Reach for the Sky (radio serial)

Reach for the Sky

ABC Weekly 2 Oct 1954
Genre	drama serial
Running time	30 mins [1] (9:00 pm – 9:30 pm)
Country of origin	Australia
Language(s)	English
Starring	Rod Taylor
Created by	book Reach for the Sky by Paul Brickhill
Written by	Morris West
Directed by	Gordon Grimsdale
Original release	August 1954 – 1955
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	52 [2]

Reach for the Sky is a 1954 Australian radio serial based on the book of the same name by Australian author 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 novel had been a huge best seller, selling almost 100,000 copies in Australia alone. ^{[5] [6]}

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. ^{[7] [8] [9]}

Reception

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." ^[10]

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." ^[11]

The Adelaide Mail called it "excellent radio". ^[12]

The Daily Telegraph said Taylor gave "one of the most moving performances I have yet heard from any radio actor, either here or abroad." ^[13]

Cast

• Rod Taylor and then Bruce Stewart as Douglas Bader
• Neva Carr Glynn
• James Mills
• David Nettheim
• Madge Ryan

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)., 75 (3893), Sydney, N.S.W: John Haynes and J.F. Archibald (published 1880), 22 September 1954, ISSN   0007-4039, nla.obj-535671889, retrieved 20 November 2023– via Trove
5. "Bader story for DB". The Herald. No. 24, 161. Victoria, Australia. 3 November 1954. p. 8. Retrieved 14 February 2024– via National Library of Australia.
6. "THE BOOKS AUSTRALIANS READ", Hemisphere, 4 (2), North Sydney, N.S.W: Dept. of Education and Science, February 1960, ISSN   0018-0300, nla.obj-3135886198, retrieved 14 February 2024– via Trove
7. "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.
8. "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.
9. Philp, Peter (2016). Drama in Silent Rooms: A History of Radio Drama in Australia from 1920s to 1970s. Eureka. pp. 402–403.
10. "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.
11. "Radio Film". Advocate . Vol. LXXXVII, no. 5182. Victoria, Australia. 18 November 1954. p. 18. Retrieved 20 November 2023– via National Library of Australia.
12. "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.
13. "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.