Aces High (film)
| Aces High | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Jack Gold |
| Written by | Howard Barker |
| Produced by | Benjamin Fisz Jacques Roitfeld Basil Keys |
| Starring | Malcolm McDowell Christopher Plummer Simon Ward |
| Cinematography | Gerry Fisher |
| Edited by | Anne V. Coates |
| Music by | Richard Hartley Carlo Rustichelli |
| Distributed by | Cinema Shares International Distribution |
Release dates | Germany: 30 September 1976 Finland: 19 November United States: December 1977 |
Running time | 114 min. |
| Country | UK |
| Language | English |
Aces High is a 1976 British war film directed by Jack Gold and starring Malcolm McDowell, Christopher Plummer and Simon Ward. The screenplay was written by Howard Barker. The film is based on the 1930s play Journey's End by R. C. Sherriff[citation needed] and the memoir Sagittarius Rising by Cecil Lewis[citation needed] of the Royal Flying Corps. It tells the story of an RFC squadron in the First World War and the high turnover of pilots and the strain on the survivors and includes aerial dogfight scenes impressive for the time it was filmed.
Plot
The film follows the plot of Journey's End quite closely,[original research?] albeit set in the RFC rather than in an infantry battalion.
The film opens with fighter ace Major Gresham (McDowell) speaking to a class of students at his former British public school. Back at his base, a batch of new recruits shows up and one of them is the younger brother, Lt. Croft (Firth) of his girlfriend. Already Gresham relies on alcohol to cope with combat stress and bring himself to continue flying. Now the strain of being responsible for his, we assume, fiancée's brother further weighs on him. Croft has to learn how to survive not only in the air, but on the ground as well as he initially makes some minor mistakes in squadron etiquette. The film also follows Croft's rapid rite of passage from naive schoolboy to adult fighting soldier. We also see Croft's initial hero-worship of his commanding officer crumble as he realises the realities of combat, yet regains a new respect for Gresham and the stresses he has to cope with.
The film reaches its tragic conclusion when Croft finally scores his first air victory and seems to have made the leap in skills necessary to survive but is suddenly killed in a collision with a German aircraft.
Features
There are many positive aspects on this film regarding the authentic atmosphere and the French scenery. The squadron depicted is loosely based around No. 56 Squadron, one of the more famous SE5 squadrons. The airfield facilities, barracks and motor transport are very authentic looking World War I era and the planes flown, although not real SE5's but converted Stampe SV.4s, are similar enough and the camouflage used generally authentic.
The film reused aerial sequences from The Blue Max and Von Richthofen and Brown.
There is a real Avro 504 used in the film, while the Nieuport 17 plane that 'Uncle' says is the one preferred by Gresham is nothing but another film SE5. A mistake the film makes is the presence of a two-seater reconnaissance aircraft within the same fighter unit; RFC squadrons by this time were usually dedicated to one aircraft type and operational purpose and had no 'composite' equipment or multi-role capability.
Some other parts in the film come from real stories of the RFC, like the pilot who prefers to jump from his burning plane rather than being slowly roasted in his cockpit (no parachutes were issued during the conflict to Allied aircrew). The fatalistic mess room songs and the often juvenile, 'public school' attitudes of the young pilots are considered authentic portrayals of the time.
The role played by Christopher Plummer (‘Uncle’) is characteristic of the Edwardian upper-class warrior stereotype, who tries to overcome the cruelty of the war with civility and a gentle manner.
Cast
(Name in brackets gives the character's equivalent in Journey's End.)
- Malcolm McDowell - Maj. John Gresham (Capt. Dennis Stanhope)
- Christopher Plummer - Capt. "Uncle" Sinclair (Lt. Osborne)
- Simon Ward - Lt. Crawford (2nd Lt. Hibbert)
- Peter Firth - Lt. Stephen Croft (2nd Lt. Raleigh)
- David Wood - Lt. 'Tommy' Thompson (2nd Lt. Trotter)
- John Gielgud - Headmaster
- Trevor Howard - Lieutenant Colonel Silkin
- Richard Johnson - Major Lyle
- Ray Milland - Brigadier General Whale
- Christopher Blake - Lieutenant Roberts
- Barry Jackson - Corporal Albert Joyce