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Ronald Searle

Writer · Died December 30, 2011, aged 91 · Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK

Ronald Searle was born on March 3, 1920 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK. He was a writer, known for Scrooge (1970), The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954) and The Wildcats of St. Trinian's (1980). He was married to Monica Ilse Koenig and Kaye Webb. He died on December 30, 2011 in Draguignan, Var, France.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
March 3, 1920
Died
December 30, 2011 (aged 91)
From
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK
Works as
Writer
Titles
9 on MovieCove · 14 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 39 days to Oct 28Down 3% in 30 days

What are Ronald Searle's films like?

Across their 7 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Power.

Themes

share of theme weight
Society
43%
Power
33%
Morality
13%
Bonds
8%
Survival
3%
Community6 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFreedom2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 7 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 7 · Serious 0 · Dark 0

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 0 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 3

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 1 · Charged 5 · Intense 1

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

A split, not a type: Steady 4 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 2

Funny: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their funny movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 7

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 6 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 7 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 7 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Absurd
6
Joyful
5
Thrilling
2
Warm
1
Manic
1
Other
1

How their films linger

Fun7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy7

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Ronald Searle's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 5 of their 9 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (3).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Ronald Searle's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

14 credits, 9 with a MovieCove page.

  • St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold(2009)

    Characters · Novel · Original Concept · Writer

    Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films

  • St. Trinian's(2007)

    Characters · Novel

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • From Ronald Searle 1 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)

    Director

  • From Ronald Searle 2 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)

    Director

  • The Wildcats of St. Trinian's(1980)

    Characters · Novel

    Midcredits score: 2nd percentile of all films

  • Dick Deadeye, or Duty Done (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)

    Production Design

  • Scrooge(1970)

    Title Designer

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery(1966)

    Characters · Novel

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films

  • The King's Breakfast (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)

    Production Design

  • The Pure Hell of St. Trinian's(1960)

    Characters · Novel

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

  • Blue Murder at St. Trinian's(1957)

    Characters · Novel

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • The Belles of St. Trinian's(1954)

    Characters · Novel

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films

  • The Happiest Days of Your Life(1950)

    Title Designer

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • Molesworth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Book

Career shape

A full career of 14 titles, 13 of them dated from 1950 to 2009.

Biggest box office

St. Trinian's (2007)

$29M worldwide

Highest rated

The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954)

Midcredits 71st

Most popular right now

St. Trinian's (2007)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing2 of 14: 2 only directing, 0 with another roleWriting8 of 14: 8 only writing, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score49thOther crew4 of 14: 4 only other crew, 0 with another role

By decade

1950s3 · crew1960s3 · crew1970s2 · crew1980s3 · crew2000s2 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Ronald Searle's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 50th percentile, the median of all 9; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 52nd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

52ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Approval · how many liked their films

42ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Reach · how many have seen their films

55thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Midcredits score across 9 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up2
  • 50th to 74th3
  • 25th to 49th3
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

4 of their 9 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Universally Panned1
  • Crowd Pleaser4
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · writer

The Wildcats of St. Trinian's (1980)

53rd percentile spread · 66% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · writer

The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954)

Midcredits 71st · 65% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 49/100 and the plot and story 36/100 in their films, across 7 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Ronald Searle work with?

People who share at least 2 of Ronald Searle's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Frank Launder shares the most, 5.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers