''School for Scoundrels'' is a 1960 British

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Robert Hamer Robert Hamer (31 March 1911 – 4 December 1963) was a British film director and screenwriter best known for the 1949 black comedy ''Kind Hearts and Coronets''. Biography Hamer was born at 24 Chester Road, Kidderminster, along with his twi ...

(and an uncredited

Cyril Frankel Cyril Solomon Israel Frankel (28 December 19217 June 2017) was a British film and television director. His career in television began in 1953 and he directed for over 30 TV programmes until 1990. He directed many episodes of popular British TV sho ...

and Hal E. Chester). It stars

Ian Carmichael Ian Gillett Carmichael, OBE (18 June 1920 – 5 February 2010) was an English actor who worked prolifically on stage, screen and radio in a career spanning 70 years. He found prominence in the films of the Boulting brothers, including '' ...

and

Terry-Thomas Terry-Thomas (born Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens; 10 July 19118 January 1990) was an English character actor and comedian who became internationally known through his films during the 1950s and 1960s. He often portrayed disreputable members of th ...

. It was inspired by the "

Gamesmanship Gamesmanship is the use of dubious (although not technically illegal) methods to win or gain a serious advantage in a game or sport. It has been described as "Pushing the rules to the limit without getting caught, using whatever dubious methods po ...

" series of books by Stephen Potter. It has been remade twice: in

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" ...

under the title '' Chhoti Si Baat'' (1975), and in Hollywood as '' School for Scoundrels'' (2006).

Plot

Henry Palfrey, the head of a family firm in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, travels to

Yeovil Yeovil ( ) is a town and civil parish in the district of South Somerset, England. The population of Yeovil at the last census (2011) was 45,784. More recent estimates show a population of 48,564. It is close to Somerset's southern border with ...

to enroll in the "School of Lifemanship", run by its principal Dr. Potter. Arriving late, he overhears Potter explaining to his new intake of students that his courses focus on the science of "being one up on your opponents at all times". Palfrey is given an object lesson by Potter when he interviews them, when he loses a name-calling game without knowing it. When Potter delves in to why Palfrey has enrolled at his school, he deduces a woman is involved. Palfrey proceeds to explain the circumstances behind him travelling to Yeovil, in the form of a flashback. A few weeks prior to enrolling in the School of Lifemanship, Palfrey had an encounter with April Smith, a beautiful woman who he fell in love with after accidentally running into her while trying to catch a bus. Despite his good fortune of arranging a dinner date with her, Palfrey arrived at work late, where he proceeded to suffer the usual problems - a lack of respect from his employees, and being patronised by the firm's senoir clerk Gloatbridge, who commands more respect from the workers and thus makes all the business decisions. Later that evening, Palfrey took April out for dinner, but after finding his reservation was voided for being late, the pair managed to gain entry after encountering a causal aquaitance of Palfrey, Raymond Delauney, who swiftly proceeded to seduce April and cast his friend in a bad light. The following day, Palfrey attempted to acquire a car of his own, after noting the fancy sports car Delauney had, but was conned into buying a ramshackle 1924 car by two second-hand car dealers. The final humilation for Palfrey came when Delauney suggested a "friendly"

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

match at their local club, which he won easily, leaving Palfrey to feel completely despondant with his life. Back in the present, Potter recommends Palfrey to pay attention to the courses given. Over the next several weeks, Palfrey proves an apt pupil learning several ploys that can give him an upper hand. In order to complete his education, Potter assigns him a field test of his skills to evaluate him. Returning to London, Palfrey first returns to the car dealers who conned him, and convinces them that, after a tune-up, the vehicle they sold him turns out to be "valuable" and sought-after. Eager to acquire it, the pair offer to trade for it, to which Palfrey cons them into handing over an Austin-Healey sports car and 100 guineas (£105) for the car, which promptly breaks down after he leaves. Returning to his family firm, Palfrey next puts Gloatbridge in his place by pretending he will arrange a merger with a larger firm and that his clerk's bookkeeping has gotten sloppy, allowing him to also earn the respect of his employees in the process. Finally, Palfrey challenges Delauney to a rematch, and uses various ploys to frustrate him before they even start playing, including making him damage his own car. When they eventually begin the match at the tennis club, with April watching, Palfrey proceeds to win six straight sets with ease, with Potter later graduating him for his successful application of his education. Delauney, angered by what has happened, belittles Palfrey after he departs, only to disgust April by his behaviour, who proceeds to leave and joins Palfrey for a drink. Shortly after she leaves, Delauney notices Potter surveying him before departing, and soon becomes suspicious of this. He quickly follows after him, when a staff member at the club mentions witnessing the scene between them and Palfrey. Meanwhile, Palfrey brings April to his apartment where he proceeds to use his wooing tricks on her, including spilling her drink on her dress, and convincing her to put on his dressing gown. Eventually she winds up in his bedroom, but Palfrey finds himself unable to take advantage of her. Before he can send her home, Delauney barges in, dragging Potter with him, and reveals the truth by what happened at the tennis club. However, April realises that Palfrey's sudden decision to send her home was because he genuinely loves her, leading them to embrace. Both Delauney and Potter are disgusted by Palfrey's display of sincerity, with the latter breaking the "

