on as Stimpson and the rest of the party are all led away by policemen, with Stimpson still giving headmasterly orders to all the officers in the car. Cast John Cleese as Brian Stimpson Penelope Wilton as Pat Alison Steadman as Gwenda Stimpson Stephen Moore as Mr. Jolly Sharon Maiden as Laura Wisely Benjamin Whitrow as Headmaster Geoffrey Palmer as Headmaster Peter Cellier as Headmaster Nicholas Le Provost as Headmaster Joan Hickson as Mrs. Trellis Pat Keen as Mrs Wisely Constance Chapman as Mrs. Wheel Ann Way as Mrs. Way Tony Haygarth as Ivan with the tractor John Bardon as ticket collector Michael Aldridge as Prior Sheila Keith as Pat's mother Mark Burdis as Glen Scully Nadia Sawalha as Mandy Kostakis Richard Ridings as Policeman at crash Alan Parnaby as Policeman at phone box Production The film was an original script by Michael Frayn, then better known as a novelist and playwright. Frayn wrote it on "spec". He said, "I had always wanted to write something about a man who is late because I have considerable problems in relation to that myself, and only get places early by enormous expenditure of psychic energy." He showed it to theatrical producer Michael Codron, who had produced five Frayn works on stage including the hugely successful Benefactors and Noises Off, and asked if Codron would like to produce it. "I said, 'Why not?'" said the producer. "I've always been interested in movies." Codron showed the script to Nat Cohen at EMI Films who gave it to the company's head of production Verity Lambert and she agreed to finance. The title was originally Man of the Moment but this was changed when it was realised that had been used for a Norman Wisdom film. John Cleese was signed to star. "No one will believe it but I didn't have an idea for casting," said Frayn. Cleese later said the script was "the best I've ever seen. The same day it landed on my front door, I rang my agent and said, 'I have to do this.' " "Stimpson is a victim of circumstance," Cleese said. "As the pressures increase, his behavior becomes more and more erratic. Comedy is about things always going wrong, and that's just what happens to him. When you first see him, he's in charge. But as events take over and he can't cope-that's when he falls apart." Codron, Cleese and