Today, it’s predictable and easy to have the girl sent to boarding school play the rebel slacker bent on smoking, drinking and fooling around with the opposite sex. Back in 1934 — not so predictable. Wanda Tuchock and George Nicholls Jr’s Finishing School stands out today more for its extremist take on morals and what constitute a “good girl.” It appears clear it was made to shock audiences rather than make much of a point. Although not wholly entertaining from a cinematic perspective, it’s still a fun watch when you take its age and subversive attitude into consideration.
Rich Virginia Radcliffe (Frances Dee) has been sent away to Crockett Hall, an all-girl’s boarding school focusing on bringing proper young ladies. At least that’s the image it projects. In reality, it’s a whole lot of sneaking off, drinking, smoking and boys. It’s one of those things where everyone knows about it but chooses to ignore it. The teachers, parents and headmistresses, they’re all in on the ruse but just as long as none of it goes public, it’s overlooked.
Virginia is simply trying to figure out her place in the world. Although she comes from a very well-to-do family, she doesn’t strike anyone as particularly happy. She’s got daddy issues. And Virginia’s mom – she’s got issues of her own. Virginia just wants to be love, even if it comes in the form of someone who is outside of her social class.
Today, Finishing School comes across as campy fun. Filled with dated moral codes, it’s easy to laugh at the ideas that are more out of style than many of the fashions on display. Even with the film’s rebel attitude in addressing the hypocrisies of the upper class, it doesn’t go beyond a Romeo and Juliet sensibility of forbidden love. The drinking, partying and sex come across more as a means to shock than actually make some sort of statement. Not that many other films in the 1930s did either.
Finishing School is a time capsule sort of film where it’s fun to watch to see the types of reactions from another era. Other than the historical perspective it offers, there’s little else that’s memorable.
DVD Review
Finishing School has been released through the Warner Archive line of on-demand DVD-R discs. Not surprisingly, the film has some picture issues due to age but it certainly is watchable. Like other Warner Archive releases, there are no supplemental features.
