YANKS
     40th Anniversary of the Release of
the Film.
By Mark Sheppard
Filming began on April 1st 1978 and was completed on October 1st 1978. The crew arrived in Stalybridge on April 16th the famous opening shot of the movie is of the war memorial, the camera then pans out onto Trinity Street showing a convoy of American trucks and Jeeps led by a
Harley motorcycle.
“Howdy!” Shouts a GI, A local in his flflat cap says to his mate “Stupid lot of buggers aren’t they, I bet they’ve just got off the boat, it makes you think doesn’t it?”
“What?” asks his mate.
“What women see in em!“ he replies,
YANKSfifilmopeningcreditsthencommence.Other Scenes are of Market Street as the Troops march through the town, as they are about to depart, with a local woman screaming at a GI with a baby by him. Another scene at the beginning is of a truck with soldiers, which include Matt Dyson the US army cook played by (Richard Gere) again on Market Street, and another on the corner of Melbourne Street.The Bus Station was used in the fifilm, and who can forget Wendy Morgan (Mollie) as the bus conductress, with Stalybridge embodied on her hat. Another shot again at the beginning is on Stamford Street above Marshall Twigge, the undertakers, where we see an unshaven face at the window, St Paul’s church, for the concert in which Helen (Vanessa Redgrave) and John (William Devane) appear, and of course, Stamford Golf Course which was used as the Camp.
Although classed as Stalybridge, many locations were used in the fifilming including, Stockport, Keighley Station and goods yard, Steeton, Silsden, Moore, Warrington (Ship Canal) Grand Hotel, Llandudno, Twickenham Studios, Southowram, Halifax and Scotney Castle which formed the setting for Vanessa Redgrave’s character. Hyde Town Hall was also used for New Years Eve dance scene and fifight.
In Saddleworth, Dobcross Square featured in many scenes as this was the home of Jean Morewood (Lisa Eichhorn) her father Jim (Tony Melody) and mother Clarrie ( Rachel Roberts) and brother Geoff (Martin Smith) One interesting shot is at the beginning of the Film where we see the convoy of trucks and Jeeps ascend the road towards Denshaw. It was here Richard Gere uttered his fifirst words in the movie. Blackstone Edge has the famous panoramic shot of Lisa and Richard on the rocks there. Other shots were the cycle scene nearby and of course at Pule Hill, Marsden Moor as the troops prepare for a training exercise on the surrounding moorland.
Colin Welland wrote the story, and the Script in conjunction with Walter Bernstein, with the fifinal draft submitted on the 18th March. Further changes were required. Directed by Oscar winner John Schlesinger who was familiar with the area, notably with Stockport and Ashton under Lyne, having directed ‘A Kind of Loving’ and ‘Billy Liar’ respectively starring Tom Courtenay and Julie Christie. Ashton Palais was used for the dance scenes in the latter.
However, it was his success with the movie ‘Marathon Man’ that eventually helped him to raise the money for the ‘Yanks Project’, which was predominantly with German & US Finance. His friend Richard Rodney Bennett arranged the music score for the fifilm. Director Ken Russell’s wife, Shirley was the costume designer, which won her an Academy Award.
The choice of characters was interesting, the studios executives wanted Al Pacino or Dustin Hoffman, however John Schlesinger wanted Richard Gere for Matt, having seen him in Looking for Mr Goodbar, with Diane Keaton. “There was a complexity in him that hadn’t been tapped in his previous fifilms, a sensitivity and beauty,” John added.
Richard Gere kept to, himself, while on locations; often going for long rides on his motorbike in the Yorkshire Countryside while fifilming there in between takes, as he was immersed in his part.
The producer Joseph Janni wanted Jane Seymour or Cheri Lunghi, to play the part of Jean Moreton but thankfully, Schlesinger picked American actress Lisa Eichhorn so convincing was her northern accent at the audition where Michael Childers and Colin Welland were also present. John was smitten with her eyes, that he would view her performance in the fifilm as nearly pitch perfect. In fact, in a memo sent by Janni to Schlesinger on 1st June 1978, he said,“Lisa gets better and better”. So much so, that she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress and a new star was born.
United Artists chose to present a special local preview at the Davenport Cinema, Stockport on 18th October 1979 prior to the Leicester Square Odeon Premier in London on 1st November, with HRH Princess Anne in attendance. However the American Premier had taken place in NewYork City on 19th September 1979. Lisa attended the event in the company of Richard Gere.The fifilm was playing nationwide throughout the U.K. Cinemas in December 1979 and January 1980, often retained in the cinemas for weeks at a time; especially in the regions, where it was fifilmed, Hyde, Stalybridge, etc.
It was superb thatYanks fifilm stars Lisa Eichhorn and Wendy Morgan visited Stalybridge as guests of ours to meet their many fans of the movie, in June 2014, which just coincidentally tied in with the anniversary of the D DAY landings, and also in August 2014 when Lisa found time in her busy schedule to accompany us as our guest to the Yanks Weekend at Dobcross, where she visited the Swan Inn, a favourite of hers, and was made to feel very welcome. It was here that I presented Lisa with a replica of an Oscar for Best Actress for Yanks, long overdue, which brought that famous smile.
       Photos by Alan Bishop Photography
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