Yanks (1979) on Netflix
A U.S. Army base opens in a northern English town in 1944. Jean, engaged to a soldier overseas, is pursued by Matt, a mess cook, while Helen grows close to Captain John.
- Netflix3.4/5
- IMDb6.4/103,995 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes57%
Trailer
Plot summary
During the Second World War, an American army base is set up in northern England, and thousands of troops arrive before the Normandy landings. The locals are wary of the newcomers, who pursue the town's women. Jean Moreton, engaged to Ken, a British soldier serving overseas, is annoyed when her friend Mollie arranges a cinema outing with two Americans. Matt Dyson, a mess cook from Arizona who dreams of building motels, keeps seeking her out, and her strict mother objects. Helen, an upper-class woman with two children and a husband away at war, keeps busy with war duties and has struck up a friendship with Captain John, who is stationed close by.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Yanks (1979)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Schlesinger was able to obtain the finance to make Yanks, which was a personal project, because of the financial success of his 1976 suspense film Marathon Man.
- The world premiere was held on 1 June 1979 at a cinema in Bournemouth, England, with Lisa Eichhorn present; the screening had invited returning D-Day veterans from many American divisions, most notably the American 29th Division.
- The main street procession was filmed in the Ordsall area of Salford, where the entire length of Regent Road was redressed to period appearance: all the shop fronts were replaced or covered over and the road-lines were covered by gravel.
- Lisa Eichhorn said one of her most difficult scenes involved nudity: "I'd never done any on the stage, and didn't think I'd have to do it in my first movie. I didn't want to get the reputation of an actress who easily disrobes".
- The ending, where the troops board their train to head to the front, was filmed at Keighley railway station on the line belonging to the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, using an authentic Second World War locomotive preserved by the heritage railway.
- The cinema sequences were shot at the Davenport Theatre in Stockport, chosen because of its authentic, period Art Deco interior, as well as the presence, in the orchestra pit, of a Compton 3 Manual/6 Rank theater organ on a lift.
- Yanks turned out to be a box office flop in the US, only making $1.6 million in rentals over the course of its run there.
