Reach for the Sky (radio serial)

Reach for the Sky
ABC Weekly 2 Oct 1954
Genredrama serial
Running time30 mins[1] (9:00 pm – 9:30 pm)
Country of originAustralia
Language(s)English
StarringRod Taylor
Created bybook Reach for the Sky by Paul Brickhill
Written byMorris West
Directed byGordon Grimsdale
Original releaseAugust 1954 –
1955
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 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

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.