"American shot" is a translation of a phrase from French criticism, "plan Americain" and refers to a medium-close ("knee") shot of a group of characters, who are arranged so that all are visible to the camera. The usual arrangement is for the actors to stand in an irregular line from one side of the screen to the other, with the actors at the end coming forward a little and standing more in profile than the others. The purpose of the composition is to allow complex dialogue scenes to be played out without changes in camera position. The French thought it was characteristic of American films of the 30s or 40s; mostly it's characteristic of cheaper American movies, such as Charlie Chan mysteries where people keep collecting in front of a fireplace or at the foot of the stairs in order to explain what happened a few minutes ago.
