A Yank at Oxford (1938) User Reviews (22)

Before the Days of "Over Paid, Over Sexed and Over Here"

[lawprof · 7/10 · 19 December 2003]

A black-and-white trip back to the glory days of the studio system, "A Yank at Oxford" was MGM's first feature movie filmed in England. Released in 1938 as the Depression was slowly losing its grip on America and the shadow of an inevitable global conflict was sensed by too few, this rollicking comedy about a clash of cultures - small town America and elitist Oxford - is a glimpse of a world that never existed except in movie theaters.

Robert Taylor is super-athlete Lee Sheridan from somewhere in quintessential, rah-rah, white America. His newspaper publisher dad, Lionel Barrymore, holds the presses so that his son's latest track and field victory can be bannered on the front page. Lee is the All-American collegiate sports hero.

Along comes an opportunity for Lee to go to Oxford and he's sent off with a parade, the first of several big processions in this film.

Lee is a boastful American but he's received with good humor and sharp pranks by the English students at the fictional Cardinal College. Conflict develops when Lee is attracted to Molly Beaumont, played by Maureen O'Sullivan. Molly is the sister of Paul, Griffith Jones, a fellow student whose rivalry with Lee is fueled by the latter's arrogant and, from an English viewpoint, unsportsmanlike behavior. The contretemps between the two handsome men is the center of the fable about competition and honor.

Complicating everything is Paul's relationship with pretty, flirtatious Mrs. Elsa Craddock, wife of a curmudgeonly and older bookshop proprietor. Elsa, clearly to our eyes an adulteress, may have been for original audiences little more than a simple charmer who professes love for serial college males but is never shown doing anything less chaste than planting quick kisses. Elsa is acted by Vivien Leigh who two years later had a starring role in some Hollywood spectacle about the Civil War.

"A Yank at Oxford" is a funny, light period piece most interesting for its reflection of a Hollywood that would soon shift gears as the world burned. It did allow Taylor to recast his image as a more manly character, his athleticism a change from the more effete roles for which he was better known. MGM had a plan here and it worked.

7/10 - worth renting.

An Adjustment Of Image.

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 5 November 2009]

After his early days at MGM when Robert Taylor was marketed as a modern romance magazine cover, it was perceived by Louis B. Mayer that Taylor needed an adjustment of image to expand his casting potential. It was perceived by Taylor as well who was not happy with some of the snide powder puff comments he was getting in some quarters.

Accordingly A Yank At Oxford was an original screenplay written specifically for him in mind. As Taylor in real life was an athletic sort, the casting was no stretch that way.

In his part as an American on scholarship to Oxford Taylor was going into Tyrone Power's territory of the hero/heel. Taylor was more often a nice guy 100% in this stage of his career. But he does very well with the part.

Arriving at Cardinal College in Oxford, Taylor doesn't do much for Anglo-American relations with his braggadocious ways. He makes particular enemies with three classmates, Griffith Jones, Robert Coote, and Peter Croft. But he also backs his brag up and when he meets Maureen O'Sullivan who is Jones's sister who planes out the rougher side of Taylor.

The film was produced by MGM and shot over in the United Kingdom with the real Oxford locations used. Take a look at the writing credits of this film. I'm quite flabbergasted that so many talented hands went into the screenplay. Usually that means a muddled mess, but it all works here.

Several of the players had only worked in British cinema before and A Yank At Oxford was America's first look at a lot of them. Most importantly Vivien Leigh. She had a really interesting part as the wife of a bookstore owner. Her husband is a good deal older than her and she amuses herself with her pick of the young Oxford students. She sets her cap at one point for both Taylor and Jones and it's on her flirtatious ways that the plot hinges. Her naughty flirt in this film may very well have made one David O. Selznick cast her as the ultimate young flirt in Gone With The Wind.

A Yank At Oxford was remade almost 50 years later as Oxford Blues with Rob Lowe in the lead. As an actor in his Brat Pack days, Lowe was cast in a lot of parts that would have gone to a Robert Taylor or Tyrone Power. Still A Yank At Oxford became one of Robert Taylor's most popular roles with the general public and with his enduring legion of fans.

The Mocking of a Long Distance Runner

[neithernor2000 · 8/10 · 15 September 2010]

In 1938, when the Great Depression had ended and a World War was about to begin, it was easy for elitist British college students to make fun of a transplanted American athlete. But the romantic counterpoint to the culture clash works very well thanks to the great chemistry between Robert Taylor and Maureen O'Sullivan.

