Kameraden der Luft

My father was one of the cadets in the film as he was an RAF pilot with No1 and then No2 Squadrons. I am not sure what squadron he was in when the film was made (maybe still at Cranwell), but I remember the orange LP of the soundtrack with a picture of my dad on the back.

He also served as a liaison office with the USAF in the 60's in MacDill AFB in Tampa

I now live in Australia but went to his 70th last week at which many of his old squadron colleagues attended.

Does anyone have a copy of the film? Would love to get it for him.

Blane Coulcher

The files of the English military is teeming with war stories. Some are true, some not, but most often based on the experiences of the men who created their impressive history. This movie is called " High Flight " and stars Ray Milland as Wing Commander Rudge. It tells the story of an experienced W.W.II, commander who is now a flight school instructor. His task is to train young men to fly combat missions against the enemy. The job is made more difficult when Anthony Winchester (Kenneth Haigh) a superior, but quite arrogant and reckless cadet insists on trying the school's patience. Bernard Lee and Anthony Newley make for surprising roles. The movie is interesting enough with the cadet's school year is seen in stages. Milland is at his best in this movie. ****

I was, in fact, at RAF College Cranwell in the early sixties as a cadet and yes, we all saw the film. Your points about Tony Newley are, if I can remember back that far, correct and it was meant to be taking place at the College although I believe much of the filming went on at a Norfolk or Suffolk fighter base such as Middle St George or Waterbeach. Initial flying training was done on Piston Provosts then going onto Vampires or Meteors dependent a lot on height (if long legged it was hard clearing the cockpit if ejecting in Vamps). We did our training on Jet Provosts 3 and 4's as the syllabus changed from being flying intensive to academic intensive. Kenneth Haigh was also in it. Wouldn't mind seeing it again either.

Back in the 1940s, Hollywood made a few films about cadets in the air corps, such as "I Wanted Wings" and "Captains of the Clouds". "High Flight" is very much like these films but it is set in the UK and was made a decade later.

The story follows a group of cadets through training with particular emphasis on a young, cocky and very talented man who has a connection to the commander (Ray Milland). Again and again, the commander makes allowances for the cocky jerk but you wonder how long all this is going to happen until something dreadful occurs.

The best thing about this film are the aerial sequences...which look great, especially in color. But the film is also a bit clichéd and the sequence involving the UFO and the party is just god-awfully bad. Worth seeing but awfully familiar.

I saw this movie when it was released in Paris. I was 16 and after watching the movie a whole afternoon, at that time in Paris you could enter a theater and stay as long as you wished, I wanted to become a pilot. Circumstances made it that I've never been one...

I think Robert J. Maxwell here is very unjust with this movie. Just try to put yourself in the situation of movie making of the late 50s. The movie was shot in Cinemascope and released either in color or B&W as stated here. Cinemascope required a huge equipment especially lighting as at the time the sensitiveness of 35mm film was not very high if you wished to have the best definition possible. The camera used were also heavy and not easy to move, just like television cameras at that time.

You cant compare the conditions of shoot in those days with the extraordinary conditions we have today with light cameras, CGI and all the computer devices at the disposal of the movie teams today.

It's a pity on youtube that the movie has been cropped to fit the 16:9 ratio. It's a betrayal of all the work of the Director of photography as well as of the director. This kind of adjustments should not be tolerated.