The Sky's the Limit (1943)

The Sky's The Limit (1943) is a romantic musical comedy film starring Fred Astaire and Joan Leslie, with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The film was directed by Edward H. Griffith, and released by RKO Radio Pictures.

This was an unusual departure for Astaire, one which caused some consternation among film critics and fans at the time, though not enough to prevent the film doing well. Aside from the dancing - which contains a famous solo performance to the standard "One For My Baby", described by Astaire as "the best song specially written for me" -- the script provided him with his first opportunity to act in a serious dramatic role, and one with which his acting abilities, sometimes disparaged, appear to cope. Astaire plays a Flying Tiger pilot on leave. (Robert T. Smith, also a former Flying Tiger pilot, on leave before joining the Army Air Forces, was the technical adviser on the film.) The comedy is provided by Robert Benchley (in his second appearance in an Astaire picture) and Eric Blore, a stalwart from the early Astaire-Rogers pictures. Last, but not least, is the Hollywood pairing of Arlen with Mercer.

Synopsis

During World War II, Flying Tiger triple ace Lieutenant Fred Atwill (Astaire) and his almost-as-successful comrades, Reginald Fenton (Robert Ryan) and Richard Merlin (an uncredited Richard Davies), are brought back to the United States for a ticker tape parade and a ten-day "leave". The only trouble is, they are expected to spend all their time on a nationwide morale-boosting tour. Fred sneaks off the train at a rural stop to seek some fun.

Actors