A French Mistress

Plot summary

A young French woman, Madaleine Lafarge (Laurent), is appointed as a French teacher at a rather old-fashioned English public school which is not used to women teachers. She causes a stir and complications ensue.

A romance develops between her and the headmaster's son (Bannen) who is also a teacher at the school. The headmaster (Parker) is concerned as he comes to believe that she is really his daughter, from an affair he had during a holiday in France in his youth. He attempts to stop the romance by sacking her so that she will go back to France, but the boys go on strike and nearly riot. It transpires at the end that there has been a misunderstanding, which means that she cannot be his daughter.

This is basically a rather lightweight British comedy film typical of its time, with a cast of veteran British character actors, although with a slightly prurient touch.

Cast

Critical reception

Bosley Crowther in The New York Times wrote, "We would have expected something better from the Boultings and Mr. Dell. A good cast of old familiars—excepting Agnes Laurent, a newcomer who plays the mademoiselle — try to do something with it and occasionally do all right with a line here, a facial expression or a situation there. Cecil Parker puffs and pouts as the headmaster, and Ian Bannen stands up stoutly as his son. Raymond Huntley and James Robertson Justice do their acts as other masters in the school. Irene Handl also draws a few fast laughs as the compulsively pugnacious cook, and Edith Sharpe and Athene Seyler cluck politely as the only other females around the place. But the ministrations of the stalwarts do not quite save the day. The Boultings are onto a sticky wicket with that silly sex-scandal stuff."