Reach for the Sky
Genredrama serial
Running time30 mins[1]
Country of originAustralia
Language(s)English
StarringRod Taylor
Created bybook Reach for the Sky by Paul Brickhill
Written byMorris West
Directed byGordon Grimsdale
Original release1954 –
1954
No. of series1
No. of episodes52[2]

Reach for the Sky is a 1954 Australian radio serial based on the book of the same name by Paul Brickhill which was a biography of Douglas Bader. It was one of the most acclaimed Australian radio dramas of the 1950s, and a notable success for Rod Taylor who played Bader.[3][4]

The script was written by Morris West who had adapted other Brickhill books for radio such as The Dambusters and The Great Escape, both of which also starred Taylor.[5][6][7]

According to Gordon Grimsdale who directed in the scene where Bader "is informed of the loss of both his legs, a halt in production had to be called to allow several members of the cast to recover from the emotional stress of the scene."[8]

The Advocate wrote "Mr. West has excelled himself in this adaptation... would be a pity to miss such a presentation of so moving and gallant a story."[9]

The Adelaide Mail called it "excellent radio".[10]

The Daily Telegraph said Taylor gave "one of the most moving performances I have yet heard from any radio actor, either here or abroad."[11]

Cast

  • Rod Taylor and then Bruce Stewart as Douglas Bader

References

  1. ↑ "Highlights Of The Week's Radio Programmes". Chronicle. Vol. 97, no. 5, 468. South Australia. 7 October 1954. p. 54. Retrieved 20 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ↑ "Bader story for DB". The Herald. No. 24, 161. Victoria, Australia. 3 November 1954. p. 8. Retrieved 20 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ↑ "Award Winner In Bader Story". The Advertiser (Adelaide). Vol. 97, no. 29, 934. South Australia. 22 September 1954. p. 17. Retrieved 20 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ↑ "Personal Items", The bulletin., John Ryan Comic Collection (Specific issues)., Sydney, N.S.W: John Haynes and J.F. Archibald (Vol. 75 No. 3893 (22 September 1954)), 1880, ISSN 0007-4039, nla.obj-535671889, retrieved 20 November 2023 – via Trove
  5. ↑ "The Radar Story From 5AD". The Advertiser (Adelaide). Vol. 97, no. 29, 916. South Australia. 1 September 1954. p. 19. Retrieved 20 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ "Must All Radio Toughs Be Foreigners?". The Sun. No. 13984. New South Wales, Australia. 7 December 1954. p. 33 (Late Final Extra). Retrieved 20 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ↑ Philp, Peter (2016). Drama in Silent Rooms: A History of Radio Drama in Australia from 1920s to 1970s. Eureka. p. 402-403.
  8. ↑ "Adults Show They Are Young at Heart". The Sun. No. 13, 882. New South Wales, Australia. 10 August 1954. p. 21 (Late Final Extra). Retrieved 20 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ↑ "Radio Film". Advocate. Vol. LXXXVII, no. 5182. Victoria, Australia. 18 November 1954. p. 18. Retrieved 20 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ↑ "Still reaching for the air". The Mail (Adelaide). Vol. 44, no. 2, 204. South Australia. 4 September 1954. p. 77. Retrieved 20 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ↑ "Around the Dial". The Daily Telegraph. Vol. XIX, no. 111. New South Wales, Australia. 29 July 1954. p. 8. Retrieved 20 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
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