Aces High (film)
| Aces High | |
|---|---|
 Original British film poster | |
| Directed by | Jack Gold |
| Produced by |
Benjamin Fisz Jacques Roitfeld |
| Screenplay by | Howard Barker |
| Based on |
Journey's End by R. C. Sherriff |
| Starring |
Malcolm McDowell Christopher Plummer Simon Ward Peter Firth |
| Music by |
Richard Hartley Carlo Rustichelli |
| Cinematography | Gerry Fisher |
| Edited by | Anne V. Coates |
Production company |
S. Benjamin Fisz Productions Les Productions Jacques Roitfeld |
| Distributed by | EMI Films (UK) |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 114 minutes |
| Country |
United Kingdom France |
| Language | English |
| Budget | ₤1,250,000[2] |
Aces High is a 1976 Anglo-French war film directed by Jack Gold and starring Malcolm McDowell, Peter Firth, Christopher Plummer and Simon Ward. The screenplay was written by Howard Barker. As acknowledged in the opening credits, the film is based on the 1930s play Journey's End by R. C. Sherriff with additional material from the memoir Sagittarius Rising by Cecil Lewis. The film moves the action from the trenches to the Royal Flying Corps (RFC). However, many characters are very recognisable (the idealistic officer whose sister is the girlfriend of a more senior officer who drinks too much, the neuralgia suffering officer accused of funking). It tells the story of a Royal Flying Corps squadron in the First World War during one week of battle, where the high death rate of pilots puts an enormous strain on those remaining.
Plot
In a one-week timeframe, life at the front in a RFC squadron is documented. The real story begins a year before with fighter ace Major John Gresham (Malcolm McDowell) speaking to a class of pupils at Eton College in October 1916. One year later, a new recruit arrives at Gresham's base in France, 2nd Lt. Croft (Peter Firth). Gresham had been his house captain at Eton and is also the boyfriend of his older sister. Gresham already relies on alcohol to cope with combat stress and continue flying. Now the strain of being responsible for this young recruit (a potential brother-in-law) is an additional burden. Croft has to learn how to survive not only in the air but on the ground as well as he makes some minor mistakes in squadron etiquette.
Croft's week of rapid rite of passage from naive schoolboy to adult fighting soldier takes place. His initial hero worship of Gresham crumbles as he learns the realities of service at the front, yet he regains a respect for Gresham and the stresses he has to cope with.
When Croft finally scores his first air victory and seems to have made the leap in skills necessary to survive, he is suddenly killed in a collision with a German aircraft. While looking out of his office window, Gresham sees an apparition of Croft returning from the battle field uninjured, which fades away. Gresham then orders for the new recruits to be sent in for his inspection.
Cast
(Name in brackets for the equivalent character in Journey's End.)
- Malcolm McDowell as Major John Gresham (Capt. Dennis Stanhope)
- Christopher Plummer as Capt. "Uncle" Sinclair (Lt. Osborne)
- Simon Ward as Lieutenant Crawford (2nd Lt. Hibbert)
- Peter Firth as Lieutenant Stephen Croft (2nd Lt. Raleigh)
- David Wood as Lieutenant "Tommy" Thompson (2nd Lt. Trotter)
- John Gielgud as Headmaster at Eton
- Trevor Howard as Lieutenant Colonel Silkin
- Richard Johnson as Major Lyle
- Ray Milland as Brigadier General Whale
- Christopher Blake as Lieutenant Roberts
- David Daker as Mess Corporal Bennett
- Barry Jackson as Corporal Albert Joyce
- Ron Pember as Lance Corporal Eliot
- Tim Pigott-Smith as Major Stoppard
- Gilles Behat as Beckenaur
- Elliot Cooper as Wade
- Jacques Maury as Ponnelle
- Jeanne Patou as French Singer
- Pascale Christophe as Croft's Girlfriend
- John Serret as French Colonel
- Gerard Paquis as French Officer
- Jean Driant - Corporal Dressing Station
- Judy Buxton as French Girl
- Tricia Newby as French Girl
- Penny Irving as French Girl
- Roland Viner as Officer
- Steven Pacey as Officer
- Kim Lotis as Officer Batman
- Jane Anthony as Katherine
- Evelyn Cordeau as French Girl
- Paul Henley as Replacement
- David Arnold as Replacement
- Paul Rosebury as Replacement
- James Cormack as School Captain
Production
The film's exterior scenes were mainly shot in Southern England and Spain, while indoor scenes were made at Pinewood Studios, St Katharine Docks and Eton College, with principal photography shot at Booker Airfield, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. [3] The squadron depicted, No. 76 Squadron, (which was actually stationed in England throughout the war and never saw combat during WW1), is loosely based on No. 56 Squadron, one of the notable S.E.5 squadrons. The airfield facilities, barracks and motor transport are authentic looking First World War era equipment and the aircraft flown, although not real S.E.5s but converted Stampe SV.4s, similar enough and the camouflage used authentic. There is a real Avro 504 used in the film. [Note 1][4] A Fokker E.III Eindecker reproduction makes an anachronistic appearance when it is brought down intact and its pilot given a toast by his British counterparts. This Eindecker reproduction may be the same replica that appeared in Crooks and Coronets in 1969.
Popular culture
The song "Aces High" by Iron Maiden is named after and inspired by the film, although takes place during the Second World War, whereas the film takes place in the First World War. Iron Maiden frequently name songs after war films.
The episode of Blackadder Goes Forth titled "Private Plane" reuses scenes from the film during the flying sequence.
Reception
Film historian Michael Paris saw Aces High as another of the period films that attempted to "de-mystologise" warfare. [5] Film archivist and historian Stephen Pendo saw the "good aerial photography by Gerry Fisher" as the strength of a film that played more as "standard fare".[6]
References
Notes
- ↑ The Nieuport 17, which "Uncle" says is the one preferred by Gresham, is actually an S.E.5.
Citations
Bibliography
- Carlson, Mark. Flying on Film: A Century of Aviation in the Movies, 1912–2012. Duncan, Oklahoma: BearManor Media, 2012. ISBN 978-1-59393-219-0.
- Orriss, Bruce W. When Hollywood Ruled the Skies: The Aviation Film Classics of World War I. Los Angeles: Aero Associates, 2013. ISBN 978-0-692-02004-3.
- Paris, Michael. From the Wright Brothers to Top gun: Aviation, Nationalism, and Popular Cinema. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1995. ISBN 978-0-7190-4074-0.
- Pendo, Stephen. Aviation in the Cinema. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1985. ISBN 0-8-1081-746-2.