The Way to the Stars

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 Stanley Holloway. In the United States it was distributed by United Artists under the title Johnny in the Clouds and was shortened by 22 minutes.[2]

The screenplay was co-written by Richard Sherman[3] and noted dramatist, Terence Rattigan, as 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.[4]

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 alternate American title, Johnny in the Clouds, is derived from the poem recited in the film as tribute to a dead aviator.