton in the 2007 movie. Pretty much everyone else. It doesn't take long in most cases...

* DancePartyEnding: In both the 2007 and 2009 movies

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: To an extent ''The belles of St.Trinian's'', the girls are not a united group, but are instead acting at cross purposes. The 6th Form's actions also explicitly endanger the survival of the school, in later films the 4th and 6th Forms form a united group, and protecting the school is usually their main priority.

* FakeBand: Music/GirlsAloud play one in the closing scenes of the 2007 movie - they also make cameos in the movie as students.
** Another group, The Banned of St. Trinian's, are featured in the 2009 film. As the DVD reveals, the actresses playing the band recorded the vocals for the two songs they're show performing. (A member of Girls Aloud, Sarah Harding, is a lead cast member in the second film, but does not perform with this group.)
* FakeBrit: It might be surprising to learn that Mischa Barton is not this having been born in England

* FamilyFriendlyFirearms: Averted in ''Blue Murder at St.Trinian's'' though not seen the girls have explicitly managed to steal a machine gun from the army, other equipment is missing as well...
* FeigningIntelligence : Done as part of a GambitRoulette in the 2007 St. Trinian's when the girls partake in a nation wide quiz to find the smartest school in Britain. They use increasingly underhand tactics to win each round (including sleeping with the other contestants and drugging one unfortunate team) and use the internet to look up the answers, which are then relayed to the girls on stage. It does help that they know some of the answers.
* FilleFatale: The Posh Totties.
** Its notable that due to some ValuesDissonance, the Posh Totties do not fall under this trope for British viewers. The Posh Totties are all Sixth Form students, which would make them 17-18 (and the age of consent in Britain is 16).
** some ValuesDissonance here, in that "posh tottie" in BritishEnglish often refers to attractive young women of any age up to mid-to-late twenties affecting an upper-muddle-class or upper-class style; the Posh Totties of the film actually run a phone-sex operation which has no particular reference to St Trinian's

* SavedFromDevelopmentHell: For some unknown reason there was a 14-year gap between the fourth St. Trinian's movie (''The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery'', 1966) and the fifth (''The Wildcats of St. Trinian's'', 1980). But there's no mystery why there was a 27-year gap between Wildcats and the sixth (''St. Trinian's'', 2007); ''Wildcats'' was reportedly so dire that it's the only one not available on DVD.

* GargleBlaster: The vodka some of the girls distill in the 2007 movie is powerful enough that a tiny taste makes Geoffrey quite drunk for a few minutes, and a shotglass full of it is powerful enough to knock a Russian girl unconscious. Previous versions apparently made people go blind and may have killed a woman

* QuintessentialBritishGentleman: Captain Romney Carlton-Ricketts in ''Blue Murder at St Trinian's'', played by Terry-Thomas.

* AmazonBrigade: The field hockey team. In the older movies, it would be the fourth formers.

* EarlyInstallmentWierdness: To an extent ''The belles of St.Trinian's'', the girls are not a united group, but are instead acting at cross purposes. The 6th Form's actions also explicitly endanger the survival of the school, in later films the 4th and 6th Forms form a united group, and protecting the school is usually their main priority.

* BeserkButton: Don't mess with any of the girls. If you do, the rest of the school will [[AwakeningTheSleepingGiant pay you their full attention.]]
* BlackAndGrayMorality: In an oddly comic way.

* OnlySaneMan: The undercover policewoman Ruby, compared to the other teachers.

* NeverFoundTheBody: Averted -- the Ministry inspector sent to St Trinian's in ''Belles'' never returned. The inspector sent to retrieve ''him'' never returned, either. However, they continued to draw their pay, implying they were simply too traumatised to return.
** Weren't they shown living on the school grounds with the sixth formers?

* FakeBrit: It might be surprising to learn that Mischa Barton is not this having been in England

* LowerClassLout: The 2007 film has a clique of chavs.

* OneGenderSchool: Only females.

* PirateGirl: Pirate Fritton from ''St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold''.

*** Miss Fritton's dog is named for Mr. Darcy.

* CrossCastRole: Alistair Sims (original series) and Rupert Everett (remake series) as the headmistress.

* NeverFoundTheBody: Averted -- the policeman sent to St Trinian's in ''Belles'' never returned. The policeman sent to retrieve ''him'' never returned, either. However, they continued to draw their pay, implying they were simply too traumatised to return.