Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies
AMG AllMovie Guide:
Top
Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies
Plot
When Cliff Robertson was toasted by Ralph Edwards on the TV series This is Your Life in 1972, Robertson was standing on the set of Ace Eli and Roger of the Skies. This production was announced as an "upcoming release"-though as it turned out, the film lay on the shef for several years thereafter. Robertson plays a barnstorming stunt flyer of the Roaring Twenties. Accompanying him from job to job is his 11-year-old son, Eric Shea. Despite having a child in tow, Robertson has no trouble scoring with the local lovelies wherever they go. 20th Century-Fox had so little faith in Ace Eli and Roger of the Skies that the company changed many of the names in the production credits: producer "Boris Wilson" was really Robert Fryer, director "Bill Sampson" was actually John Erdman and screenwriter "Chips Rosen" was known to friends and family as Claudia Salte. Only poor Cliff Robertson was denied the opportunity to cloak himself in an alias. ~ Hal Erickson, RoviCast
Jim Boles - Abraham; Claudia Bryar - Ann; Royal Dano - Jake; Pamela Franklin - Shelby; Alice Ghostley - Sister; Don Keefer - Mr. Parsons; Arthur Malet - Brother Watson; Rosemary Murphy - Hannah; Bernadette Peters - Allison; Kelly Jean Peters - Rachel; Bill Quinn - Mortician; Eric Shea - Rodger; Hope Summers - Laura; Pat O'Connor - Brother Foster; Cliff Robertson - Eli; Patricia Smith - Wilma; Dixie Lee - Mrs. Harrison; Lew Brown - Harrison; John O'Connell - GroomCredit
Joel Schiller - Art Director, Jack Martin Smith - Art Director, Theadora Van Runkle - Costume Designer, David Hall - First Assistant Director, Bill Sampson - Director, John Erman - Director, Thomas Schmidt - Second Unit Director, Robert Belcher - Editor, Lou Lombardo - Editor, Jerry Goldsmith - Composer (Music Score), Bill Birch - Camera Operator, David M. Walsh - Cinematographer, Bill Birch - Cinematographer, Robert Fryer - Producer, Boris Wilson - Producer, Walter Scott - Set Designer, Robert de Vestel - Set Designer, Don Bassman - Sound/Sound Designer, Chips Rosen - Screenwriter, Claudia Salter - Screenwriter| Ace Drummond [Serial] (1936 Film), Accusing Voice (1914 Film) | |
| Ace High (1918 Film), Ace High (1967 Film) |
Related Videos:
Top
Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Top
Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies
| Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies | |
|---|---|
 Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies poster |
|
| Directed by | John Erman |
| Produced by | James Cresson Robert Fryer |
| Written by | Claudia Salter Steven Spielberg |
| Starring | Cliff Robertson Pamela Franklin Eric Shea Bernadette Peters |
| Music by | Jerry Goldsmith Jim Gradey |
| Cinematography | David M. Walsh |
| Editing by | Robert Belcher Lou Lombardo |
| Distributed by | Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation |
| Release date(s) | April 1, 1973 |
| Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies is a 1973 adventure-comedy film, with a story by Steven Spielberg. The film centers on a stunt pilot (Cliff Robertson) and his son (Eric Shea) as they fly around the United States in the 1920s, and their adventures along the way.
|
Contents
|
Background
Steven Spielberg had developed the story of a flyer with a young son, containing themes that interested him: planes and flying and a parents' responsibility. Spielberg expected to be the screenwriter and director. However, the studio executives who had bought the story left the studio and the new executive turned the story over to another writer with a separate director. [1]
Plot
In the early 1920s in Kansas, Eli is a barnstorming stunt pilot, whose wife was killed in an airplane crash. He and his 11 year old son, Rodger set off to fly around the country on a series of adventures. Wherever he lands Eli finds a new girlefriend, but likes one in particular, Shelby. He, however, does not form any permanent relationships. Rodger, who misses his deceased mother, continually helps out his father, even paying a prostitute (Allison). When Shelby leaves Eli, Rodger is saddened.
Cast
- Ace Eli Walford -- Cliff Robertson
- Shelby -- Pamela Franklin
- Rodger Walford -- Eric Shea
- Allison -- Bernadette Peters (motion picture debut)
- Hannah -- Rosemary Murphy
- Sister Lite -- Alice Ghostley
- Jake -- Royal Dano
Production and response
The original producers, writer and director disapproved of the film, which was extensvely re-cut, and had their names removed. The film was shown with pseudonyms several years after it was filmed.[2][3]
The film's scenes that take place in the town of "Monument" were actually filmed in Mount Hope, Kansas.[4] At the time of the filming in 1972, there was an article in The Hutchinson News about Pamela Franklin, the English actress who played the character of Shelby. In this article, she talked about her experience of filming in a small Kansas town.
In his New York Times review, Vincent Canby wrote: "...the movie is ... a mess of unexplored moods and loose ends..."[3]
References
- ^ "The Films of Steven Spielberg" (2000), Douglas Brode, p. 19, Citadel Press, ISBN 0-8065-1951-7
- ^ Eli and Rodger of the Skies (1969/1973)".filmscoremonthly.com, retrieved March 20, 2010
- ^ a b Canby, Vincent.Review.New York Times, March 2, 1974
- ^ Filmed in Hutchinson and Haven, Kansas per Kansas Film CommissionAce Eli and Rodger of the Skies filming.Kansas Film Commission (kdoch.state.ks.us), retrieved March 20, 2010
External links
- Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies at the Internet Movie Database
- Brief synopsis and background, "New York Times"
- Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies at allmovie.com
|
||||||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
AMG AllMovie Guide
Copyright © 2012 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Movie Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.
Read more