A memorable quote from this enjoyable period piece needs to be acknowledged. In a morning after scene, Robert Taylor says to Maureen O'Sullivan: "Don't wipe the sleep from your eyes. It's a beautiful sleep." The scriptwriter responsible for that line was F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Robert Taylor Channels William Haines

[drednm · 24 January 2016]

A YANK AT OXFORD is notable for several reasons. This was MGM's first British production with Mayer in charge (co-produced by Michael Balcon who quit after a fight with Mayer). Despite Mayer's reservations, Balcon hired Vivien Leigh for one of the leads, and this was a key film in getting her noticed by Selznick for the Scarlett casting battle. Star Robert Taylor thought highly of Leigh, and they were reteamed several years later. A-level film boasted a big cast and used quite a few British actors. Besides Taylor (who did his own stunts) and Leigh, film also boasted Lionel Barrymore, Maureen O'Sullivan, Edmund Gwenn, and Griffith Jones (fairly big star in UK). Also C.V. France, Robert Coote, Claude Gillingwater, Tully Marshall, Edward Rigby, and Richard Todd as an extra. Stock footage of Oxford but film was mostly shot as Denham Studios. No idea where the boating scenes were filmed. I didn't recognize anything.

What struck me about the film was that MGM had dusted off the old William Haines formula of braggart goes off to (fill in the blank) where he acts like an a-hole until he gets his comeuppance and rallies the team for a big win and becomes a true hero, In this case, film follows the general plot of Haines' BROWN OF HARVARD minus the homoerotic subtext (sort of) right down to the crewing scenes.

Breezy performance by Robert Taylor in one of his best films.

It would have been practically treasonous to make this same movie 3 years later

[AlsExGal · 7/10 · 10 August 2012]

This film is a humorous examination of the differences between American and British college youth just prior to WWII with an American take on the situation. Robert Taylor plays Lee Sheridan, an American who comes to Oxford to study and also to run track and field. He runs into difficulty with everything from the English driving on "the wrong side of the road" to the British valuing tradition and teamwork over rugged individualism. Not helping matters is that Lee is a swaggering over-confident albeit talented braggart by the standards of any nation. To complicate matters, Lee's chief rival on the track team is the brother of a girl (Maureen O'Sullivan) in whom Lee is romantically interested.

To make such an "American fish in British waters" film just three years later after the war broke out and the US and England were allies would have been practically a precode in the eyes of the censors, even though cultural differences are always a problem, especially where boisterous youths are involved. It's an enjoyable little film featuring a young Vivien Leigh as she was waiting to become Scarlett O'Hara, and some fine character actor work from Edmund Gwenn as a dean who is still lovable as always even though he is openly contemptuous of Lee whose forward ways leave him shocked and flustered.

pre-Scarlet, pre-war, and pre-Waterloo Bridge

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 1 September 2006]

Robert Taylor is "A Yank at Oxford," a 1938 comedy also starring Maureen O'Sullivan, Lionel Barrymore, Vivien Leigh, Edmund Gwenn, and Griffith Jones. Taylor is Lee Sheridan, an all-American athlete who is accepted into Cardinal College at Oxford and leaves his hometown and his dad (Barrymore) who owns a newspaper. Lee has no idea what he's in for, as his egotism makes him an easy mark for a fake "reception" by the students and other barbs. He immediately becomes attracted to the lovely Molly Beaumont (O'Sullivan), whose brother Paul (Jones) is having an affair with one Mrs. Craddock (Leigh). Due to a series of unfortunate events, Paul and Lee become mortal enemies.

This film surely had the women drooling in 1938 as Taylor uses his muscular arms to row, his strong legs to run, and his beautiful smile to charm. He glistens with youth and vitality, and there are plenty of shots of "the world's most perfect profile" to please his fans. Normally Taylor exhibits a very likable personality in films, but in this one, he comes off as too aggressive, finally becoming aggravating to this viewer. He was probably directed that way so that he would appear as a bull in a china shop among all the Oxford gents.

Taylor has fallen into disregard since declaring himself a good American and ratting out Howard da Silva and others during the '50s Communist witch hunts. No one came out a winner who was involved, not the victims nor the blabbermouths. The sad thing about Taylor is, he truly believed every word he said. If you can separate his politics from his career, he was a very good actor, a gorgeous man, and a very big star back in the day.

