''Jenny's War'' is a 1985

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

television serial set during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, made by HTV in association with

Columbia Pictures Television Columbia Pictures Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CPT) was launched on May 6, 1974, by Columbia Pictures as an American television production and distribution studio. It is the second name of the Columbia Pictures television division Screen Gem ...

. It is directed by and written by Steve Gethers. The

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

is based on the

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

with the same name of Jack Stoneley. In the UK it was shown as four 50-minute episodes on the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

network, while in the United States it was syndicated under the ''

Operation Prime Time Operation Prime Time (OPT) was a consortium of American independent television stations to develop prime time programming for independent stations. OPT and its spin-off syndication company, Television Program Enterprises (TPE), were formed by A ...

'' banner by

MCA TV NBCUniversal Syndication Studios (a.k.a. NUSS), formerly known as NBCUniversal Television Distribution (a.k.a. NUTD), Universal Domestic Television, Studios USA Television Distribution and MCA TV, is the television syndication division of NBCUnive ...

. "Jenny's War" is based on the true story of a British woman who lived, disguised as a man, for several months in a German

prisoner of war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...

near the Russian border and cared for her wounded son. She was hidden by fellow prisoners and later liberated by the Russian army. The serial stars

Dyan Cannon Dyan Cannon (born Samille Diane Friesen; January 4, 1937) is an American actress, director, screenwriter, producer, and editor. Her accolades include a Saturn Award, a Golden Globe Award, three Academy Award nominations, and a star on the Ho ...

Nigel Hawthorne Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne (5 April 1929 – 26 December 2001) was an English actor. He is most known for his stage acting and his portrayal of Sir Humphrey Appleby, the permanent secretary in the 1980s sitcom '' Yes Minister'' and the Cabi ...

Robert Hardy Timothy Sydney Robert Hardy (29 October 1925 – 3 August 2017) was an English actor who had a long career in theatre, film and television. He began his career as a classical actor and later earned widespread recognition for roles such as Sieg ...

Christopher Cazenove Christopher de Lerisson Cazenove (17 December 1943 – 7 April 2010) was an English film, television and stage actor. Early life and career He was born Christopher de Lerisson Cazenove, on 17 December 1943, the son of Arnold Cazenove, Brigadie ...

and

Hugh Grant Hugh John Mungo Grant (born 9 September 1960) is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as both a charming, and vulnerable romantic lead and has since transitioned into a dramatic character actor. Among his numerous a ...

, and is about a mother, Jenny Baines (Cannon), who searches for her son Peter (Grant), who was shot down over Germany, and who she believes is still alive. The concentration camp site scenes were shot in the grounds of Thoresby Hall in the Nottingham countryside during the National Union of Miners strike. In the film the prison camp was known as Stalag Luft 4B but in reality it was a group of disused billet huts in some woods at Thoresby Hall, which was then owned by the Coal Board and which has now been turned into a

day spa A day spa is a business that provides a variety of services for the purpose of improving health, beauty, and relaxation through personal care treatments such as massages and facials. The number of day spas in the US almost doubled in the tw ...

Bredon School Bredon School, formerly Pull Court, is a private school in Bushley, Worcestershire, England. The house was built for the Reverend Canon E. C. Dowdeswell by Edward Blore between 1831 and 1839. The site is much older and Blore's house replaced an ...

's Pull Court was used as a Nazi headquarters. A short mini-series made for TV, ''Jenny's War'' was first screened on ITV and subsequently released on VHS.

Plot

In 1941, Jenny Baines, an American living in England learns that her son, an

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

flier, has been shot down over Germany. Jenny goes into Germany, both as a courier for

British Intelligence The Government of the United Kingdom maintains intelligence agencies within three government departments, the Foreign Office, the Home Office and the Ministry of Defence. These agencies are responsible for collecting and analysing foreign and do ...

and also to search for her son. She enlists the help of Karl, her estranged husband who is also a Nazi officer, and he informs her that her son is dead. But Jenny is resourceful and discovers that her son Peter may be in a German

POW A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...

camp. However, her enquiries have attracted the attention of the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

and she must disguise herself as a man to avoid capture.

Gibraltar Chronicle The ''Gibraltar Chronicle'' is a national newspaper published in Gibraltar since 1801. It became a daily in 1821. It is Gibraltar's oldest established daily newspaper and the world's second oldest English language newspaper to have been in pri ...

newspaper (TV & Radio Guide); 31/05/1986; Page 5

References

External links

* 1985 British television series debuts 1985 British television series endings 1980s British drama television series ITV television dramas 1980s British television miniseries Operation Prime Time British war drama films Television series by ITV Studios Television shows produced by Harlech Television (HTV) Television series by Sony Pictures Television English-language television shows Television shows set in England {{war-drama-film-stub