The Great St Trinian's Mystery...
In
the book of letters between Joyce Grenfell and her friend Virginia Graham (‘Joyce
& Ginnie’), there is something rather odd. On 12 September 1949, Joyce is
recorded as writing:
“…I spent the afternoon packing in order to come
down here [Hindhead] for filming St Trinian’s.”
As
the letter goes on, it becomes clear that she is talking about the filming of “The
Happiest Days of Your Life”. The notes, written by Janie Hampton, state that “Happiest
Days…” was the first of the five St Trinian’s films directed by Frank Launder.
This
is all very confusing. If you were to include this film then the total would be
six. But I would not include “Happiest Days” in the St Trinian’s list. Neither
of the schools that this film is about is called St Trinian’s. The children are
not the stars and they are far too well behaved. It is the headteachers and the
teachers that the farce revolves around.
The
mystery is why did Joyce refer to it as one? Is this down to the editor of her
letters getting confused and making a slip? Or did Joyce really write this and
did Launder and Gilliat see “Happiest Days…” as their St Trinian’s launchpad?
At
any rate, although I would never include it as part of the series, it’s a
fantastic film and essential background viewing to see an embryonic “Chloe
Crawley” making herself at home in a gymslip.
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