Yanks (1979)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

John Schlesinger

Writers:

Colin Welland (story)
Colin Welland (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

September 1979 (UK)

Genre:

Romance | Drama | War

Tagline:

Love during wartime.

Plot:

During WWII, the United States set up army bases in Great Britain as part of the war effort. Against their proper sensibilities...

Plot Keywords:

WWII | Prejudice | Male Nudity | Jitterbug | Racism

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 5 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Richard Gere	...	Matt Dyson
Lisa Eichhorn	...	Jean Moreton
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Helen
William Devane	...	John
Chick Vennera	...	Danny Ruffelo
Wendy Morgan	...	Mollie
Rachel Roberts	...	Mrs. Clarrie Moreton
Tony Melody	...	Mr. Jim Moreton
Martin Smith	...	Geoff
Philip Whileman	...	Billy
Derek Thompson	...	Ken
Simon Harrison	...	Tim
Joan Hickson	...	Mrs. Moody
Arlen Dean Snyder	...	Henry
Annie Ross	...	Red Cross lady
Tom Nolan	...	Tom G.I. drummer
John Ratzenberger	...	Corporal Cook
Andy Pantelidou	...	Cook
Francis Napier	...	Cook
Jeremy Newson	...	Mechanic
Harry Ditson	...	Officer in stores
John Cassidy	...	G.I. at cinema
Antony Sher	...	G.I. at cinema
George Harris	...	Black driver
David Baxt	...	G.I. in hospital
Everett McGill	...	White G.I. at dance
Al Matthews	...	Black G.I. at dance
Eugene Lipinski	...	Barman in Ireland
Ray Hassett	...	Pilot
Weston Gavin	...	Officer at airfield
Anne Dyson	...	Ivy (as Ann Dyson)
Harriet Harrison	...	Helen's daughter
June Ellis	...	Mrs. Shenton
Lynne Carol	...	Annie
Pearl Hackney	...	Aunt Maud
Gertie Almond	...	Neighbour
Paula Tilbrook	...	Neighbour
Paul Luty	...	Ted the publican
Helen Palmer	...	Enid his wife
Kenneth Drury	...	Jock
David Miller	...	Bereaved father
Caroline Blakiston	...	Golfing friend
Donald Pickering	...	Golfing friend
Sue Robinson	...	Girl at dance
Patrick Durkin	...	Master of Ceremonies
Joe Gladwin	...	Plumber at camp
Nat Jackley	...	Postman
Mary Wray	...	Fish fryer
Jackie Smith	...	Fish fryer
Gerald James	...	Hotel porter
Margaret Lacey	...	Woman at hotel
Rachel Davies	...	Girl in club
Angela Curran	...	Girl in club
Stephen Whittaker	...	Merchant seaman
Barry Halliday	...	Merchant seaman
Janet Dale	...	Girl with baby
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nick Brimble	...	Merchant seaman (uncredited)
Michael Edwards	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Harry Fielder	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Clive Hornby	...	Extra (uncredited)
Lynne Perrie	...	Woman at Railway Station (uncredited)
Joe Praml	...	MP (uncredited)
Eric Stine	...	Sergeant at Railway Stn. (uncredited)

Directed by
John Schlesinger

Writing credits
Colin Welland		(story)
Colin Welland		(screenplay) and
Walter Bernstein		(screenplay)

Produced by
Joseph Janni	....	producer
Edward Joseph	....	associate producer (as Teddy Joseph)
Lester Persky	....	producer

Original Music by
Richard Rodney Bennett

Cinematography by
Dick Bush		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Jim Clark

Casting by
Noel Davis

Production Design by
Brian Morris

Art Direction by
Milly Burns

Costume Design by
Shirley Russell

Makeup Department
Joan Carpenter	....	hair stylist
Wally Schneiderman	....	makeup artist
Hugh Richards	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Simon Relph	....	production supervisor
Nigel Wooll	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Michael Green	....	second assistant director
Simon Relph	....	assistant director

Art Department
Terry Apsey	....	construction manager
Ron Burkett	....	chargehand painter
John King	....	draughtsman (uncredited)

