Top of the Form | |
---|---|
Directed by | John Paddy Carstairs |
Written by |
|
Story by |
Anthony Kimmins Val Guest Leslie Arliss Marriott Edgar |
Produced by | Paul Soskin |
Starring | Ronald Shiner |
Cinematography | Ernest Steward |
Edited by | Alfred Roome |
Music by | Ronald Hanmer |
Production companies | Paul Soskin Productions British Film-Makers |
Distributed by | General Film Distributors |
Release date | 9 March 1953 |
Running time | 72 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Box office | £143,000 (UK) [1] |
Top of the Form is a 1953 British comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Ronald Shiner, Anthony Newley and Harry Fowler. [2] The film draws inspiration from Will Hay's 1937 classic Good Morning, Boys. [3] The film was released in black-and-white.
It was made at Pinewood Studios near London with sets designed by the art director Maurice Carter. The film earned billings of £143,000. [4]
This story explores a bookmaker Ronnie Fortescue (Ronald Shiner), who becomes headmaster of a boys' school, and of his and his pupil's adventures in passing examinations and on a subsequent free trip to Paris. Once in Paris, headmaster and pupils become embroiled in gambling casinos, and in a plot to steal the French Crown Jewels.
The Radio Times called it a "misfiring Ronald Shiner vehicle...Less amusing than (Will) Hay's St Michael's outings and less anarchic than the St Trinian's romps, this efficient but underwhelming caper is all too typical of its director, John Paddy Carstairs": [3] whereas TV Guide hailed "An entertaining comedy." [5]