The Way to the Stars (1945)

Director:

Anthony Asquith

Writers:

John Pudney (poems)
Terence Rattigan (scenario)
(more)

Release Date:

16 June 1945 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

Life on a British bomber base, and the surrounding towns, from the opening days of the Battle of Britain...

Plot Keywords:

Bomber | RAF | Usaaf | WWII | Boeing B 17

Cast

Michael Redgrave	...	Flight Lt. David Archdale
John Mills	...	Pilot Officer Peter Penrose
Rosamund John	...	Miss 'Toddy' Todd
Douglass Montgomery	...	Johnny Hollis
Renée Asherson	...	Iris Winterton (as Renee Asherson)
Stanley Holloway	...	Mr. Palmer
Basil Radford	...	Tiny Williams
Felix Aylmer	...	Rev. Charles Moss
Bonar Colleano	...	Joe Friselli (as Bonar Colleano Jnr)
Joyce Carey	...	Miss Winterton
Trevor Howard	...	Squadron Leader Carter
Nicholas Stuart	...	Col. Rogers (as Tryon Nichol)
Bill Owen	...	Sgt. 'Nobby' Clarke (as Bill Rowbotham)
Grant Miller	...	Wally Becker
Jean Simmons	...	A Singer
Johnnie Schofield	...	Jones - Penrose's Batman
Charles Victor	...	Corporal Fitter
David Tomlinson	...	'Prune' Parsons
Hartley Power	...	Col. Page
Vida Hope	...	Elsie
Hugh Dempster	...	'Tinker' Bell
Charles Farrell	...	American Orderly
Anthony Dawson	...	Bertie Steen
Bill Logan	...	Radio Operator
John Howard	...	Shelter Officer
Murray Matheson	...	Joe Lawson
John McLaren	...	'Cheerio' Chester
Jacqueline Clarke	...	A Waitress
Alf Goddard	...	P.T. Instructor
Caven Watson	...	R.A.F. Corporal (as Cavan Watson)
Sydney Benson	...	Fred
Peter Cotes	...	Aircraftsman
Ian Warner McGilvray	...	Little Peter
Ann Wilton	...	Schoolmistress
Anna Davis	...	Girl at Dance
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
O.B. Clarence	...	Undetermined Role (scenes deleted)
Anthony Buckley	...	Boy at Johnny's party (uncredited)
Harvey Golden	...	Bomber crew member (uncredited)
George Lorenze	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Alan Sedgwick	...	Radio Operator (uncredited)

Directed by
Anthony Asquith

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Anatole de Grunwald		story
John Pudney		poems
Terence Rattigan		scenario (as F/Lt Terence Rattigan)
Terence Rattigan		screenplay
Terence Rattigan		story
Richard Sherman		scenario (as Capt. Richard Sherman)

Produced by
Anatole de Grunwald	....	producer
Gordon Parry	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Nicholas Brodszky		(as Nicholas Brodzsky)
Charles Williams		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Derick Williams		(director of photography) (as Derrick Williams)

Film Editing by
Fergus McDonell

Casting by
Irene Howard		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Carmen Dillon
Paul Sheriff		(supervising art director)

Production Management
Frank Bevis	....	production manager
Filippo Del Giudice	....	in charge of production

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
George Pollock	....	assistant director
Charles Saunders	....	second unit director
John Alexander	....	second assistant director: second unit (uncredited)
Peter Barr	....	third assistant director (uncredited)
Mark Evans	....	first assistant director: second unit (uncredited)
Tony Hearne	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
William Bowden	....	draughtsman (uncredited)
E. Lindegaard	....	scenic artist (uncredited)
Ted Marshall	....	draughtsman (uncredited)
Betty Pierce	....	draughtsman (uncredited)
John William Smith	....	scenic artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Harry Miller	....	sound editor
Sydney Wiles	....	sound recordist
Desmond Dew	....	sound recordist (uncredited)
Bill Lewthwaite	....	sound assistant (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Guy Green	....	camera operator: second unit
Jack Hildyard	....	camera operator: second unit
William McLeod	....	camera operator (as W. McLeod)
Peter Allwork	....	focus puller (uncredited)
Alan Cullimore	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Peter Davies	....	sound camera operator: music and dubbing (uncredited)
Norman Foley	....	camera operator: second unit (uncredited)
Philip Pendry	....	clapper loader (uncredited)
Charles Trigg	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Peter Tredwell	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Charles Williams	....	conductor

Other crew
Joan Frecheville	....	assistant to producer
Captain Keith Garrison	....	technical advisor (as Captain Keith Garrison, U.S.A.A.F.)
Squadron Leader Gilbert Thomas	....	technical advisor (as Squadron Leader Gilbert Thomas, R.A.F.)
Joan Barry	....	continuity (uncredited)
Jo Bevan	....	continuity (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Two Cities Films (as A Two Cities Film)

Distributors

• United Artists Corporation (1945) (UK) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1945) (USA) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• Royal Air Force (RAF)  our thanks are due to - with whom the idea of this film originated - for their full and enthusiastic co-operation (as The R.A.F.)
• U.S.A.A.F.  our thanks are due to - with whom the idea of this film originated - for their full and enthusiastic co-operation

Also Known As:

Johnny in the Clouds (USA)

Runtime:

USA:87 min | UK:109 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

UK:U | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Bedale, North Yorkshire, England, UK

Company:

Two Cities Films

Trivia:

The poem "For Johnny" read by John Mills is as follows: "Do not despair, For Johnny-head-in-air; He sleeps as sound, As Johnny underground. Fetch out no shroud, For Johnny-in-the-cloud; And keep your tears, For him in after years. Better by far, For Johnny-the-bright-star, To keep your head, And see his children fed."

Goofs:

Anachronisms: As the American pilot alights to join the first US bombers leaving to bomb the Nazis on "Aug. 17" (1942) his Mae West is visibly stenciled: "Insp 5/3/44" .

Quotes:

'Tinker' Bell: [after ordering tea] They don't warm the pots, you know. I've watched them making it.
Tiny Williams: Well, it's liquid and it's warm. I was afraid they were going to abolish it altogether.
'Tinker' Bell: Oh, but they would have done, they were going to, if I myself hadn't protested to the colonel.
Tiny Williams: Nobly done, Tinkerbell.

Movie Connections:

Featured in War Stories (2006) (TV)

A brilliant moving, subtle picture of war

The reason why I choose this film as probably one of the greatest of its time, is that it focus' on the main characters to such a terrific extent, that you actually begin to appreciate their dramatic appearances. Other British War films of the forties, such as 'Went the Day Well?' and 'Fires Were Started' were effective in raising the public awareness of war in a unique way, but somewhat lacked in creating characters that you actually cared about. This is where 'Way to the Stars' achieves on so many levels - creating characters rather than themes, which show the true nature of war. The characters also represent some of the characteristics that made war so terrible. It's hard to go into much detail without spoiling the film - so I'll keep my my closing comment short.

This film is a true gem of British film-making. It's a shame that it isn't up there with other war romances such as 'Casablanca' or 'Gone With The Wind'. I think it deserves it.