A Foreign Field

Infobox_Film
name=A Foreign Field


director=Charles Sturridge
writer=Roy Clarke
starring=Alec Guinness
Leo McKern
Edward Herrmann
John Randolph
Geraldine Chaplin
Lauren Bacall
Jeanne Moreau
producer=Martyn Auty
Richard Broke
Steve Lanning
distributor=BBC
released=10 September 1993
runtime=95 min
language=English
budget=
imdb_id=0106948

"A Foreign Field" (1993) is a motion picture about British and American World War II veterans returning to the beaches of Normandy as old men. It is more a drama than a comedy, although it combines aspects of both. It was directed by Charles Sturridge and featured an ensemble cast of American, Australian, British, and French actors and actresses.

The film was made to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the D-Day landings and was driven into production by Alec Guinness who used his influence with the BBC to make it and with the various famous actors to appear in it.

It was only shown once on BBC1 at the time, but repeated a number of times some thirteen years later (2007) on the digital channel UKTV History.

Plot

Cyril (McKern) and Waldo (Randolph), who are British and American, respectively, have both returned to France in search of the same woman (Moreau) with whom they each had a rendezvous in 1944 (unknown to the other). Cyril is accompanied by fellow veteran Amos (Guinness), while Waldo has his petty daughter (Chaplin) and her henpecked husband (Herrmann) in tow. The two groups encounter one another, and after some conflict find common ground in old sorrows. Along the way they meet the recently widowed Lisa (Bacall), who has come in search of her brother's grave.

Production

The film was shot entirely around the department of Calvados, in France.

Cast

*Alec Guinness as Amos
*Leo McKern as Cyril
*Edward Herrmann as Ralph
*John Randolph as Waldo
*Geraldine Chaplin as Beverly
*Lauren Bacall as Lisa
*Jeanne Moreau as Angelique

References