Cinema Essentials

Britain's Ministry of Information produced or sponsored a range of short films during World War II. Some were stirring and inspiring, like Words for Battle , narrated by Laurence Olivier, or Britain at Bay , written and narrated by J. B. Priestley.  Others were informative, passing on important messages. These included a series on the dangers of "careless talk" , as well as individual films about the importance of observing the blackout ( Mr. Proudfoot Shows a Light ), how to deal with incendiary bombs ( Go to Blazes , with the comedian Will Hay), what to put out for salvage ( Salvage with a Smile ) and how to grow your own veg (Dig for Victory ). But 1940's  Miss Grant Goes to the Door offers a more sobering lesson - how to act during a German invasion.

This comedy stars Ian Carmichael as Robert Wilcot, a zoologist and explorer turned TV personality, who has decided to run for Parliament. Wilcot will stand as the Conservative Party candidate for the Parliamentary constituency of Earndale. The area was his childhood home and the location of Wilcot Priory, the family seat and current residence of his uncle, Lord Wilcot (Alastair Sim). Robert Wilcot is confident of his prospects in the election, and doesn't think he will have too much trouble against the Labour Party candidate, a "bluestocking battleaxe" from the London School of Economics. Especially as he can deploy the most potent new political weapon of the age - his television fame. Wilcot swapped zoology and exploration for the life of a celebrity and TV personality on a popular panel game show called  What on Earth Was That? On the train up to Earnley, the biggest town in the area, Wilcot meets an attractive young woman, Stella (Patricia Bredin). They get along fam

The Belles of St. Trinian's had been a big box office success on its release in 1954, so the producers Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat decided to follow up with a sequel, Blue Murder at St. Trinian's ,   something that turned St. Trinian's from a popular comedy film into a long-running series. The plot of  Blue Murder at St. Trinian's is even more convoluted than that of the original film. St. Trinian's has now become such a haven of mischief and mayhem that the army have been called in to take charge and cordon off the school. In command is Thorley Walters as a Major who has been given the task of overseeing "Operation St. Trinians". The Ministry of Education has also found a tough new headmistress to take over, the no-nonsense Dame Maud Hackshaw (Judith Furse), previously in charge of a borstal. The pupils, though, have other ideas. In the film's most dubious development, the spiv "Flash" Harry (George Cole) is now running the St. Tr