During the Second World War, a small town in northern England welcomes a large group of boisterous American soldiers stationed nearby ahead of the Normandy landings. Sergeant Matt Dyson and his comrade Danny Ruffelo strike up friendships with local women, and Matt's relationship with Jean Moreton, whose fiancé is fighting overseas, grows steadily more serious. Meanwhile, the town lives with anxiety, longing and prejudice. A parallel story follows Helen, a married upper-class woman whose husband is at the front, and her bond with an American officer.

How it was made

Schlesinger was able to fund this personal project thanks to the commercial success of his 1976 thriller Marathon Man. Filming took place on location in northern England from April to August 1978, in towns such as Stalybridge, Oldham, Stockport and Salford, where a stretch of Regent Road was dressed in period style. The film includes no combat scenes; the war is felt through everyday life, rationing and news from the front. The cast includes Richard Gere, Lisa Eichhorn and Vanessa Redgrave, alongside William Devane and Rachel Roberts.

Reception and legacy

The world premiere took place in Bournemouth on 1 June 1979, with returning D-Day veterans in attendance, among them members of the American 29th Division. The National Board of Review named it among the ten most outstanding films of its year. Its portrait of tensions between American soldiers and British civilians places it within the tradition of war dramas focused on home front life rather than battle.