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The "progressive" new British teaching methods of 1948 are sharply contrasted with the tried-and-true methods of the past in Mr. Perrin and Mr. Traill. Self-content and thoroughly set in his ways, college instructor Vincent Perrin (Marius Goring) resents the arrival of non-traditional young prof David Traill (David Farrar). Exacerbating the situation is the fact that both Mr. Perrin and Mr. Traill are both in love with Isobel Lester (Greta Gynt). Descending into petty, crass behavior, Mr. Perrin typifies all that was wrong with the postwar educational system; still, he is not entirely sympathetic, nor is the aggressive Mr. Traill 100% likeable. Based on a novel by Hugh Walpole, Mr. Perrin and Mr. Traill remains surprisingly timely when seen today.