Maureen O'Sullivan is perky and pretty as Taylor's love interest - that same year, she and Taylor worked together in "The Crowd Roars." British actor Griffith Jones plays her brother and is not only excellent but very handsome. According to IMDb, he worked into the 1980s and is apparently still alive at 95.

The supporting cast is marvelous, including Edmund Gwenn as a professor and Lionel Barrymore as Lee's proud father. Vivien Leigh plays a flaky, flirty bookshop owner married to a much older man and not adverse to a little hanky-panky on the side. It's not much of a role, and though she was a natural beauty, no one would have considered her for Scarlett just watching this film. Her last line, however, given the character she portrays, is hilarious. She and Taylor would meet again for the classic "Waterloo Bridge."

"A Yank at Oxford" shows an England untouched by war and young men who worked at being superior athletes and gentlemen as they roamed the hallowed halls of Oxford. That would all end soon. It was a nice fairytale while it lasted.

Not exactly deep, but a very entertaining MGM flick

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 27 May 2007]

A young Robert Taylor plays an obnoxious but highly talented athlete who wins a scholarship to one of the colleges at Oxford. Unforutunately for him, his brash ways immediately alienate him from his classmates and the going is very rough. But, of course, there are people pulling for him--including some wonderful MGM stock actors.

Despite a very good score of 7, I actually enjoyed the film more than the score might indicate. However, I really couldn't give the film a higher score since it was a tad formulaic and a tad hokey. You see, for me, I don't mind if a film from Hollywood's Golden Age has these qualities, as the studios knew this when they made some of these films. Sure, there was some predictability and a few clichés, but the films were highly entertaining and fun--so the secret is counter-balancing these aspects with a quality production. So, when braggart Robert Taylor (in one of his best early roles) appears, you KNOW that eventually he will learn humility and to become a team player. But, the journey along the way is so well done (thanks to excellent acting, writing, direction and music) that you just suspend disbelief and enjoy the ride.

Taylor fans, check this out

[HotToastyRag · 6/10 · 27 January 2021]

When all-star athlete Robert Taylor gets accepted to go to Oxford, his entire small American town is extremely proud of him. His newspaper owner father Lionel Barrymore prints glorious articles, and he gets a great sendoff when he sails off the continent. In England, he gets an entirely different welcome. His classmates tease and haze him, he makes a bad impression with the dean, Edmund Gwenn, and he gets entangled in a love affair with a married woman.

Vivien Leigh didn't seem to get the memo that she was in a different movie from Gone With the Wind. She played every line and expression as if she were Scarlett O'Hara, and her character wasn't much different, either. In this movie, she plays an unsatisfied wife who makes a sport out of seducing young college boys. She flirts constantly, and the only saving grace is that she's not the leading lady in this movie. Maureen O'Sullivan, who would have been equally as good - if not better - as Scarlett O'Hara, is Robert Taylor's real love interest.

I've never really been a Robert Taylor fan, but this was a fun movie of his to watch. He shows off his athletic prowess in running, rowing, and cycling. What an athlete! If you've got a crush on him, you've got to check him - I mean, this movie, out.

Robert Taylor Invades Merrie Old England

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 14 August 2000]

A skilled, albeit highly egocentric young athlete becomes A YANK AT OXFORD when he accepts a scholarship to the English university. Romance and various personal problems help punch a hole through his self-conceit.

Robert Taylor gets to show-off his athletic prowess (running, rowing) in this pleasant, lightweight film. Produced by MGM's British division, it is an enjoyable look at a privileged world about to be changed forever by World War Two.

Taylor does a fine job in the title role, but he is also aided immensely by excellent co-stars from both sides of the Atlantic: Lionel Barrymore, giving another acting lesson as Taylor's peppery, loyal father; lovable Edmund Gwenn, as the long-suffering Dean of (fictional) Cardinal College, Oxford; beautiful Maureen O'Sullivan, as Taylor's English girlfriend; and enchanting Vivien Leigh, one year before her tremendous success in GONE WITH THE WIND, as a philandering young wife with an eye for male students.

Equally impressive is a gaggle of less well known British actors: stalwart Griffith Jones, as Taylor's main college rival; Robert Coote, as a cheery student forever looking for new ways to get sent down; Walter Kingsford, as a benevolent dean; ancient C. V. France as a delightfully forgetful academician; and cuddly Edward Rigby as Taylor's elderly attendant.

