A Yank at Oxford

1938 "The roving romances of a two-fisted American!"
6.6| 1h42m| en
Details

A brash young American aristocrat attending Oxford University gets a chance to prove himself and win the heart of his antagonist's sister.

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StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.
Flyerplesys Perfectly adorable
Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.
atlasmb 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.
calvinnme 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.
thinker1691 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. **
MartinHafer 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.