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Reach for the Sky
original theatrical poster
Directed by	Lewis Gilbert
Written by	Paul Brickhill (book) Lewis Gilbert (screenplay) Vernon Harris (add'l scenes)
Produced by	Daniel M. Angel
Starring	Kenneth More Muriel Pavlow Lyndon Brook Lee Patterson Alexander Knox
Cinematography	Jack Asher
Edited by	John Shirley
Music by	John Addison
Distributed by	Rank
Release dates	10 July 1956 (1956-07-10) (UK) April 30, 1957 (US)
Running time	136 minutes
Country	Template:Film UK
Language	English

Reach for the Sky is a 1956 British biographical film about aviator Douglas Bader, based on the 1954 biography of the same name by Paul Brickhill. The film stars Kenneth More and was directed by Lewis Gilbert. It won the BAFTA Award for Best British Film of 1956.

Plot

In 1928, Douglas Bader joins the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a cadet. Despite a friendly reprimand from Air Vice Marshal Halahan for his disregard for service discipline and flight rules, he successfully completes his training and is posted to No. 23 Squadron at RAF Kenley. In 1930, he is chosen to be among the pilots for an aerial exhibition.

Later, though his commander has explicitly banned low level aerobatics (as two pilots have been killed trying just that), he is goaded into it by a disparaging remark by a civilian pilot. He crashes.

Mr. Joyce has to amputate both legs to save Bader's life. During his convalescence, he receives encouragement from Nurse Brace. Upon his discharge from the hospital, he sets out to master prosthetic legs. At a stop for some tea, he meets waitress Thelma Edwards. Once he can walk on his own, he starts courting her.

Despite his undiminished skills, he is refused flying duties simply because there are no regulations covering his situation. Offered a desk job instead, he leaves the RAF and works unhappily in an office. He and Thelma marry.

As the Second World War starts, Bader talks himself back into the RAF. He is given command of a squadron comprising mostly dispirited Canadians who had fought in France. Improving morale and brazenly circumventing normal channels to obtain badly needed equipment, he makes the squadron operational again. They fight effectively in the Battle of Britain. Bader is then put in charge of a new, larger formation of five squadrons. Later, he is posted to RAF Tangmere and promoted to wing commander.

In 1941, Bader has to bail out over France. He is caught, escapes, and is recaptured. He then makes such a nuisance of himself to his jailers, he is repeatedly moved from one POW camp to another, finally ending up in Colditz Castle. He is liberated after four years of captivity. The war ends (much to Thelma's relief) before Bader can have "one last fling" in the Far East.

On 15 September 1945, the fifth anniversary of the greatest day of the Battle of Britain, Bader is given the honour of leading eleven other battle survivors and a total of 300 aircraft in a flypast over London.

Cast

Aircraft

The following aircraft were used in the filming of Reach to the Sky.

Aircraft	Registration or serial	Role	Fate	Photo
Avro 504K	E3404	Flying	Preserved at Shuttleworth Collection, Old Warden, United Kingdom.
Avro Tutor	K3215	Static	Preserved at Shuttleworth Collection.
Bristol F.2b	D8096	Camera ship	Preserved at Shuttleworth Collection.
Bristol Bulldog	K2227	Static	Preserved at RAF Museum, Hendon, United Kingdom.
Hawker Hurricane I	P2617	Static	Scrapped in May 1956.
Hawker Hurricane IIC	LF363	Flying	Airworthy with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, RAF Coningsby, United Kingdom.
Hawker Hurricane IIC	unknown	Static	Believed scrapped.
Spartan Arrow	G-ABWP	Static	Airworthy, privately owned.
Supermarine Spitfire XVI	RW345	Static	Scrapped May 1956
Supermarine Spitfire XVI	RW352	Flying	Scrapped 1957
Supermarine Spitfire XVI	SL574	Flying	Preserved at the Air & Space Museum, San Diego, United States.
Supermarine Spitfire XVI	SL745	Static	Scrapped May 1956
Supermarine Spitfire XVI	TB293	Static	Scrapped May 1956
Supermarine Spitfire XVI	TB885	Static	Under restoration in United Kingdom to flying condition.
Supermarine Spitfire XVI	TE288	Static	Preserved at Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum, Wigram, New Zealand
Supermarine Spitfire XVI	TE341	Static	Scrapped at Pinewood Studios
Supermarine Spitfire XVI	TE358	Flying	Scrapped by Coley's Ltd, Feltham, United Kingdom in April 1957
Supermarine Spitfire XVI	TE456	Flying	Preserved at Auckland War Memorial Museum, Auckland, New Zealand

Production

In order to depict the various Royal Air Force bases realistically, principal filming took place in Surrey at RAF Kenley, and around the village of Bagshot. Studio work was completed at the Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK. Available wartime combat aircraft including Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire fighters were arranged to take on the aerial scenes.

According to Ben Mankiewicz on TCM, Richard Burton was the first choice for the lead. Mankiewicz also noted that More arranged to meet Bader to prepare for the role. They played a round of golf; much to More's surprise (as he was a good golfer), Bader beat him decisively.

Reception

The film fared well with the public, being the most popular film in the UK for 1956. When the film was released in North America in 1957, the American release version was slightly altered with 12 minutes edited out.

References

Notes

1. "Lewis Gilbert, Douglas Bader's film biographer." Aeroplane, Vol. 38, No. 9, September 2010, p. 28.
2. All dates are as of August 2010 unless indicated otherwise.
3. "Exploits of air ace Bader in war epic.." The Australian Women's Weekly (1933–1982) via National Library of Australia, 26 October 1955, p. 31. Retrieved: 6 May 2012.

Bibliography

• Bader, Douglas. Fight for the Sky: The Story of the Spitfire and Hurricane. Ipswich, Suffolk, UK: W.S. Cowell Ltd., 2004. ISBN 0-304-35674-3.
• Brickhill, Paul. Reach for the Sky: The Story of Douglas Bader DSO, DFC. London: Odhams Press Ltd., 1954. ISBN 1-55750-222-6.
• Dolan, Edward F. Jr. Hollywood Goes to War. London: Bison Books, 1985. ISBN 0-86124-229-7.
• Hardwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. "A Buff's Guide to Aviation Movies". Air Progress Aviation Vol. 7, No. 1, Spring 1983.

External links

• Reach for the Sky at IMDb
• Reach for the Sky at the TCM Movie Database

• 1956 films
• Battle of Britain films
• Biographical films
• British drama films
• British war films
• 1950s drama films
• English-language films
• Films about shot-down aviators
• Films based on non-fiction books
• Films directed by Lewis Gilbert
• Pinewood Studios films
• Royal Air Force media
• World War II films based on actual events
• World War II prisoner of war films
• Aviation films