Claude Gillingwater appears as Barrymore's caustic banker. Movie mavens will recognize Ethel Griffies as an Oxford proctor.

" It's well to make a good impression, even if it begins bad "

[thinker1691 · 6/10 · 28 April 2010]

In the glory days of Hollywood, young stars in amid the studio system were given several chances to display their talent. Here is one for the budding young star later known as Robert Taylor. In this movie of which there are several versions is entitled " A Yank at Oxford " it is Taylor who plays Lee Sheridan, an U.S. athlete who wins a athletic scholarship to prestigious Oxford University in England. Lionel Barrymore plays Dan Sheridan his proud father, while beautiful Maureen O'Sullivan is Molly Beaumont his college sweetheart. Vivien Leigh, Edmund Gwenn, Griffith Jones as Paul Beaumont all gather to recreate life at the Oxford during the depression. Wedged between light humor and serious attention, the movie sails easily along and Taylor is able to deliver one of his many renditions of an up and coming actor. A good B/W film and notable offering. **

Unfortunate American Slop

[Edisone · 4/10 · 6 November 2008]

Taylor was entirely too old (27) and WAY too "meaty" to play a star athlete in this film. His fat legs show to disadvantage, and the scenes of him outpacing the track team are absurd. Thers is no possibility of someone of his weight beating the skinny competition shown in this film.

If the character had shown some spark of humility & a desire to learn better, this would have been a much more enjoyable story. Think of Harold Lloyd in "The Freshman", where his character wants to succeed by his own efforts, and learns early-on that he can't fake it. Heart warming was that, while this is just a demonstration of a notion of Yankee Superiority and how 'We Americans' can overcome the 'Snooty Englishers'. Spare us.

Taylor's character ultimately fails to win our hearts with sincerity; his "nerve" is all he has, and while that's enough to turn the story to his favor, it really isn't sufficient to make us believe he's a good egg after all.

Of course, all of this is tainted by Hollywood's habit of using 25-30-35 year olds in the roles of college students (and even 40 year olds, in the case of The Nutty Professor of Jerry Lewis - several of his supposed Football Heroes were OLDER than he was, at the time of filming)

Robert Taylor takes on the Brits

[judithh-1 · 10/10 · 18 July 2012]

"A Yank at Oxford" is one of several films intended to "toughen up" Robert Taylor's image after his success in a number of boudoir romances. Taylor plays Lee Sheridan, a college boy who has been spoiled rotten by his newspaper owner father, played by Lionel Barrymore. Father Sheridan's habit of holding the presses for Lee's latest athletic triumph has only contributed to the boy's swollen head.

Despite his lack of academic focus, Taylor is offered a place at Oxford. Upon his arrival, he immediately encounters a group of his fellow students, who begin a campaign to humiliate him. He also meets the leading lady, Maureen O'Sullivan.

The rest of the delightful and humorous picture focuses on the relationships among three people: Taylor and O'Sullivan, boyfriend and girlfriend; Taylor and Griffith Jones, his leading tormentor; O'Sullivan and Jones, brother and sister. A nymphomaniac Vivien Leigh adds spice to the mix.

"A Yank at Oxford" allows Robert Taylor to show that he is not only a fine actor but also a fine athlete. Granted that the script specified that he would always win, Taylor is believable as a runner and as a rower. He can also swim.

O'Sullivan is a charming coed torn between her boyfriend and her loyalty to her brother. Jones and Taylor cover up for one other for different peccadilloes. They evolve from antagonists to teammates to friends. A remarkable scene that deserves special mention concerns the venerable English tradition of "debagging."

The cast is uniformly good. Taylor looks and acts younger than his twenty-seven years. Jones is one of a fine contingent of British actors including Edmund Gwenn, Robert Coote and Edward Rigby. Lionel Barrymore shines as the older Sheridan. A pre-Scarlett Vivien Leigh is lovely and engaging.

"A Yank at Oxford" was MGM's first British-made film. Jack Conway, the American director keeps things moving at a brisk pace. Harold Rosson's photography has a newsreel-like immediacy. And Oxford, of course, looks wonderful.

Robert Taylor at his youthful best

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 7/10 · 27 August 2015]

I think I'm going to scream if one more film is classed by some of our reviewers as a comedy. Is there humor here? Yes, but it is not a comedy. In fact, it's rather a drama.

