Yanks
Encyclopedia
Yanks is a 1979 John Schlesinger
film, set in World War II
in the village of Dobcross
, in Greater Manchester
, England. Starring Richard Gere
, Vanessa Redgrave
, William Devane
, Lisa Eichhorn
, Rachel Roberts and Tony Melody
.
The film focuses on three romances taking place as a result of the stationing of American troops in Britain in the build up to the Normandy Landings, plus the impact and reactions of the two different cultures on each other in rural 1940s England.
town, a large US Army base is established and soon houses the rambunctious "Yanks" as they are known to the English. On leave in the town, young Arizona
man, Matt Dyson (Richard Gere
), encounters pretty young Jean Moreton (Lisa Eichhorn
) and asks her out to the cinema
. She is the girlfriend of a British soldier fighting overseas, and initially rebuffs his advances. He is quite persistent, and she was having her doubts about her relationship with her fiancé anyway. The handsome, brash American sergeant
is in stark contrast to the restrained Englishmen
she has known. Soon, she is keeping company with Matt, though it is largely platonic
at first.
For her part, Helen (Vanessa Redgrave
) is a bit more worldly in her affairs. John (William Devane
), an American Army captain, comes to her estate often, and a relationship develops, culminating in a semi-nude love scene featuring Redgrave. They are both married, but her Royal Navy
officer
husband is away at sea, and his wife is thousands of miles distant.
Eventually, the kind-hearted Matt Dyson is accepted by the Moreton family, though she is engaged to an English lad. They welcome his visits, when he often brings hard-to-find foods normally on wartime rationing and other presents. But when news of Ken's death in action arrives, Jean's mother condemns their relationship as a kind of betrayal.
Helen and John travel to a Welsh seaside resort, where they make love. Almost immediately after, the Americans ship out by troop train to southern England
to prepare for D-Day. In a mad scene, many of the townswomen, some of them pregnant from liaisons with men they may never see again, scramble to catch one last glimpse of their American boyfriends before the train leaves town. Matt shouts from the train that he will return.
, especially in localities near Oldham
, Stalybridge
and surrounding areas. The opening shot of the film is of a war memorial
and this is in Stalybridge
town centre, and throughout Glossop
. The dance party scene was filmed at Hyde
Town Hall.
The sequence showing the troops boarding the train and making their farewells was filmed at Keighley railway station
on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway
, making use of authentic World War II locomotives now preserved on the KWVR. A former Royal Ordnance Factory
in nearby Steeton was also used.
The exterior shots at the Welsh resort were filmed in Llandudno, North Wales.
John Schlesinger
John Richard Schlesinger, CBE was an English film and stage director and actor.-Early life:Schlesinger was born in London into a middle-class Jewish family, the son of Winifred Henrietta and Bernard Edward Schlesinger, a physician...
film, set in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in the village of Dobcross
Dobcross
Dobcross is a village in Saddleworth—a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It is located in a valley in the South Pennines, along the course of the River Tame and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, east-northeast of Oldham and west-southwest of...
, in Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, England. Starring Richard Gere
Richard Gere
Richard Tiffany Gere is an American actor. He began acting in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in Looking for Mr. Goodbar, and a starring role in Days of Heaven. He came to prominence in 1980 for his role in the film American Gigolo, which established him as a leading man and a sex symbol...
, Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
, William Devane
William Devane
William Joseph Devane is an American film, television and theater actor.-Life and career:Devane was born in Albany, New York in 1937 or 1939 , the son of Joseph Devane, who was Franklin D. Roosevelt's chauffeur when he was Governor of New York...
, Lisa Eichhorn
Lisa Eichhorn
Lisa Eichhorn is an American actress, writer and producer. She made her film debut in 1979 in the John Schlesinger film Yanks for which she received two Golden Globe nominations...
, Rachel Roberts and Tony Melody
Tony Melody
Anthony John "Tony" Melody was an English television actor who appeared in a number of long running comedies and soap operas. He was a prolific character actor with over 100 television roles.-Early life:...
.
The film focuses on three romances taking place as a result of the stationing of American troops in Britain in the build up to the Normandy Landings, plus the impact and reactions of the two different cultures on each other in rural 1940s England.
Plot
In the build-up to the Normandy landings, thousands of American troops descend upon England. Near a small LancashireLancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
town, a large US Army base is established and soon houses the rambunctious "Yanks" as they are known to the English. On leave in the town, young Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
man, Matt Dyson (Richard Gere
Richard Gere
Richard Tiffany Gere is an American actor. He began acting in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in Looking for Mr. Goodbar, and a starring role in Days of Heaven. He came to prominence in 1980 for his role in the film American Gigolo, which established him as a leading man and a sex symbol...