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

" to apologise to the audience for his pupil's behaviour. The film ends with Delauney getting off the train at

station and heading in the direction of the school.

Cast

as Henry Palfrey *

as Raymond Delauney *

Alastair Sim Alastair George Bell Sim, CBE (9 October 1900 – 19 August 1976) was a Scottish character actor who began his theatrical career at the age of thirty and quickly became established as a popular West End performer, remaining so until his ...

as Mr. S. Potter * Janette Scott as April Smith *

Dennis Price Dennistoun Franklyn John Rose Price (23 June 1915 – 6 October 1973) was an English actor, best remembered for his role as Louis Mazzini in the film '' Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (1949) and for his portrayal of the omnicompetent valet Jeeve ...

as Dunstan Dorchester * Peter Jones as Dudley Dorchester * Edward Chapman as Gloatbridge *

John Le Mesurier John Le Mesurier (, born John Elton Le Mesurier Halliley; 5 April 191215 November 1983) was an English actor. He is perhaps best remembered for his comedic role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the BBC television situation c ...

as Head Waiter *

Irene Handl Irene Handl (27 December 1901 – 29 November 1987) was a British author and character actress who appeared in more than 100 British films. Life Irene Handl was born in Maida Vale, London, the younger of two daughters of an Austria-born father ...

as Mrs. Stringer, Palfrey's landlady *

Kynaston Reeves Philip Arthur Reeves (29 May 18935 December 1971), known professionally as Kynaston Reeves, was an English character actor who appeared in numerous films and many television plays and series. Early life Reeves was born in London on 29 May 1893 ...

as General *

Hattie Jacques Hattie Jacques (; born Josephine Edwina Jaques; 7 February 1922 – 6 October 1980) was an English comedy actress of stage, radio and screen. She is best known as a regular of the ''Carry On'' films, where she typically played strict, no-non ...

as 1st Instructress * Hugh Paddick as Instructor * Barbara Roscoe as 2nd Instructress *

Gerald Campion Gerald Theron Campion (23 April 1921 – 9 July 2002) was an English actor. He is best remembered for his role as Billy Bunter in a 1950s television adaptation ('' Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School'') of books by Frank Richards (Charles Hamil ...

as Proudfoot, a school student * Monte Landis as Fleetsnod, a school student *

Jeremy Lloyd John Jeremy Lloyd, OBE (22 July 1930 – 23 December 2014) was an English writer, screenwriter, author, poet and actor. He was the co-writer of several successful British sitcoms, including ''Are You Being Served?'' and Allo 'Allo!''. Ear ...

as Dingle, a school student *

Charles Lamb Charles Lamb (10 February 1775 – 27 December 1834) was an English essayist, poet, and antiquarian, best known for his '' Essays of Elia'' and for the children's book '' Tales from Shakespeare'', co-authored with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764� ...

as Carpenter *

Anita Sharp-Bolster Anita Sharp-Bolster (28 August 1895 – 1 June 1985) was an Irish-born American actress who appeared in 88 films and 12 TV series from 1928 to 1978. She was sometimes billed as Anita Bolster. Early life She was born 28 August 1895 in Glen ...

as Maid

Production

Stephen Potter's original ''

'' had been a successful series of books in the 1950s, but were not written in a narrative form, so the device was adopted that Potter (

) had set up a "College of Lifemanship" in

to educate those seeking to apply his methods for success. Some interest had previously been shown by

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one of ...

(with

Carl Foreman Carl Foreman, CBE (July 23, 1914 – June 26, 1984) was an American screenwriter and film producer who wrote the award-winning films ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' and ''High Noon'', among others. He was one of the screenwriters who were black ...

) in a screen version of Potter's books, but had failed when it proved impossible to translate the dry humour for an American audience. The film's title is a reference to

Richard Brinsley Sheridan Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Irish satirist, a politician, a playwright, poet, and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He is known for his plays such as '' The Rivals'', ''The ...