I had always avoided watching this film, although I'm not sure exactly why, although I'm not a tremendous fan of Robert Taylor. I don't dislike him; he's just not one of my favorites. But, he's excellent here. And, the film required the lead character to be athletic...and Taylor certainly is that here; quite impressive, really.

Lionel Barrymore is supposedly the second lead, although his role here -- while important -- is not big. But, he's as good as always as Taylor's father.

Maureen O'Sullivan is here as the female lead, although again, her screen time is not extensive.

The bigger surprise here is Vivien Leigh -- in her film just before making "Gone With The Wind". However, here she just a tad bit plump in the face (at first I didn't recognize her), and I wasn't impressed with her acting at all.

Edmund Gwenn is here in a somewhat small role as the university dean.

The plot here is simple. An American goes to Oxford University, specializing in sports performances, particularly in regard to running. While a good natured fellow, he is also so brash as to be a bit of the ugly American. But, despite some ongoing clash of cultures, he wins the Brits over and doesn't disappoint his father, either.

It's a good natured and entertaining film, if decidedly old-fashioned (but here, that's a good thing.

Distinctly anti-American comedy is easy to resist...

[Doylenf · 5/10 · 17 May 2005]

ROBERT TAYLOR is refreshingly natural in the role of a brash American Yank who immediately succeeds in alienating his fellow Oxford classmates to the extent that they play practical jokes on him. The entire tone of the film seems to want to portray Americans as distinctly out of their element among the British elite. There's a distinctly mean-spirited flavor to some of the proceedings.

MAUREEN O'SULLIVAN is pleasant as Taylor's chief love interest, but it's hard to detect any of the qualities VIVIEN LEIGH would later show as Scarlett O'Hara in her role as a flirtatious bookstore worker. Her pencil thin eyebrows and unflattering hairdo don't suggest any of the attractive make-up that transformed her into a Southern belle just a year later. She looks almost dowdy here before Hollywood gave her the glamor treatment.

Taylor and Leigh would exhibit much better chemistry in 1940's WATERLOO BRIDGE. Here she is somewhat irritating in a small role.

Sports-minded individuals will get more of a kick out of this than the casual movie-goer looking for a good romantic comedy.

a yank at oxford

[mossgrymk · 6/10 · 5 October 2021]

Let me understand this: MGM agrees to film a movie about Oxford ON LOCATION, in England except for the scenes set...are you ready?...in Oxford! Gee, that makes a lotta sense. Might as well have recreated the ruddy college on a back lot in Culver City and saved a bundle on transportation and hotels. So much for the myth of Louis B. Mayer, astute businessman. As for the other Mayer myth, that of the producer of great films, it too suffers a blow at the hands of this amiable but rambling tale of two cultures in conflict. Biggest problem, for me at least, is the unfocused, hit or miss quality of the story or, to put it another way, the fact that the movie takes about half its length before finally discovering its central conflict, the rivalry and uneasy alliance between the arrogant, breezy Yank (well played, for a change, by Rat Fink Bob) and the equally arrogant but stiff Brit (also well portrayed by an actor I'd not heard of named Griffith Jones). You'd think, with over ten screenwriters working on this project at one time or another, including Spig Wead and F SCOTT FITZGERALD, for cryin out loud, they would have mended this rather glaring story hole and highlighted these two characters in conflict from their very first scene together on the train instead of muddying it up with extraneous folks like Bob Coote's snobbish student. And speaking of thespian fifth wheels, do we really need L. Barrymore's corny old midwestern dad in a film set in the UK? (although asking MGM to resist this hambone is like asking Houston to resist pollution). So, what we are given is a grab bag of scenes, with no unifying element to tie the assemblage together, some of which are good, like the one where Taylor's manservant charmingly keeps him from bailing on Cardinal College, and some of which are, frankly, dull as British food circa 1938, like the needless and not very interesting character played by Margaret O'Sullivan. Clearly, Vivian Leigh, the better actress (sorry Hot Toasty), should have been another bone of contention between Jones and Taylor while O'Sullivan's perennial nice girl should have been at best a lovely red herring. Give it a C plus.

The Ugly American Learns About Proper Form

[atlasmb · 7/10 · 3 January 2016]

Robert Taylor plays the main character, Lee Sheridan, in this tale of an American who attends Oxford University. Lee is a talented athlete and he lacks no confidence, thanks, in part, to his father (Lionel Barrymore), who owns the town newspaper and trumpets Lee's exploits on the gridiron and the cinder track.

