The English humorist Stephen Potter enjoyed great success in the 1950s with his books "Gamesmanship", which ironically advised sportsmen on "how to win without actually cheating", chiefly by using psychological ploys to unsettle their opponents, and "Lifemanship" and "One-upmanship" which advocated a similar attitude to life in general.
It is perhaps surprising that the makers of this film did not use the titles of any of Potter's books for their own title, as at least two of them have passed into the English language. (My Shorter Oxford English Dictionary does contain an entry for "lifemanship", but it is not a word in common use today). The title they actually did use is an obvious reference to Richard Brinsley Sheridan's 18th Century comedy, "The School for Scandal". The central idea is that Potter, not content with merely writing books, has actually opened a College of Lifemanship in Somerset in order to teach his philosophy.
The central character of the film is Henry Palfrey, a young man who enrols at the College (a sort of boarding school for adults). Henry is, like many characters played by Ian Carmichael, upper-middle-class and likable but not too bright. (Carmichael was later to become a famous Bertie Wooster on British television). He is ostensibly managing director of his family company, but in reality his job is a mere sinecure, and the firm is actually run by the office manager Gloatbridge, who treats him with patronising condescension. Henry is also patronised by his urbane but caddish acquaintance Raymond Delauney, who thrashes him at tennis and threatens to win over the affections of his pretty girlfriend April. When Henry tries to buy a car to impress April (Delauney drives an expensive Italian sports car), he is cheated by a rascally pair of used-car salesmen who sell him a broken-down wreck for 695 guineas (£729.75- a large amount of money in 1960).
Henry therefore enrols in Potter's school where he learns the philosophy and all the tricks of "Lifemanship". The secret, according to Potter, is to be "one-up" on everyone else at all times. ("Just remember, if you're not one-up on the other fellow, then he's one up-on you".) Having completed the course, Henry emerges as brash and self-confident, putting Gloatbridge in his place, persuading the car dealers to buy back the car for more than he originally paid, and avenging himself on Delauney, not only by beating him at tennis but also by making him look a complete idiot in the process. The only questions left to be determined are "Can Henry win the lovely April?" and, more importantly, "Can he do so without becoming as awful and insincere as his rival Delauney?"
This story is told in a very loose, episodic manner as a series of jokes and comedy sketches. (The Pythons were later to use a similar technique in some of their films such as "Life of Brian"). Carmichael receives excellent support from a number of other famous British comedy stars, some of them such as John Le Mesurier or Hattie Jacques only playing minor roles. The best supporting performances come from Peter Jones and Dennis Price as the car dealers, Alastair Sim as Potter and Terry-Thomas as Delauney. Like Carmichael, Terry-Thomas tended to specialise in one sort of part, in his case the smooth but lecherous cad. (Interestingly, he was the first choice for the role of Wooster which eventually went to Carmichael. Price played Jeeves in that series).
This was, ostensibly, the last film made by Robert Hamer before his tragically early death three years later. I say "ostensibly" because there are reports that Hamer's alcoholism often prevented him from working and many scenes were in fact shot by another director. Hamer was, of course, the director of "Kind Hearts and Coronets", one of the greatest of the famous Ealing comedies. Although "School for Scoundrels" was released in the first year of the new decade, it has the feel of a fifties comedy rather than a sixties one, looking back to the age of Ealing rather than forward to the era of the "Carry Ons"- it is, for example, shot in black-and-white, and the humour lacks the bawdiness which characterises many British comedies from the sixties.
The Ealing comedies were, generally, less episodic in format and had a more well-structured plot. Nevertheless, "School for Scoundrels" keeps something of their satirical humour; behind the laughter may have been a concern that the "never-had-it-so-good" Britain of the period was becoming increasingly materialistic and competitive, dominated by the "one-up on the other fellow" ethos of Delauney's real-life counterparts. Although I had never heard of the film until a DVD was recently given away free as part of a newspaper promotion, this must rate as one of the most amusing British comedies of the period. 8/10
5 out of 5 found this helpful