The Way to the Stars (1945)

Directed by

Anthony Asquith

Genre

drama film, war film

Country

United Kingdom

Runtime

1h 27m

Rated

NR

Rating

6.0 of 10 from 32 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This film tells the story of people stationed at an RAF bomber base during World War Two. It focuses on the relationships between the British airmen and the American pilots who join them, and the civilians running the nearby hotel. The story shows both the friendships and the losses of war.

poignantbittersweetreflectivegentlewarmmelancholicrestrainedtender

What happens

The Way to the Stars is a 1945 Anglo-American black-and-white Second World War drama film made by Two Cities Films. The film was produced by Anatole de Grunwald, directed by Anthony Asquith, and stars Michael Redgrave, John Mills, Rosamund John, and Douglass Montgomery. In the United States it was shortened by 22 minutes, and the shortened version was distributed by United Artists under the title Johnny in the Clouds. The screenplay for The Way to the Stars was written by noted dramatist Terence Rattigan, based on a scenario co-written by Rattigan with USAAF Captain Richard Sherman. The film is a significant reworking of Rattigan's 1942 play Flare Path. Rattigan, then a Royal Air Force Flight Lieutenant, was posted in 1943 to the RAF Film Production Unit to work on The Way to the Stars and Journey Together. The title The Way to the Stars is often assumed to have been taken from the Latin motto of the RAF, Per ardua ad astra. However, the literal translation of the RAF motto is "Through adversity to the stars". The title of the shortened American version, Johnny in the Clouds, is derived from the poem recited in the film as a tribute to a dead aviator. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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