Yes but the surname Sherman must have been chosen for a reason. There seems to be a recognition that her accent would have a lot of folk thinking she was a yank - 1970s British were pretty parochial - Fawlty himself is a classic caricature of it.
Polly: American or British? Page 2
Quote: Rood Eye @ 8th May 2019, 4:20 PMNo matter how English (or non-English) other BCG members may find Polly's accent, it can hardly be disputed that it's very significantly more English than Connie Booth's accent and I can, accordingly, assume only that the reason for the change is that it was Connie's best attempt at an English accent and therefore that Polly is English.
I don't think Connie Booth was trying to do an English accent in FT. Her accent sounds similarly mixed in other shows from the period e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXAcxR2qo3Y
I think that's just how she sounded then. She wasn't a very experienced actress.
Her natural accent sounds more American now than it did in the 1970s, probably because she's been married to the US-born writer John Lahr for 20 years.
It's true about 'Sherman' too.
On the one hand, there are, of course, people with that surname in the UK too.
On the other, it SOUNDS American. If I was creating a character, I'd be far more likely to give the name 'Sherman' to an American character than a British one.
Quote: Chris Hallam @ 9th May 2019, 6:39 AMI don't think Connie Booth was trying to do an English accent in FT. Her accent sounds similarly mixed in other shows from the period e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXAcxR2qo3Y I think that's just how she sounded then.
It's a fair point in principle and you may indeed be right but I'm mindful of the fact that in the above clip, she speaks with an English accent and she's playing the part of a princess from a family and community in which everybody has an English accent. Accordingly, I think we must assume that her character is English.
Similarly, in "Holy Grail" she speaks with an English accent while playing the part of a woman in a community where everybody else also speaks with an English accent. I must again, therefore, assume that her character in that film is English - not least because, during the period in which the film is set, there were no white Americans.
Quote: Chris Hallam @ 9th May 2019, 6:39 AMIt's true about 'Sherman' too.
On the one hand, there are, of course, people with that surname in the UK too.
On the other, it SOUNDS American. If I was creating a character, I'd be far more likely to give the name 'Sherman' to an American character than a British one.
That's also a fair point, and it did occur to me as soon as I began to consider the question of her nationality at the start of this thread.
Having said that, I think we must accept that writers name their characters for all sorts of weird and wonderful reasons most of which the rest of the world would have absolutely no chance of guessing.
BCG members can discuss the question of Polly's nationality until the cows come home but, at the end of the day, I cannot help but think that if the writers intended Polly to be American, they would have had her speak with an obviously American accent.
Quote: Rood Eye @ 9th May 2019, 7:31 AMI cannot help but think that if the writers intended Polly to be American, they would have had her speak with an obviously American accent.
She kind of does though?
This is the crux of the issue really. Some people seem to always hear her as American and some people always seem to hear it as English. Both parties seem surprised that anyone else thinks otherwise.
One other thing though...
When Basil impersonates Polly, why does he do an American accent?
It never occurred to me that she was supposed to be anything other than English.
I think she puts on an American accent in one episode (doing an impression of someone?), and that definitely sounded different to her normal accent.
I assumed she was American long before finding out the actress was American. And wasn't she a student of some sort? Art? Which would explain what she was doing in Britain.
Quote: Aaron @ 8th May 2019, 10:57 PMI'd never thought of Polly as American before this thread.
Given his reactions to the American guest, and treatment of Manuel, it is frankly impossible to believe that Basil wouldn't have been making constant references - if not actual jibes - to Polly about her nationality were she supposed to be from the wrong side of the pond.
Yeah, she was on his side for most of the time. Virtually his only competent friend. She was also a hot young woman and it's amazing how quickly you can forget your prejudices when a hot young woman is involved.
CH must be delighted at the response to his thread. 
Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 9th May 2019, 9:31 AMCH must be delighted at the response to his thread.
It's shaping up to be the most interesting thread we've had on this forum in thirteen years!
Quote: chipolata @ 9th May 2019, 9:31 AMYeah, she was on his side for most of the time. Virtually his only competent friend. She was also a hot young woman and it's amazing how quickly you can forget your prejudices when a hot young woman is involved.
Ha! Do you not think he'd at least have made comments without her being in the direct firing line? Perhaps jibing at "your lot" rather than "you", for example.
Quote: Aaron @ 9th May 2019, 11:24 AMHa! Do you not think he'd at least have made comments without her being in the direct firing line? Perhaps jibing at "your lot" rather than "you", for example.
To a certain extent I do agree with you. Despite the fact that she was his main ally I would expect the odd jibe to go her way.
Then again, if I start going down that route I'm left with a pretty bad English accent in the middle of a show I love. I mean it's not quite Dick Van Dyke bad, but it's really not great. So on balance I think I'll stick with my interpretation that she is an American character.
Quote: chipolata @ 9th May 2019, 9:31 AMAnd wasn't she a student of some sort? Art? Which would explain what she was doing in Britain.
I'm not sure her status as a student, art or otherwise, would explain her presence in Britain.
Interestingly, I believe that in the pilot script, Polly was in fact a philosophy student but, for some reason, this was changed to "art student" during the recording of the first episode.
However, regardless of all the evidence to suggest she either is or isn't American, in the absence of an unambiguous reference to her American-ness in the script, I have to remain mindful of the fact that in "Fawlty Towers", the norm is very clearly for American characters to have American accents, German people to have German accents, Spanish people have to Spanish accents and English people to have English accents. On that basis, I have to say again that if they intended Polly to be an American, they would have had her speak with an obviously American accent.
I'd be surprised if anybody were to describe Polly's accent as "obviously American".
I like this as it's a good question .All I can say is that if she was an American character then I would imagine that it would have been stated several times.
I based this solely on Phillip from Rising Damp who is clearly English with an amazing English accent but it is his African roots that are used to bounce the jokes off?
That's my take on it but to be sure someone is going to have to watch a 'Mind Your Language' box set to get the definitive skinny on it. (Skinny was used for our American friend)
Again: why does Basil do a strong American accent when he briefly impersonates her at one point?
I can't remember when this happens or provide a link.
"I'd be surprised if anybody were to describe Polly's accent as "obviously American"."
It certainly isn't obviously English either!
In fact, as I had always assumed it was American until a few days ago, I would have said it was obviously American, until then!
The BFI says:
"Indianapolis-born Connie Booth will always be best known for co-writing and co-starring in the classic sitcom Fawlty Towers (BBC, 1975/79), in which her American maid Polly Sherman provided the level-headed voice of sanity amidst the chaos into which each episode invariably disintegrated."
Is she a maid though? Am not sure this helps.
Quote: Chris Hallam @ 9th May 2019, 2:06 PMIs she a maid though?
Yes, I believe her official position at the hotel is (or certainly was at the birth of the series) that of a chambermaid - although I've seen a couple of FT-related web articles that describe her as "a waitress and general helper".
The wiki page for Polly has her nationality listed as English and Wikipedia is rarely wrong. She also went to school with an English character who she has known 'for years'. I suspect she had a comfortable middle class upbringing in the quaint English countryside. Cotswolds possibly.