), encounters pretty young Jean Moreton (Lisa Eichhorn
Lisa Eichhorn
Lisa Eichhorn is an American actress, writer and producer. She made her film debut in 1979 in the John Schlesinger film Yanks for which she received two Golden Globe nominations...
) and asks her out to the cinema
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
. She is the girlfriend of a British soldier fighting overseas, and initially rebuffs his advances. He is quite persistent, and she was having her doubts about her relationship with her fiancé anyway. The handsome, brash American sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
is in stark contrast to the restrained Englishmen
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
she has known. Soon, she is keeping company with Matt, though it is largely platonic
Platonic love
Platonic love is a chaste and strong type of love that is non-sexual.-Amor Platonicus:The term amor platonicus was coined as early as the 15th century by the Florentine scholar Marsilio Ficino. Platonic love in this original sense of the term is examined in Plato's dialogue the Symposium, which has...
at first.
For her part, Helen (Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
) is a bit more worldly in her affairs. John (William Devane
William Devane
William Joseph Devane is an American film, television and theater actor.-Life and career:Devane was born in Albany, New York in 1937 or 1939 , the son of Joseph Devane, who was Franklin D. Roosevelt's chauffeur when he was Governor of New York...
), an American Army captain, comes to her estate often, and a relationship develops, culminating in a semi-nude love scene featuring Redgrave. They are both married, but her Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
officer
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
husband is away at sea, and his wife is thousands of miles distant.
Eventually, the kind-hearted Matt Dyson is accepted by the Moreton family, though she is engaged to an English lad. They welcome his visits, when he often brings hard-to-find foods normally on wartime rationing and other presents. But when news of Ken's death in action arrives, Jean's mother condemns their relationship as a kind of betrayal.
Helen and John travel to a Welsh seaside resort, where they make love. Almost immediately after, the Americans ship out by troop train to southern England
Southern England
Southern England, the South and the South of England are imprecise terms used to refer to the southern counties of England bordering the English Midlands. It has a number of different interpretations of its geographic extents. The South is considered by many to be a cultural region with a distinct...
to prepare for D-Day. In a mad scene, many of the townswomen, some of them pregnant from liaisons with men they may never see again, scramble to catch one last glimpse of their American boyfriends before the train leaves town. Matt shouts from the train that he will return.
Locations
Much of the filming took place on location in northern EnglandNorthern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...
, especially in localities near Oldham
Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
, Stalybridge
Stalybridge
Stalybridge is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 22,568. Historically a part of Cheshire, it is east of Manchester city centre and northwest of Glossop. With the construction of a cotton mill in 1776, Stalybridge became one of...
and surrounding areas. The opening shot of the film is of a war memorial
War memorial
A war memorial is a building, monument, statue or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or to commemorate those who died or were injured in war.-Historic usage:...
and this is in Stalybridge
Stalybridge
Stalybridge is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 22,568. Historically a part of Cheshire, it is east of Manchester city centre and northwest of Glossop. With the construction of a cotton mill in 1776, Stalybridge became one of...
town centre, and throughout Glossop
Glossop
Glossop is a market town within the Borough of High Peak in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the Glossop Brook, a tributary of the River Etherow, about east of the city of Manchester, west of the city of Sheffield. Glossop is situated near Derbyshire's county borders with Cheshire, Greater...
. The dance party scene was filmed at Hyde
Hyde, Greater Manchester
Hyde is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2001 census, the town had a population of 31,253. Historically part of Cheshire, it is northeast of Stockport, west of Glossop and east of Manchester....
Town Hall.
The sequence showing the troops boarding the train and making their farewells was filmed at Keighley railway station
Keighley railway station
Keighley railway station serves the town of Keighley in West Yorkshire, England.First opened in March 1847 by the Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway , the station is located on the Airedale Line north west of Leeds. It is managed by Northern Rail, who operate most of the passenger trains...
on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway
Keighley and Worth Valley Railway
The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway is a long branch line that served mills and villages in the Worth Valley and is now a heritage railway line in West Yorkshire, England. It runs from Keighley to Oxenhope. It connects to the national rail network line at Keighley railway station...
, making use of authentic World War II locomotives now preserved on the KWVR. A former Royal Ordnance Factory
Royal Ordnance Factory
Royal Ordnance Factories was the collective name of the UK government's munitions factories in and after World War II. Until privatisation in 1987 they were the responsibility of the Ministry of Supply and later the Ministry of Defence....
in nearby Steeton was also used.
The exterior shots at the Welsh resort were filmed in Llandudno, North Wales.