Watch The Way to the Stars For Free

Wow! Such a good movie.

The greatest movie ever made..!

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

John Mills gives yet another sturdy, competent, though somewhat colorless performance playing an amateur Pilot Officer in England, 1940; he's the new man on the squadron of professional fliers, and has to prove himself in the ranks before he can gain confidence. This portrait of activity and camaraderie on a British bomber base is vivid and emotional without being exceptionally exciting. Overrated by most critics, it certainly was a timely picture (with the action wrapping up in 1944), and the performances by the large cast (including Michael Redgrave, Trevor Howard, and David Tomlinson) are uniformly excellent. The opening sequence set in the now-empty hangar and barracks strikes a somber tone, and indeed there is much life-and-death heartbreak and melodrama on hand, though the finale has a hopeful, nearly-upbeat spirit. It's a heartfelt film, though the editing is lax (particularly involving a plane crash and a silly bit with a cigarette lighter that tends to spell bad luck for its owners!) and the midsection sags a bit from the weight of too many issues. Anthony Asquith's direction is solid; he wisely keeps the introductions and chit-chat to a minimum and instead concentrates on the personalities and feelings of the soldiers and their ladies. Watch for a young Jean Simmons, astonishingly lovely and perky as a singer in the mess hall. **1/2 from ****

Sappy, melodramatic and dated at times, but also very well done, and emotionally understated enough that the sappiness doesn't take over the experience. The film traces 4 years in the life of an English Air Force base during WW II (1940-1944). An interesting approach to a war film, in that the camera never shows battle, never leaves the ground, but focuses on the lives of the fliers, their officers, and their women. That can lead to a certain soap opera quality, but also to a film that doesn't feel quite like any other war film I've seen. The acting is mostly top notch (Michael Redgrave, in particular), although some of the many characters fall into caricature. But the film isn't afraid to kill off major characters, and deal with the emotional consequences. Some of the most interesting and moving scenes are how the men deal with losses with almost complete suppression of emotion – which feels very honest. Also, there's some real fun had with the differences between the UK fliers, and the US troops who join them in 1942. One of those films my head felt should rate lower, but I had to admit I enjoyed.

Interesting, but yet slow moving British drama dealing with an airbase and accompanying inn during World War 11.Toddy, the innkeeper, has the misfortune to lose her husband, leaving her with the inn to manage and an infant. She then becomes friendly with an American flyer, and while there is nothing to indicate that she'd break up his marriage, she had a deep admiration for him and then tragedy strikes again.The writer of this movie, Terence Ratigan, seems to have a fetish with inns, innkeepers and dominant mothers and daughters as we saw years later in the memorable "Separate Tables." We certainly have elements of that film again in the guise of a domineering aunt who smothers her niece, the latter looking for love with flyer John Mills.The picture, nicely done, deals with both American and British flyers at the base.

One of my all-time favourites, and always will be. Made in the months immediately after WW2, it charts the history of a typical RAF airfield, with particular emphasis on the 1942 arrival of US bomber crews. Their huge social impact on a rural English community is treated with warmth and much wry humour.Those looking for an exercise in gritty documentary realism, though, should look elsewhere! This is essentially a 'relationships' movie, deliberately and finely calculated to tug at the heart strings. A very fine script (by Terence Rattigan, no less) is brought to vivid life by lovely performances from all concerned.Sentimental? Undeniably, but in the best possible way: I defy even the hardest-bitten cynic to remain unmoved.