School for Randle

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School for Randle
School for Randle film Theatrical release poster (1949).png
Directed by John E. Blakeley
Written by
Produced byJohn E. Blakeley
Starring
  • Frank Randle
  • Dan Young
  • Alec Pleon
  • Terry Randall
Cinematography Ernest Palmer
Edited byDorothy Stimson
Music byFred Harris
Production
company
Distributed byMancunian Films
Release date
  • 1949 (1949)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

School for Randle is a 1949 British comedy film directed by John E. Blakeley and starring Frank Randle, Dan Young and Alec Pleon. [1] It was written by Randle, Harry Jackson and Blakeley. It was made at the Manchester Studios, and was one of a string of cheaply made and profitable films starring Randle during the era. [2] The title is a reference to the Richard Brinsley Sheridan play The School for Scandal .

Contents

A school caretaker turns out to be the father of one of the pupils.

Plot

Former Music-Hall act "Flatfoot" Mason is caretaker at a school where one of the pupils, and unbeknownst to her, is his daughter, Betty; who was put up for adoption when his wife died. She is now a teenager and this causes concern, as the staff feel "Flatfoot" is being over attentive to her. Told to pay her less attention, "Flatfoot" reluctantly obeys, but Betty thinks he's rejecting her and decides to run away to make her name in show business. Along with fellow caretakers, "Flatfoot" tracks her down to a seedy cabaret club. In disguise as a Chinese acrobatic troupe, "The Three Who Flungs", "Flatfoot" and friends attempt to persuade Betty to come home.

Cast

Critical reception

Kine Weekly wrote: "The story is too negligible to be taken seriously, and one must accept the almost pantomime atmosphere and expect little else. If may be recommended mainly for patrons in northern and industrial areas. ... The story provides a scrappy background for the antics of the three comedians, much of whose humour is of the pie-in-the-eye variety. Chief drawback is the film's ambitious length." [3]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Usual Randle slapstick antics; some good belly-laughs, but on the longish side." [4]

References

  1. ↑ "School for Randle". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  2. ↑ "BFI Screenonline: Blakeley, John E. (1888-1958) Biography".
  3. ↑ "School for Randle". Kine Weekly . 393 (2220): 18. 17 November 1949. ProQuest   2732601920.
  4. ↑ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 244. ISBN   0-7134-1874-5.
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