Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies

Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies

The story of Ace Eli... when planes were young and the world was innocent... except for Ace's son Rodger... Rodger of the Skies.

PG 1973 · 89 min · ★ 5.1 · Romance, Drama, Adventure

The story of Ace Eli Walford, a 1920s stunt flyer who barnstorms around the country, taking his eleven-year-old son Rodger with him as he goes from town to town. The place is rural Kansas, and the time is midsummer in the early nineteen-twenties, not long after World War I. Eli (Cliff Robertson), a barn storming pilot who has the emotional make-up of an 11-year-old, and Rodger (Eric Shea), his 11-year-old son who possesses the wisdom of the ancients, set off to see the world, which means flying all the way to San Willow. To Eli, San Willow seems to be as fabled as Xanadu and quite as remote. In essence, "Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies" is about the adventures of Rodger and Eli getting from nowhere to nowhere. Eli, a killer with the ladies at first, always leaves them unsatisfied. He seems to have a sex problem. Rodger spends a lot of his time getting his dad out of scrapes. He also drinks, smokes and goes to sleep at night crying for his deceased mom.

Directed by John Erman · Written by Steven Spielberg

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Cast

Cliff Robertson Ace Eli Walford
Eric Shea Roger Walford
Pamela Franklin Shelby
Rosemary Murphy Hannah
Bernadette Peters Allison
Alice Ghostley Sister Lite
Kelly Jean Peters Rachel
Don Keefer Mr. Parsons
Patricia Smith Mrs. Wilma Walford
Royal Dano Jake
Robert Hamm Dumb Dickie
Herb Gatlin Frank Savage

Make it a double feature

3h 4m together

Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies

The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank

Both from John Erman.

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