Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies (1973)

User Rating:

4.8/10   

Director:

John Erman

Writers:

Claudia Salter (writer)
Steven Spielberg (story)

Release Date:

1 April 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The story of Ace Eli... when planes were young and the world was innocent... except for Ace's son Rodger... Rodger of the Skies.

Plot:

Story of a 1920s stunt flyer and the son he takes on the road with him. |

Plot Keywords:

WWI Veteran | Father Son Relationship | Travel | Airplane | 1920s

Cast

Cliff Robertson	...	Ace Eli Walford
Pamela Franklin	...	Shelby
Eric Shea	...	Rodger Walford
Bernadette Peters	...	Allison
Rosemary Murphy	...	Hannah
Alice Ghostley	...	Sister Lite
Royal Dano	...	Jake
Claudia Bryar	...	Ann
Don Keefer	...	Mr. Parsons
Kelly Jean Peters	...	Rachel
Pat O'Connor	...	Brother Foster
Hope Summers	...	Laura

Runtime:

92 min | USA:89 min (FMC Library Print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:PG

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Bernadette Peters' film debut.

Quotes:

Shelby: When I pay, I don't lay.

Soundtrack:

Who's For Complainin

Suicidal title, but not a bad flick...

Cliff Robertson as a wily barnstormer in the 1920s who makes his airplane his occupation. With a story by a young Steven Spielberg, "Ace Eli" is predictably nostalgic but not uninteresting. It has some sentiment, which is quickly evened out with grit, and a good performance by child actor Eric Shea (aside from his turn as the brainiac in "The Poseidon Adventure", this is Shea's shining moment). Robertson doesn't quite convince as a stud in the skies simply because he's so laconic as an actor; Robertson seems to love planes, but there's no glee in the man as a performer. Had Eli been played as a devilish old rascal, there might be something to the relationship between the flier and the kid, but Robertson isn't into buddyisms (he's not about to play the comic foil, nor is he willing to be a cut-up). The women are a different matter: Pamela Franklin gets most of the screen-time as a flapper, yet she's curt and cold; Bernadette Peters, as a flooze, is much preferable because she's anxious to cut through the baloney. The flying sequences are very good, but the director loses his impetus on the ground, and his details are all wrong (after seeing Robertson apparently getting sick from drinking at a party, Franklin allows him to kiss her on the mouth in a barn--surely not a fancy flapper with a brand new set of wheels!). The poor reception the picture received must have bruised Spielberg (that and the release of the not dissimilar "Paper Moon" the same year). But, aside from some faults, it's an engaging, minor item. **1/2 from ****