When Lee travels to Oxford, he makes an impression before he even arrives at the school, thanks to his colossal arrogance. The Brits like their heroes humble and they let him know it. But eventually he settles in and comes to cherish the school and its traditions. It doesn't hurt that he meets the beautiful Molly Beaumont (Maureen O'Sullivan). The wonderful cast also includes Vivien Leigh and Edmund Gwenn.

This fish out of water story is charming, if conventional. Taylor is fairly convincing as an athlete. With a broad, All-American smile, he has a presence that might remind one of Hubble (Robert Redforfd) in "The Way We Were", but without his self-deprecation.

Decent culture clash comedy

[rdoyle29 · 7/10 · 29 October 2017]

Small town American star athlete Robert Taylor gets the opportunity to attend Oxford and discovers that his brash American ways do not go over too well with the British. He romances fellow student Maureen O'Sullivan while earning the hostility of her brother until he makes things right with a personal sacrifice. A decent dramatic comedy about cultures clashing whose incredible cast also features Lionel Barrymore, Vivien Leigh and Edmund Gwenn. Remade as "Oxford Blues" in the 80's.

Not filmed in Oxford

[robertcrewdson · 10/10 · 26 January 2017]

A previous reviewer made an error when he said the movie was filmed in Oxford. MGM were refused permission by Oxford University to film on any of its premises. The studio got someone to walk around Oxford, taking hundreds of photographs of the city and its architecture, and recreated Oxford at Denham Studios in Buckinghamshire. Even for someone who has lived in Oxford for more than 60 years it's hard to believe that parts weren't filmed here. The only giveaway is one of the shop fronts in Market Street, which is different. The shops have stayed roughly the same, just changed hands. We see Market Street when Lee Sheridan (Taylor) leaves the college on his bike, and collides with Edmund Gwenn. The bookshop with the high shelves, where Taylor meets Maureen O'Sullivan actually existed in Broad Street, just around the corner from Market Street. The racetrack is a copy of the same at Iffley Road, where in 1954 Roger Bannister broke the 4 minute mile. The River scene must have been filmed here, as the University barges were a common site for more than a century. On its release there were one or two complaints about accuracy from Old Boys, but on the whole it was very well received, and many distinguished persons attended the premiere in London, including masters of the various colleges.

The Ugly American Alive and Well in 1938

[tr-83495 · 4/10 · 6 June 2019]

So full of himself and so prideful, American Robert Taylor embarrasses everyone in the United States by his actions. This is the plot written that had to be acted. The plot was poor, apparently aimed at only American audiences. But most Americans would cringe at the thought of someone so immature and brash representing them in another country. The premise is weak and the action which follows is downright silly.

MGM British Studios' First Released Film

[springfieldrental · 8/10 · 18 December 2023]

Hollywood's MGM, wanting to capitalize on the United Kingdom law that required its theaters to show at least 20 percent of its films be made in the commonwealth, created an English subsidiary company called MGM-British Studios. Its first movie released under the new branch was February 1938's "A Yank in Oxford." MGM longed to establish a presence in England ever since the 'Cinematograph Films Act of 1927' was passed by the Parliament, which was designed to project the UK movie industry from being overrun by Hollywood films. One product of the law produced a large number of cheaply made English B-movies, called 'Quota Quickies.' MGM felt it could improve upon the quality of the British pictures, using a mix of the county's talented actors with a few Hollywood stars. MGM production head Louis B. Mayer wanted to give one of his newfound actors, Robert Taylor, a more masculine edge to counter his 'pretty boy' image males viewers found a bit feminine. "A Yank at Oxford's" screenplay, with a contribution from writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, focused on college athlete Lee Sheridan (Taylor), a track and field specialist. His athleticism attracts the attention of one of the colleges making up 'the University of Oxford' network of schools, the fictitious Cardinal College. He meets student Molly Beaumont (Maureen O'Sullivan) as well as a philandering wife of a book store owner, Elsa Craddock (Vivien Leigh).

Taylor's macho image was forever imprinted because of "A Yank in Oxford," an objective Mayer had intended. Said Taylor biographer Lawrence Quirk, "He rows, he races, he wears brief track suits which demonstrate to everyone's final satisfaction that he has a good mat of hair on his chest, and he even gets into fist fights during the course of the film." It helped Taylor excelled in track when he attended Doane College years earlier. Before the camera the actor ran the foot races and the rowed in the skulls without needing any body double. Taylor later played in a number of World War Two combat films as well as in rough-and-tumble Westerns.

