Class lines are also non-existent in this film and similar ones. The officers, who most likely would have come from upper-class backgrounds, speak to their inferiors as equal. For example, Officers give lifts to their lower-ranking men.
There is an interesting portrayal of gender roles in this film. The women are to be seen at home, doing domestic chores such as sewing. This also reflects the propaganda element in the film. In reality at this time, a lot of women in Britain would have been working in agriculture or munitions factories, in jobs usually reserved for men, to help the war effort. But as this was a time when it looked as though Britain stood a fair chance of winning the war, so it makes sense that women were shown back in their traditional roles. The film conveys the idea of a return to normality, that war is just a temporary disruption of British life. However, there’s a contrast to other wartime films such as “Went the Day Well” (1942) and “Millions Like Us” (1943). Here women are shown in their dutiful roles as hard-working land girls, or efficient factory workers, to show that this was the norm, during the earlier years, the worst times of the war.
This idea of the longevity of the English lifestyle is given further weight by the general mise en scene of the film. It includes shots of the typical rural English village and surrounding countryside. Traditional life goes on as normal and the images are very picturesque. A postman on a bicycle is seen doing his rounds, and there are shots of waving cornfields. They portray the timelessness of the English countryside and the idea that a mere war with Germany is not enough to disrupt it. They are a reminder of what the British were fighting to preserve, It’s all about why we fight, not how we fight. This is very typical of British films made during this time.
The characters in this film have a remarkable attitude towards death. The news of casualties is met with a stoical response; the British pilots don’t let their emotions interfere with their duties. There’s a message here also for the wartime viewers – yes, we can expect fatalities, but individual concerns and personal grief must be put aside for the collective national effort.
The second film “The Battle Of Britain” was produced in 1970, for the anniversary of the real event and even though the theme is similar (this clip again shows a British air base coming under attack), there are obvious differences to “Way To The Stars”.
The RAF is taken by surprise by the German attack and they are a lot less calm in the face of danger. They are less organised, panicky and slower to respond than in “Way To The Stars”. This is a much more realistic portrayal of an air raid. This also differs from the first film, in that there are more British casualties and a line of bodies is shown. In this sequence, the British don’t have the upper hand.
Unlike in “Way To The Stars”, the enemy are given a human face. They are joking about the planned invasion and their morale is high. This could have had a negative psychological effect on the British, if it had been shown during the actual event. Wartime propaganda posters tended to demonise the enemy, to show them as anything but human. Germans would certainly not be shown laughing. Also the military strength of the German army is hinted at in the amount of troops and equipment stationed on the shores of France, portraying them (realistically) as an enemy to be reckoned with.
Gender roles are dealt with differently in this film. Women serve alongside the men, they aren’t seen as subservient or meek and demure, as in “Way to the Stars”. This is noticeable when the character played by Susannah York answers back her senior officer when he reprimands her for smoking. She is emotional and stunned after seeing some of the casualties from the air raid, a marked difference to the first film regarding attitudes towards mortality. This shows a more human side to the character, she is not just part of the population as a whole. This is true of the other characters in this film, their personal lives are explored further.
The two excellent films deal with the same subject differently. “The Battle of Britain” emphasises heroics and flying sequences. It was made mainly for entertainment and as a vehicle for some of Britain’s most famous actors at that time, whereas “Way to the Stars” was made mainly for propaganda, which, when you know what you are looking for, does not seem so subtle nowadays. Each film can be questioned for its authenticity, because they both portray the RAF as the heroes of the time.
