American Friends

American Friends
Directed by Tristram Powell
Produced by Steve Abbott
Patrick Cassavetti
Written by Michael Palin
Tristram Powell
Starring
Music by Georges Delerue
Cinematography Philip Bonham-Carter
Edited by George Akers
Production
company
Prominent Features
British Screen Productions
BBC
Distributed by Palace Pictures (UK)
Castle Hill Productions (US)
Release dates
  • 22 March 1991 (1991-03-22) (UK)
  • 21 November 1991 (1991-11-21) (Australia)
  • April 1993 (1993-04) (US)
Running time
 95 minutes
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Box office $23,034[1]

American Friends is a 1991 British film starring Michael Palin. It was written by Palin and its director, Tristram Powell.

Plot

Palin plays Francis Ashby, a senior Oxford professor on holiday in the Swiss Alps in 1861. There he meets the American Caroline Hartley (Connie Booth) and her 18-year-old ward Elinor (Trini Alvarado). 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 Fellows allowed to marry, which puts him in an embarrassing situation. Ashby's rival for the post of College President, Oliver Syme (Alfred Molina), 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

Awards

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

Discography

The CD soundtrack composed by Georges Delerue is available on Music Box Records label (website).

Reference list

  1. ↑ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=americanfriends.htm

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/8/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.