Biggles: Adventures in Time (1986)

Daring British WWI fighter pilot James "Biggles" Bigglesworth and 1980s low-level business executive Jim Ferguson discover that they can time travel to each other's eras. They try to stop the Germans from changing the outcome of WWI.

Director:

John Hough

Writers:

W.E. Johns (characters) (as Capt. W.E. Johns), John Groves (screenplay)

Stars:

Neil Dickson, Alex Hyde-White, Fiona Hutchison

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Neil Dickson	...	James 'Biggles' Bigglesworth
Alex Hyde-White	...	Jim Ferguson
Fiona Hutchison	...	Debbie Stephens
Peter Cushing	...	Air Commodore Colonel William Raymond
Marcus Gilbert	...	Eric Von Stalhein
William Hootkins	...	Chuck Dinsmore
Alan Polonsky	...	Bill Kizitski
Francesca Gonshaw	...	Marie
Michael Siberry	...	Algy
James Saxon	...	Bertie
Daniel Flynn	...	Ginger
Roy Boyd	...	German N.C.O
Samantha Bradshaw	...	Hotel Girl
Andrea Browne	...	Lady Buyer
David Butler	...	British Officer

Storyline

One minute the New Yorker advertising expert Jim Ferguson is at a business party -- the next he finds himself way back in 1917 in a plane fight during World War I. Mr. Raymond explains to him that he has a time-twin, to whom he's relocated in space and time whenever one of them is in trouble. So he has to help his twin, biplane pilot Biggles, in his attempt to destroy a German super weapon, that could win their war. Of course it's hard for Jim to explain his sudden disappearances to his fiance, Debbie.

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Plot Keywords:

historical event | past | aviation | american in the uk | disappearance | 

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Taglines:

Meet Jim Ferguson. He lived a daring double-life with one foot in the 20th century and the other in World War I.

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Genres:

Adventure | Family | Sci-Fi | War

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English German French

Release Date:

29 January 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Biggles: Adventures in Time

Filming Locations:

Old Warden Aerodrome, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Gross USA:

$112,132

Company Credits

Production Co:

Compact Yellowbill,Tambarle

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The weapon testing ground scene was filmed in the now disused Beckton Gas Works in London, Which was also used for the Vietnam scenes in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket (1987) a year later.

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Goofs

William Raymond (Peter Cushing) said that he was Biggles' Superior Officer during WWI. But according to Cushing's interview on the making of, he said that in the script his character was 80 years-old (he was 71 during filming). If his character was 80 years old in 1986, that means he was born in 1905/6, and then he was 12 in 1917. His character then should be much older in the 1980s.

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Quotes

Biggles: [Flying the helicopter] Clever! The blades can be tilted to create an airscrew effect.

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Crazy Credits

In the end of the credits it says: Filmed on location in New York - London - and the Western Front 1917.

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Connections

References Fantasy Island (1977)

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Soundtracks

KNOCKING AT YOUR BACK DOOR
Performed by Deep Purple
Music and Lyrics by Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover and Ian Gillan
Published by Blackmore Music/Rugged Music
administrated by Thames Talent Publishing/
Pussy Music administarted by Chappel Music
Courtesy of Polydor Records Inc.(New York)
from the album "Perfect Strangers"

User Reviews

An eight-year-old's favourite film ever.

I always believed I'd grow out of this film, but that hasn't happened yet. True, the plot's impossibly silly, but when I first watched the film, that didn't matter to me. Frankly, it still doesn't. Don't watch this film if you're looking for some serious intellectual stimulation. However, if it's great fun, great music and a major dose of eighties nostalgia you're after, this could be the one for you. One last thing - the main theme "Do you wanna be a hero" still sends shivers down my spine every time I see the opening credits.