The Way to the Stars

The Way to the Stars
British DVD cover
Directed by	Anthony Asquith Charles Saunders (as director of Second Unit)
Written by	Terence Rattigan Anatole de Grunwald Richard Sherman John Pudney (poems)
Produced by	Anatole de Grunwald
Starring	Michael Redgrave John Mills Rosamund John Douglass Montgomery
Cinematography	Derrick Williams
Edited by	Fergus McDonell
Music by	Nicholas Brodszky Charles Williams
Production company	Two Cities Films
Distributed by	Rank Organisation (UK) United Artists (U.S.)
Release dates	8 June 1945 (1945-06-08) (Premiere, London) 16 June 1945 (1945-06-16) (UK) 15 November 1945 (1945-11-15) (U.S.)
Running time	109 minutes (UK) 87 minutes (U.S.)
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Box office	$63,434 (U.S. rentals)[1]

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 Douglass Montgomery. In the United States it was shortened by 22 minutes,^[2] and the shortened version was distributed by United Artists under the title Johnny in the Clouds.

The screenplay for The Way to the Stars was written by noted dramatist Terence Rattigan, based on a scenario co-written by Rattigan with USAAF Captain Richard Sherman.^[3] The film is 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 title of the shortened American version, Johnny in the Clouds, is derived from the poem recited in the film as a tribute to a dead aviator.