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.
Review of A Yank at Oxford
