Alastair Sim's School for Laughter: 4 Classic Comedies

Hue And Cry (1947)

A sharp cockney lad decodes the messages of a gang of crooks in a weekly children’s magazine and gets his East End pals together to halt their scheme. This British crime and comedy caper starring Alastair Sim and Harry Fowler is especially notable as the first comedy produced by the legendary Ealing Studios. Riotous romp co-stars Valerie White, Albert Hughes, and Joan Dowling. 79 min. BW/Rtg: NR

Laughter In Paradise (1951)

When infamous prankster Henry Augustus Russell (Hugh Griffith) passes away, the relatives who gather for a reading of his will are shocked to learn that, to claim their inheritance, they’ll have to perform various stunts that could test their dignity or even land them in jail! Lively British comedy also stars Alastair Sim, George Cole, Fay Compton, Ernest Thesiger; look for Audrey Hepburn as a cigarette girl. 96 min. BW/Rtg: NR

The Belles Of St. Trinian's (1954)

Classic British comedy set in the fictional St. Trinian’s girls’ school where the students are delinquents-in-training, headmistress Miss Millicent Fritton (Alastair Sim) is senile--and sometimes tipsy--and her twin brother Clarence (also Sim) wants to use the school as a front for his book-making ring. First in the farcical franchise, inspired by the work cartoonist Ronald Searle, also stars George Cole, Beryl Reid, Hermione Baddeley, Joan Sims. 91 min. BW/Rtg: NR

School For Scoundrels (1960)

Deftly funny British satire starring Ian Carmichael as milquetoast Henry Palfrey, who reaches his limit when a snooty rival (Terry-Thomas) makes off with his girl. Henry enrolls at the College of Lifemanship, where headmaster Dr. Potter (Alastair Sim) and the faculty teach him the knack of coming out ahead in any sort of situation, and then returns to seek his revenge. With Janette Scott, Dennis Price; based on the "Gamesmanship" books by Stephen Potter. 94 min. BW/Rtg: NR

Standard; Soundtrack: English.