Sound Department
Ian Fuller	....	sound editor
Gerry Humphreys	....	dubbing mixer
Gerry Humphreys	....	sound re-recording mixer
Simon Kaye	....	sound mixer
Charlie McFadden	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
Peter Hutchinson	....	special effects supervisor (uncredited)

Stunts
Eddie Stacey	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Gerry Anstiss	....	camera operator
Michael Childers	....	special still photographer
Cedric James	....	assistant camera
John Matthews	....	best boy
Ron Pearce	....	gaffer
George Whitear	....	still photographer
Miles Cook	....	clapper loader (uncredited)

Casting Department
Howard Feuer	....	special casting
Patsy Pollock	....	special casting
Jeremy Ritzer	....	casting: New York

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Alan Barrett	....	additional costumes
Keith Denny	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Brian Peachey	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Marcus Dods	....	conductor
Philip Martell	....	musical advisor
John Richards	....	music editor
Angela Morley	....	music arranger: dance music (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Charles Mann	....	advisor: military vehicles

Other crew
Zelda Barron	....	continuity
Eleanor Fazan	....	choreographer
Jak King	....	production accountant
Redmond Morris	....	location manager
Lt. Colonel G. Roberts	....	military advisor: USA
Edna Tromans	....	unit publicist

Production Companies

• CIP Filmproduktion GmbH (as a CIP feature)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1979) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1982) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• United Artists Corporation (1979) (UK) (theatrical) (as United Artists A Transamerica Company)
• United Artists (1980) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• MGM Home Entertainment (Europe) (2004) (UK) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (2005) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Universal Home Entertainment (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Effects Associates

Other Companies

• Department of the Army  the producers would like to thank (as The Department of the Army U.S.A.)
• J.L. Vic Films  production services by
• Joe Dunton & Company  camera equipment provided by
• Lee Lighting  grip and lighting equipment
• People of Dubcross, The  the producers would like to thank
• People of Hyde, The  the producers would like to thank
• People of Keighley, The  the producers would like to thank
• People of Stalybridge, The  the producers would like to thank
• People of Stockport, The  the producers would like to thank

Also Known As:

Yanks - Gestern waren wir noch Fremde (West Germany)

Runtime:

138 min | UK:165 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA | West Germany | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | France:U | UK:15 | Netherlands:6 (2008) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Grand Hotel, Llandudno, Conwy, Wales, UK

Company:

CIP Filmproduktion GmbH

Trivia:

Olivia Newton-John was interviewed for a key role.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Helen plays the slot machine in the Officer's Club, in Ireland, there are some "Roosevelt dimes" in her payout. The scene is 1943-44, and the first Roosevelt dime wasn't minted until after the war, in 1946.

Quotes:

Mollie: Excuse me, please. I'm pregnant!
Woman on train platform: So's half the bloody town, love!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "BBC Proms: Prom 2: Music from Great British Films (#1.7)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

I'll Be Seeing You

Schlesinger's masterful tale of two cultures

This is a beautifully judged and paced 1979 film by John Schlesinger, which explores wartime romance and a unique culture clash, with sensitivity, wit and an affectionate eye for the period in which it is set. The time, 1943/4; the place, a small town in the north of England; the parties, the US Army gathering for the invasion of mainland Europe, and the locals grateful for the military assistance but watchful for the virtue of their wives and daughters.

Richard Gere's Sergeant-Cook, Matt, is surely still one of his best and certainly most sympathetic roles. His love affair with shopkeeper's daughter Jean (Lisa Eichhorn) - together with another on/off romance further up the social scale between William Devane's Captain and Vanessa Redgrave's upper class lady - highlight the painful choice between love and loyalty which war often presents. Meanwhile, the sunnier, trouble-free pairing and marriage of boxer Danny (Chick Vennera) and happy-go-lucky Mollie (Wendy Morgan) demonstrates that war can offer fresh starts as well as tragic ends.

Though Schlesinger bases most of the film on the moral (and cinematic) values of the time in which it is set, he reminds us in one sequence of the segregation and race problems in the US Army, which would not be resolved until after the war (and of wider race problems in the US generally, which are still not resolved). Rightly, the movie makes no attempt to avoid emotion; and the ending with the troops, including Matt, Danny and the Captain, moving south to an uncertain future with the invasion force is genuinely moving.