Johnny in the Clouds (1945)
"The Way to the Stars" (original title)

Life on a British bomber base, and the surrounding towns, from the opening days of the Battle of Britain, to the arrival of the Americans, who join in the bomber offensive. The film centres... See full summary »

Director:

Anthony Asquith

Writers:

Terence Rattigan (story), Anatole de Grunwald (story),

Stars:

Michael Redgrave, John Mills, Rosamund John

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Redgrave	...	David Archdale
John Mills	...	Peter Penrose
Rosamund John	...	Miss 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	...	Sq / Leader Carter
Nicholas Stuart	...	Col. Rogers (as Tryon Nichol)
Bill Owen	...	'Nobby' Clarke (as Bill Rowbotham)
Grant Miller	...	Wally Becker
Jean Simmons	...	A Singer

Storyline

Life on a British bomber base, and the surrounding towns, from the opening days of the Battle of Britain, to the arrival of the Americans, who join in the bomber offensive. The film centres around Pilot Officer Peter Penrose, fresh out of a training unit, who joins the squadron, and quickly discovers about life during war time. He falls for Iris, a young girl who lives at the local hotel, but he becomes disillusioned about marriage, when the squadron commander dies in a raid, and leaves his wife, the hotel manageress, with a young son to bring up. As the war progresses, Penross comes to terms that he has survived, while others have been killed.

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Plot Keywords:

hotel | squadron | pilot | hotel manageress | bomber | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 June 1945 (UK)

Also Known As:

Johnny in the Clouds

Filming Locations:

Gainsborough Studios, Islington, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Two Cities Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

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."

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Goofs

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" .

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Quotes

Aircraftsman: Mark my words, no good will come of it.

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Connections

Featured in War Stories (2006)

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Soundtracks

"I've Got Sixpence"
(uncredited)
Traditional

User Reviews

Film locations

What an excellent film, with a cast that lifts it above other films made during WW2. Was there a British war film made that did not have John Mills starring in it? Many of the actors here went on to become familiar faces in film and British TV. The story-line and the absence of background music do make this film both nostalgic and entertaining.

It may interest some that the 'Golden Lion' in the film does exist, it is a hotel in Northallerton, North Yorkshire. The street scenes were shot in nearby Bedale. I'm not sure which airfield was used, but it may have been one of the many bomber bases situated in this area, such as Leeming or Dishforth.