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The Way to the Stars (1945)

A review by Damian Cannon.
Copyright © Movie Reviews UK 1997
In recent times any dramas concerning the Second World War have tended to tread an ambiguous path, veering strongly away from a purely patriotic standpoint (perhaps as a consequence of the Vietnam War). How nice it is then to find a film which doesn't aim to prod the dark underbelly of "war" and see what happens. Instead, The Way to the Stars is clearly a product of the immediate post-war years; romantic, unsentimental and fiercely loyal to the memory of the fallen. The action centres around a typical British airfield, from which bombers fly to northern France, with young pilots arriving constantly. One of these is Peter Penrose (John Mills), straight out of training with 15 hours experience of flying Lancasters. His vastly more experienced roommate, David Archdale (Michael Redgrave), takes him under his wing.

The routine of the base is shown wonderfully clearly, as aircrews fly raids, with several eccentric characters popping up -- such as Squadron Leader Carter (Trevor Howard). For R&R the flyers descend on the local village pub, where David is courting with the owner Miss Toddy Todd (Rosamund John). A feeling of intenseness and of living each day as if it were your last pervades the entire airfield, an atmosphere which places great pressure on the pilots yet helps them to achieve great heights (no pun). Soon David has married Toddy, an act which brings great happiness to both of them - despite being cut off by an air-raid during the reception. With equal speed, Peter becomes closer to a local resident -- Iris Winterton (Renée Asherson). Unfortunately, David joins the list of flyers killed in action shortly after these joyous scenes.

The movie then jumps forward to 1942, a period when the USAAF joined the battle for Europe. The "invasion" of Americans injects a whole new lease of life into the airfield, as well as some great moments which play on the cultural differences. A US pilot, Johnny Hollis (Douglass Montgomery), proves to be a fine fellow and finds a soul-mate in Toddy (although, of course, nothing improper goes on). Displaying a true stiff upper-lip she is still running her pub/hotel and doing what she can for the brave young airmen. Peter is now in a desk job, partially the result of the stress of flying and the death of David (although he keeps the depth of his feelings about this very private). The war continues though, the Americans lose airmen and Peter manages to return to the air.

The power of this film is that planes are routinely shot down (even with major characters in them!) and that this is treated as normal. Fellow flyers regard the loss of their friends as "a jolly bad show" while their girlfriends/wives hide their grief for the good of morale. To modern tastes, all of this repressed emotion seems a little artificial but, when viewed objectively, this must be an accurate picture; otherwise how could you fight effectively if every death was like a hammer blow to your soul? With this thought in mind the ensemble acting is first-rate, even if some of the individual persona are moderately stereotypical. By adding top-notch footage of the aircraft (no stealing shots from other films here), and peoples reactions to the planes passing overhead, the war-time feel is complete. Several moments in The Way to the Stars are truly moving, unsentimental and patriotic -- a welcome antidote to the endless raking over of whether war is good/bad.

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