Reach for the Sky is one of many flag waving war films to come out of the UK in the 50's and 60's which include 'The Cruel Sea' - 'The Colditz Story' - 'Sink the Bismark' - 'The Malta Story' and many others. All thankfully free of the obligatory American who could never have been there anyway (didn 't often stop them crowbarring one in somewhere to enable a sale to the USA). I am a big fan of these films, the British were much better at that time of making war films, we didn't need John Wayne or anyone like him.The war was still very foremost in the minds of the British public and these films were often sugar coated. That included the character of Douglas Bader who was known to be arrogant at the very least and difficult to be with, not the wonderful chappie portrayed in this biopic. Granted Bader was still alive when this was made so it was probably politic to show him as mister nice guy despite being difficult on set. Having said that I can't take away his courage if not for Bader and others like him we would be speaking German now.So I wish there would be a remake with a more accurate portrayal of the subject, bad language and all. This time get someone closer in age to Bader than Moore (that's no criticism of his performance which, as ever, was excellent) he was far to old to play someone in their 20's. There are many young actors who could fill these boots, check out Matthew Winters, he has the right stuff.

The story of the British air ace Douglas Bader,an inspiring film after all these years.Douglas Bader was an extremely fit sporting young man,who at the peak of his physical prowess lost his legs in a plane crash.The first part of the film establishes his determination not to be beaten by his handicap.Golf proves away to challenge himself,he also finds a wife.Bored with his life in an office,the out break of WW2 gives him the chance to fly again.Determined to get in the RAF he has medicals and gets back in.Bader is given a squadron of disillusioned flyer's,initially they oppose him, but having seen him fly they are won round.A difficult man Bader takes short cuts to get the equipment he needs for his squadron upsetting some of his superiors.However his tactics are brilliant and before long he is in charge of five squadrons inflicting heavy losses on the German air force during the battle of Britain.On one flight his plane is shot down,Bader escapes by leaving one of his false legs behind.The RAF drops of a spare,in spite of all his difficulties he manages to escape three times .Bader never let a chance go to bait the German guards even inspecting them before heading to Colditz castle.The performance from Kenneth More in the title roll is excellent,given good support from Muriel Pavlov and Nigel Green.I would like a remake,as after all these yeatrs it could be more honest,brutal and would make a big star of the leading actor.

You could run out of clichés and superlatives to describe a man like Douglas Bader. Indomitable, a hero, an example to us all. Where to stop? This movie chronicles the wartime life of Bader the disabled pilot. Unlike most, he fought several wars. One was for his life after his legs were destroyed in a crash, another was to walk again without any visible support. A third was against the bureaucrats who insisted he would never fly again. And after all that, he took on the Luftwaffe. Whatever criticisms may be levied against his personal character, this man was such a tower of strength that those who seek to denigrate him stand like resentful pygmies in his shadow. I, for one, cannot begin to imagine the hardships he experienced from the loss of his athletic prowess to the agony of his time in hospital. Compared to them, shooting at German planes must have seemed like child's play. Though that experience alone was enough to break the spirit of many a whole-bodied man. There really was only one actor to play his part in a movie and Kenneth More was he. You might say he was born to it. I don't know how close he came to the real character of Bader, but neither he nor the movie seems to shy away either from his reckless courage or his self-centredness. We see  glimpses of the latter on the golf course when he won't give up, and has his wife - played by the excellent Muriel Pavlow - running and fetching the ball like a dog. At other times, he is tearing around in a Bentley with almost no regard for his passengers or the public alike. Even after he has been liberated from Germany, he can't give up the fight, and thoughtlessly pursues his dreams of combat east. Never once do we see him consult his wife's interests. Bader was a driven man. If not he would never have survived the crash, never have walked again without a stick, never have got into the air again. Single-minded? you bet. And you take it or leave it. This movie was made in 1956. As it's a post-war production there's no propaganda drum to beat. It can and does stick pretty-well to the story, and captures all of the social and cultural attitudes of the time like a miniature documentary. The combat scenes are also very well done.There was a time in this country when men like Bader set a standard to which most people at least aspired. It was the sort of foolhardy courage and selfless determination for which the Victoria Cross was struck.But not any more. Today's Britain really is 'Little Britain', and in more ways than one. It's people have slipped into a cynical, self-indulgent pathos. It has become fashionable to denigrate our true heroes for the simple reason that nowadays few could even begin to measure up to the standards of personal pride, civil responsibility, and social obligation that were once benchmarks of national behaviour. Today a hero is someone who can withstand abuse on reality TV shows. They can sing a 2-minute song more tunefully than their competitors. Or they can score goals in a football team. For all of these things they are applauded, honoured, and paid millions. If you're a foul-mouthed cook you can poison the nation's ears if not its bellies, if you're a one-legged, gold-digging woman you are entitled to millions of pounds towards which you have made not a penny's contribution. Today, a crippled warrior can expect less sympathy or compensation than an insulted criminal.There's no room for the right stuff in this country any more. Today we don't reach for the sky; we stoop to mediocrity. The money's better, it's a lot safer, and we don't make others feel inadequate.

The credits advise that some events and depictions of people/events have been altered for story telling purposes , so this film is not a strictly accurate history of Douglas Bader. Also played down somewhat is Baders arrogance and foolhardiness which lead to his disability in the first place. Still as a inspiration for disabled people and as an almost factual account of Baders life and as film entertainment , it's pretty good. Made reasonably close to the war years it is able to capture the feeling of those years quite well. It is a trifle 'stiff upper lip - what ?' but Kenneth More as usual turns in a good performance. Focusing mainly on Baders attempts, and resulting achievements in war time flying, after a crash means both lower legs have to be amputated. Quite gritty and not too sentimental this offering from director Lewis Gilbert stacks up well against similar films of the time.