The Way to the Stars - with Tom Jones
War Movie Theatre | for Fans of Classic War Films and Cinema HistoryShow Notes
The 1945 film that exemplified stiff upper lips like nothing else, The Way To The Stars was written by Terrence Rattigan, based on his own experiences of the air war, and tells the story of the ground lives of a bomber station. Starring John Mills and Michael Redgrave but most of all Rosamund John, it's a tale that would have resonated with audiences at home who had lost friends and lovers to the war. It was recut and released as Johnny In The Clouds in the US.
Most of all though, as far as Rob and Tom are concerned, it's a film that was shot in Bedale, jewel of North Yorkshire's market towns.
Next week: The Four Feathers (1939) Drop us a line! Send comments and suggestions to [email protected].
Would you like to know more? See the list of films we'd like to do? Buy merch? Visit our website: https://warmovietheatre.com
Visit us at facebook.com/WarMovieTheatre or on Bluesky and Twitter or at our website. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from War Movie Theatre | for Fans of Classic War Films and Cinema History
Definitely Not Vietnam Month rolls on with The Wild Bunch, a 1969 film so violent it had viewers throwing up in the foyer. Director Sam Peckinpah was clear that he wanted to bring the violence of war, especially the war in South East Asia, into cinemas, and if he had to fire live ammunition at his crew to do that, then he would. The film pioneered a wealth of new techniques, with fast cuts and slow motion evoking the chaos of combat. Is it a war film? Did it chance the course of a different 1969 Western? And will Duncan ever tell his friends about his podcast?
Definitely Not Vietnam Month rolls on with a film about a US force with superior equipment and training going into a swamp, upsetting the locals, and being killed them. Yep, definitely not about Vietnam. Is this the first time that Nastiest Nazi has been won by a piece of geography? And who exactly are the baddies here?
Definitely Not Vietnam Month takes us to a galaxy far, far away as we discuss a 1977 film about a small resistance movement taking on and beating a powerful empire.
Definitely Not Vietnam Month opens with one of the greatest films ever to be made that definitely wasn't about the Vietnam War. Robert Altman's 1970 debut M*A*S*H was the tale of the 4077th Army hospital in the Korean - repeat Korean - War. It defied cinematic conventions, with no story arcs, overlapping dialogue, and a cynical attitude to life right from the opening song. The studio didn't expect much, but it was a critical and commercial hit, spawning a long-running sitcom and putting rocket boosters under the careers of not just Altman but also stars Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould.
Near the top of any list of war films, Full Metal Jacket was Stanley Kubrick's bleak take on Vietnam. It gave us cinema's greatest drill sergeant, a script full of unforgettable lines, and an Asian country as it could only look if it had been filmed in an East London gasworks.