Trivia / Reach for the Sky

• Backed by the Pentagon: Available wartime combat aircraft including Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire fighters were arranged to take on the aerial scenes. To depict the various Royal Air Force bases realistically, principal filming took place in Surrey at RAF Kenley, and around the village of Bagshot.
• Breakthrough Hit: For Lewis Gilbert.
• Dawson Casting: At the time of his crash and double amputation in 1931, Douglas Bader was 21 years of age. Kenneth More, at the time of filming, was 42 and looks considerably older than the young man he was supposed to be. In fact, Kenneth More was born in 1914, only four years after Bader.
• Looping Lines: For some reason, the name of Bader's friend and fellow pilot Geoffrey Stevenson was changed in post-sync, being overdubbed as "Johnny Sanderson". Each time the name is said on-screen, Kenneth More's lips clearly say the original name - most noticeable in the close-up when Bader is informed that Stevenson / Sanderson has been shot down.
• Star-Making Role: The success of the film in the UK confirmed the middle-aged Kenneth More's status as a major star of British cinema.
• Uncredited Role:
  • Richard Marner as a German Officer in a staff car.
  • Fred Griffiths as a lorry driver.
  • Trevor Bannister as a man listening to the radio.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Richard Burton was the first choice for the lead, but he dropped out when he was offered the lead in Alexander the Great at what Lewis Gilbert describes as "three or four times the salary".
  • Douglas Bader was initially supposed to have a role in the film doubling for Kenneth More in long shots, but the idea was dropped due to Bader's difficult nature.

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