English producer Michael Balcon, responsible for elevating Alfred Hitchcock into his director chair, was head of the new MGM-British Studios. He was directing "A Yank in Oxford" when Louis Mayer, attentive towards his new overseas studio's first film, visited the set several times early in the production. Balcon and Meyers soon clashed over his methods, and shortly was replaced by MGM stalwart Jack Conway.

Balcom remained as producer for MGM-British Studios until heading to Ealing Studios. He saw the potential star power in English actress Vivien Leigh, and recommended to Mayer her for the role of the promiscuous Elsa. Leigh had a great acting experience with Robert Taylor in making "A Yank at Oxford," who related that fact to producer David O. Selznick. This was the movie, along with a series of positive screen tests, that convinced Selznick Leigh would be perfect for his Civil War epic. Film reviewer Laura Grieve noticed, "There are glimpses of Scarlett O'Hara in Leigh's bookstore vixen, yet her performance does not hint at the power and depth she would bring to her role in 'Gone With The Wind' the following year."

While making "A Yank at Oxford," Leigh sustained an infection on her foot and took some time off to treat the injury. One of her toes became so inflamed a hole was punched out of her shoe to relieve the pressure. The actress went through several personal pairs of her own during filming, and later claimed MGM refused to pay for them. MGM refuted her contention, saying it did. Leigh's manager, producer Alexander Korda, warned her to back off or he wouldn't not renew her contract. She did.

MGM's tactical plan to invest in England paid off. "A Yank in Oxford" was a success in both the United States and the UK. MGM made a Mickey Rooney sequel in 1942's "A Yank at Eaton" while Rob Lowe had his first lead role in another remake, 1984's "Oxford Blues." MGM-British Studios produced a couple of classics, 1938's "The Citadel" and 1939's "Goodbye, Mr. Chips," before suspending its filming during World War Two. The studio resumed operations after the war until closing for good in 1970, partly because of Stanley Kubrick's richly ambitious 1968 film, "2001: A Space Odyssey.

Good Foundation, bad construction

[sb-47-608737 · 4/10 · 27 November 2019]

The basic premise of the movie was good. A Narcissist Ego in human form (thanks to his worshiping father) gets a scholarship to Oxford. There he has to learn that not only humans, even if they are exceptionally gifted, but in the end, it is the team and the team spirit which matter.

An excellent and laudable concept but how that change came into the ego-personified into human was poorly made.

Till he was ridiculed and punished by his fello students for his attitude was alright. But his conversion from public-enemy #1 to Public-Hero #1, and reversal of the erstewhile Public Hero, Beaumont is ridiculous.

For what? Lee had punched a guard during raid. Beaumont was declared the culprit. He said he didn't but didn't name who did, and even accepted punishment for assault and lie - which he could have escaped by speaking out the truth. But he didn't. The truth would have in fact certainly expelled Lee, then and there. Who was the hero of this episode ? Why ? Even when the students knew that Beaumont has accepted the punished, and not crawled (escaping rustication only because his records, academic as well as non-academic). Certainly not something for which you can be socially boycotted.

The liaison with Mrs Craddock, continuation of which in the Probation period would was a sure way to get rusticated, was continued for some time with impunity (they were in Boat together) ! He knew of it, having refusing to fight Lee, even when extremely provoked an taunted for refusal.

The visit of Elsa in boys hostel at night ? The grounds were not strong enough to justify, unless it was to clear the way further, for him getting expelled. And even funnier - with an known flirt and unfaithful wife, who even goes with boys on week-ends to do purchases, but doesn't - would the husband relocate the shop to neighborhood of an "Officer's Club" ? Who would buy books there ? An intelligent script would have been to say resort - where the book-curio shop could be there as well as Elsa's needs would be met.

It is ironic to think that what Taylor's character learnt in the movie, he didn't in the real life, being one of the major squealers, in McCarthy Circus.

Balcons only film for MGM

[malcolmgsw · 5/10 · 11 January 2019]

Gaumont British Picturesign closed down in 1938 and in the same year Michael Balcon joined MGM when they decided to make high budget films in the UK,this film costing $1.3 million,which was probably due to the revised quota requirements under the 1938 Cinematograph Act.Little surprise that Balcon left after a rown with Meyer,or that this film made a big profit.Robert Taylor puts in a crime worthy performance.