's 1777 comic play, ''

The School for Scandal ''The School for Scandal'' is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1777. Plot Act I Scene I: Lady Sneerwell, a wealthy young widow, and her hireling S ...

''. Although the film only credits its producer, Hal E. Chester, and

Patricia Moyes Patricia Pakenham-Walsh, also known as Patricia Moyes (19 January 1923 – 2 August 2000) was a British mystery writer. Her mystery novels feature C.I.D. Inspector Henry Tibbett. One of them, ''Who Saw Her Die'' (''Many Deadly Returns'' in the US ...

for the screenplay, it was co-written by

Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov ; 16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, filmmaker and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits ...

and

Frank Tarloff Frank Tarloff (February 4, 1916 – June 25, 1999) was a blacklisted American screenwriter who won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for '' Father Goose''. A child of Polish immigrant parents, Tarloff grew up in Brooklyn, New York, ...

. Its director,

, was sacked during filming due as he returned to drinking and the enterprise was completed by Chester and an (uncredited)

. Hamer did not work in the film industry again, and died in 1963. The dishonest car salesmen calling themselves the "Winsome Welshmen", Dunstan (

) and Dudley ( Peter Jones), were based on similar characters in a 1950s BBC radio comedy series, ''In All Directions'', in which the leads were played by

and Jones; their catch phrase "run for it!" was recycled in ''School for Scoundrels''. ''School for Scoundrels'' was made at

Elstree Studios Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios ha ...

, and location scenes were mainly shot in the vicinity. The location used as the tennis club was then a private members club before its current incarnation as a hotel. The hotel hosted a screening in 2016 with Janette Scott attending and answering questions about filming ''School For Scoundrels''. The film uses vehicles as plot devices. Palfrey foolishly buys a "1924 4-litre Swiftmobile" from the crooked "Winsome Welshmen". Later in the film he succeeds in trading the car back to them for an ex-works Austin-Healey 100-six and 100 guineas (£105). The "Swiftmobile" was in fact based upon a 1928 4½ litre Open four-seater Bentley, with a custom two-seat open body. The car, minus the body, was sold by the studio in 1961 for £50, and re-sold (with new body) at an auction in 2003 for £110,000. The Austin-Healey 100-six used in the film was passed in at auction in the 1970s at around £30,000. The "Bellini 3.6" driven by Terry-Thomas is in fact a disguised Aston Martin DB3S.

Release

After passing the British censors on 14 December 1959 ''School for Scoundrels'' premiered at the Warner Theatre in

Leicester Square Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicest ...

, London on 24 March 1960. When the film was released in the United States on 11 July 1960, it was given the subtitle "''or How to Win Without Actually Cheating!''", reflected in the US poster by

Tom Jung Thomas Jung is an American Art director#In advertising, art director, graphic designer, illustrator, and storyboard artist.The Star Wars Poster Book, Stephen J. Sansweet, Chronicle Books (October 13, 2005)The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive ...

Reception

The film was the 12th most popular film at the British box office in 1960. While the review in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'' was very noncommittal,

Leslie Halliwell Robert James Leslie Halliwell (23 February 1929 – 21 January 1989) was a British film critic, encyclopaedist and television rights buyer for ITV, the British commercial network, and Channel 4. He is best known for his reference guides, '' Fi ...

described the film as "an amusing trifle, basically a series of sketches by familiar comic actors", and awarded it one star (of a maximum of four and a minimum of zero). Michael Brooke, reviewing for the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

' Screenoline website, criticised the film as having "little sign of the elegance and wit that characterised earlier Hamer films such as ''

Kind Hearts and Coronets ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' is a 1949 British crime black comedy film. It features Dennis Price, Joan Greenwood, Valerie Hobson and Alec Guinness; Guinness plays nine characters. The plot is loosely based on the novel ''Israel Rank: The Auto ...

'' or '' The Spider and the Fly''", but praised its script and performances, particularly those of Terry-Thomas and an under-used Sim. In 2007, CNN listed the performance of Terry-Thomas among the top 10 British villains, stating, "generally found twirling his cigarette holder while charming the ladies — at least, when not swindling, cheating or behaving like an absolute rotter.""The Screening Room's Top 10 British Villains"
, CNN. Retrieved 7 October 2020.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:School For Scoundrels 1960 films 1960 comedy films British comedy films British black-and-white films Films shot at Associated British Studios Films about con artists Films directed by Robert Hamer Films scored by John Addison Films set in schools Films set in London Films set in Somerset 1960s English-language films 1960s British films