| Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies | |
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Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies poster |
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| 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.
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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]
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.
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]
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