What it’s about
When well-heeled country-club rogue Raymond Delauney (Thomas) outmaneuvers him for the affections of perky April (Scott), timid loser Henry Palfrey (Carmichael) enrolls in a how-to-win-at-life school run by the officious Stephen Potter (Sim). After learning the finer points of one-upmanship, not to mention the art of seducing unsuspecting young women, Palfrey launches himself back into the orbit of Raymond and April, with hilarious results.
Why we love it
Hamer's uproarious “School” is one of Britain's goofier (and most cynical) satires on the new competitiveness of the post-war era, a world in which men must learn to take advantage of others if they are to succeed and prosper. The fun arises in watching the balance of power tilt from Carmichael's wimpy Palfrey to the caddish Delauney, and then back again. Spirited performances all around, especially by the wonderfully droll Sim and the comically agitated Terry-Thomas, help “School” impart its distinctively peppy humor to the screen.