''A Small Circle of Friends'' is a 1980 American
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
directed by
Rob Cohen
Rob Cohen (born March 12, 1949) is an American director and producer of film and television. Beginning his career as an executive producer at 20th Century Fox, Cohen produced and developed numerous high-profile film and television programs, inc ...
(in his
directing debut) and starring
Brad Davis,
Karen Allen
Karen Jane Allen (born October 5, 1951) is an American film and stage actress. After making her film debut in ''Animal House'' (1978), she portrayed Marion Ravenwood opposite Harrison Ford in '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981), a role she la ...
and
Jameson Parker
Francis Jameson Parker Jr. (born November 18, 1947) is an American actor, best known for his roles as the first Brad Vernon in soap opera ''One Life to Live'', and as A.J. Simon on the 1980s television series ''Simon & Simon''.
Early life an ...
. It was distributed by
United Artists
United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...
.
Premise
The film follows the life of three students (Davis, Allen, Parker) at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
and
Radcliffe College in the 1960s.
Cast
*
Brad Davis as Leonardo DaVinci Rizzo
*
Karen Allen
Karen Jane Allen (born October 5, 1951) is an American film and stage actress. After making her film debut in ''Animal House'' (1978), she portrayed Marion Ravenwood opposite Harrison Ford in '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981), a role she la ...
as Jessica Bloom
*
Jameson Parker
Francis Jameson Parker Jr. (born November 18, 1947) is an American actor, best known for his roles as the first Brad Vernon in soap opera ''One Life to Live'', and as A.J. Simon on the 1980s television series ''Simon & Simon''.
Early life an ...
as Nick Baxter
*
Shelley Long
Shelley Lee Long (born August 23, 1949) is an American actress, singer, and comedian. Long portrayed Diane Chambers on the hit sitcom '' Cheers'' and received five Emmy nominations, winning in 1983 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Se ...
as Alice
*
John Friedrich as Alex Haddox
* Gary Springer as Greenblatt
*
Craig Richard Nelson
Craig Richard Nelson (born September 17, 1947) is an American actor in theater, film and television.
Life and career
Nelson was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and grew up as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He studie ...
as Harry Norris
* Harry Caesar as Jimmy
*
Nan Martin
Nan Martin (July 15, 1927 – March 4, 2010) was an American actress who starred in movies and on television.
Life and career
Early life
Born in Decatur, Illinois, and raised in Santa Monica, California, she attended Santa Monica High School.
...
as Mrs. Baxter
*
Daniel Stern as Crazy Kid
Soundtrack
The soundtrack features instrumental music composed by
Jim Steinman
James Richard Steinman (November 1, 1947 – April 19, 2021) was an American composer, lyricist and record producer. He also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer. His work included songs in the adult contemporary, rock, dance, pop, mus ...
. Steinman later incorporated melodies from his score into the
power ballad
A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romance (love), romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn m ...
songs "
Total Eclipse of the Heart
"Total Eclipse of the Heart" is a song recorded by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler. It was written and produced by Jim Steinman, and released on Tyler's fifth studio album, ''Faster Than the Speed of Night'' (1983). The song was released as a single b ...
", which became a number one hit for
Bonnie Tyler
Gaynor Sullivan (née Hopkins; born 8 June 1951), known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer who is known for her distinctive husky voice. Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album '' The World Starts Tonight'' a ...
in 1983, and "
Making Love Out of Nothing at All
"Making Love Out of Nothing at All" is a power ballad written and composed by Jim Steinman and first released by Australian soft rock band Air Supply for their 1983 compilation album ''Greatest Hits''. It reached number 2 on the U.S. ''Billboa ...
", which simultaneously became a number two hit for
Air Supply
Air Supply is a soft rock duo formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1975. It consists of Englishman Graham Russell (vocals, guitar) and Australian Russell Hitchcock (vocals). They had a succession of hits worldwide, including eight top-five ...
.
Production
Some outdoor riot sequences were filmed some south of Cambridge at
Bridgewater State College
Bridgewater State University is a public university with its main campus in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. It is the largest of nine state universities in Massachusetts. Including its off-campus sites in New Bedford, Attleboro, and Cape Cod, BSU h ...
in
Bridgewater, Massachusetts
Bridgewater is a town located in Plymouth County, in the state of Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the town's population was 28,633. Bridgewater is located approximately south of Boston and approximately 35 miles east ...
after Harvard declined to allow the filming on their campus. Other scenes were filmed at
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
and other local colleges.
References
External links
*
*
Karen Allen: An ACME Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Small Circle of Friends, A
1980 drama films
1980 films
American drama films
Films directed by Rob Cohen
Films set in Harvard University
Films set in Massachusetts
Films set in the 1960s
United Artists films
Films about threesomes
1980 directorial debut films
Films produced by Tim Zinnemann
1980s English-language films
1980s American films