''American Friends'' is a 1991 British film starring

Michael Palin Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, television presenter, and public speaker. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. Since 1980, he has made a number of travel documentaries. Palin w ...

. It was written by Palin and its director,

Tristram Powell Tristram Roger Dymoke Powell'Powell of The Chantry' pedigree, Burke's Peerage website (born 25 April 1940) is an English television and film director, producer and screenwriter. His credits include ''American Friends'', episodes of series Foyle's ...

Plot

Palin plays Francis Ashby, a senior

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

professor on holiday in the Swiss Alps in 1861. There he meets the American Caroline Hartley (

Connie Booth Connie Booth (born 2 December 1940) is an American-born actress and writer. She has appeared in several British television programmes and films, including her role as Polly Sherman on BBC Two's ''Fawlty Towers'', which she co-wrote with her t ...

) and her 18-year-old

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

Elinor (

Trini Alvarado Trinidad "Trini" Alvarado (born January 10, 1967) is an American actress best known for her performances as Margaret "Meg" March in the 1994 film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel ''Little Women'' and Lucy Lynskey in the comedy/horror fi ...

). Ashby is drawn to them both, particularly Elinor, but is rather surprised when they arrive in Oxford and rent a house. Women are not allowed in the college, nor are

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

s allowed to marry, which puts him in an embarrassing situation. Ashby's rival for the post of college president, Oliver Syme (

Alfred Molina Alfred Molina (born Alfredo Molina; 24 May 1953) is a British-American actor known for his work on the stage and screen. He first rose to prominence in the West End, earning a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Pla ...

), takes full advantage of this to try to discredit Ashby.

Inspiration

The plot was based on a real-life incident involving Palin's great-grandfather, Edward Palin.

Cast

- Rev. Francis Ashby *

- Elinor Hartley *

- Caroline Hartley *

- Oliver Syme *

Bryan Pringle Bryan Pringle (19 January 1935 – 15 May 2002) was an English character actor who appeared for several decades in television, film and theatre productions. Life and career Born in Glascote, Tamworth, Staffordshire, he was brought up in the ...

- Haskell * Fred Pearson - Hapgood * Susan Denaker - Mrs. Cantrell *

Jonathan Firth Jonathan Stephen Firth (born 6 April 1967) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in such noted British television productions as ''Middlemarch'', ''Far from the Madding Crowd'', and '' Victoria & Albert''. He lives in Islington, N ...

- Cable * Ian Dunn - Gowers *

Robert Eddison Robert Leadam Eddison, OBE (10 June 1908 – 14 December 1991) was an English actor, who despite his lengthy career as a classical stage actor, is probably most widely remembered in the role of the Grail Knight in '' Indiana Jones and the Last ...

- William Granger Rushden * David Calder - Pollitt * Simon Jones - Anderson *

Charles McKeown Charles McKeown ( ; born 1946) is a British actor and writer, perhaps best known for his collaborations with Terry Gilliam. The two met while shooting '' Monty Python's Life of Brian'', while McKeown was doing bit parts in the film. Screenwriti ...

- Maynard *

Roger Lloyd-Pack Roger Anthony Lloyd-Pack (8 February 1944 – 16 January 2014) was an English actor. He is best known for playing Trigger in ''Only Fools and Horses'' from 1981 to 2003, and Owen Newitt in '' The Vicar of Dibley'' from 1994 to 2007. He later st ...

- Dr. Butler * John Nettleton - Rev. Groves *

Alun Armstrong Alan Armstrong, known professionally as Alun Armstrong, is an English actor. He grew up in County Durham in North East England, and first became interested in acting through Shakespeare productions at his grammar school. Since his career began ...

- Dr. Victor Weeks *

Sheila Reid Sheila Reid (born 21 December 1937) is a Scottish actress, known for playing Madge Harvey in the ITV sitcom ''Benidorm'' (2007–2016). An original member of the Royal National Theatre in 1963, she played Bianca in the National's 1965 film ve ...

- Mrs. Weeks * Edward Rawle-Hicks - John Weeks * Markus Gehrig - Swiss Guide *

Jo Stone-Fewings Jonathan Stone-Fewings (born 1967) is an English actor. He studied at Hereford College of Arts and at the Welsh College of Music and Drama, and began his career in 1989. He has been a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) since 1994. H ...

- Undergraduate *

Jimmy Jewel James Arthur Thomas Jewel Marsh (4 December 1909 – 3 December 1995),Gifford, Denni''The Independent'', 5 December 1995. Note: This obituary wrongly gives the year of birth as 1912, which is contradicted by the Ben Warriss obituary. Retrie ...

- Ashby Senior *

Wensley Pithey Wensley Ivan William Frederick Pithey (21 June 1914 – 10 November 1993) was a South African character actor who had a long stage and film career in Britain. Biography Pithey was born in Cape Town, South Africa. A graduate of the Univers ...

- Cave *

Arthur Howard Arthur Howard (born Arthur John Steiner; 18 January 1910 – 18 June 1995) was an English stage, film and television actor. Life and career Born in Camberwell, London, Howard was the younger son of Lilian (née Blumberg) and Ferdinand "Frank" ...

- Voe * Charles Simon - Canon Harper * Adrian Gannon - Extra

Awards

The film won the Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award for Best film/screenplay.

Discography

The CD soundtrack composed by

Georges Delerue Georges Delerue (12 March 1925 – 20 March 1992) was a French composer who composed over 350 scores for cinema and television. Delerue won numerous important film music awards, including an Academy Award for '' A Little Romance'' (1980), three C ...

is available on Music Box Records label.http://www.musicbox-records.com/en/53-american-friends.html website

Reference list

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:American Friends 1991 films 1991 comedy films British comedy films Films scored by Georges Delerue British films based on actual events Films set in Oxford Films set in 1861 Films with screenplays by Michael Palin 1990s English-language films 1990s British films