Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies (1973)

Touches You

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

I'd like to begin by expressing my disbelief that this doesn't show up on "worst" lists, if not for all time, then at least for the era.This isn't just a ho-hum movie; it's actively and aggressively offensive. This is a film whose main character calls his young son a "dumb, ugly, son of a bitch." A film which not only features a cockfight, but depicts it with such detail and at such length that we're expected to become as excited about its outcome as our "hero." A film in which an 11-year-old is privy to the sexual adventures of his father.Yes, it's a family picture.Steven Spielberg gets a story credit on this shamefest. His detractors would blame much of the movie's problems on him; his worshippers would argue that there's a difference between a story treatment and the way a movie plays out when it reaches the screen. Neither side truly wins in this case, but I'm in the latter camp, because I feel that much of the film's failing comes from the atrocious script that was drawn from Spielberg's story, and the misguided direction.Ironically, this movie came out the same year as "Paper Moon," which covers some of the same dramatic territory. Like "Ace Eli," it features a smart-mouthed youngster attached to a single, itinerant, philandering con artist. But where that film was a classy, Oscar-winning charmer, "Ace Eli" just makes one sick to the stomach.

This movie looooks glossy and has nice title, oh yeah. Hey! It was even written by Steven Spielberg no less. But unfortunately it just doesn't deliver as either a family movie, nostalgic social commentary of 1930's or anything else for that matter. When I first saw it on cable as a teenager several years ago it kind of disturbed me. The themes that run through are kind of dark. Granted it does take place in the Great Depression, but there are better movies set in the Depression era (like Seabiscuit). This movie follows the aimless wanderings of a depression era pilot Ace Eli and his bratty kid Rodger. Along the way Eli instructs Rodger about flying, women, and life in general. I especially got a kick out of the cheesy dialogue about "what makes a real whore"...hehehe...as the comparisons between Shelby and Annette become strikingly clear as the movie progresses...Overall a time waster unless you like weird pointless movies set in the Great Depression 4 out 10

Cliff Robertson as a wily barnstormer in the 1920s who makes his airplane his occupation. With a story by newcomer Steven Spielberg, "Ace Eli" is predictably nostalgic and not uninteresting. It has some sentiment, which is quickly evened out with grit, and a good performance by child actor Eric Shea (aside from his turn as the brainiac in "The Poseidon Adventure", this is Shea's shining moment). Robertson doesn't quite convince as a stud in the skies simply because he's so laconic as an actor; Robertson seems to love planes, but there's no glee in the man as a performer. Had Eli been played as a devilish old rascal, there might be something to the relationship between the flier and the kid, but Robertson isn't into buddyisms (he's not about to play the comic foil, nor is he willing to be a cut-up). The women are a different matter: Pamela Franklin gets most of the screen-time as a flapper, yet she's curt and cold; Bernadette Peters, as a flooze, is much preferable because she's anxious to cut through the baloney. The flying sequences are very good, but director John Erman loses his impetus on the ground, and his details are all wrong (after seeing Robertson apparently getting sick from drinking at a party, Franklin allows him to kiss her on the mouth in a barn--surely not a fancy flapper with a brand new set of wheels!). The poor reception the picture received must have bruised Spielberg (that and the release of the not dissimilar "Paper Moon" the same year). But, aside from some faults, it's an engaging, minor item. **1/2 from ****

Generally, I like the kind of movie about which I could say, "This movie could never be made today." That is a statement true of Ace Eli, but unfortunately, this movie should never have been made in its time either.It is thoroughly unpleasant, aimless and populated with hateful characters. The odd thing is that it seems designed as some sort of nostalgic family entertainment.Begin with Cliff Robertson and the kid who Bobby Brady paid a half dollar to go out with Cindy. They are dad and son. The mom is killed in a plane crash with Cliff as pilot (this happens right away, so I'm not spoiling anything), and Cliff decides he's going to go fly away in his biplane and barnstorm the country. The kid is a jerk to a little girl who likes him, Cliff is a jerk to the kid and the girl's mom who he is immediately sleeping with (fun for the whole family). They burn down their house and take off. The kid smokes, Cliff sleeps with some more gals, lots of nice footage of the plane flying around, no real narrative.The positives: Pamela Franklin is unspeakably hot as a uppity woman who is attracted to good ol' Cliff. Bernadette Peters fans can see her. Nice shots of an old biplane flying around for those who are interested in barnstorming and such.The odd thing is that Spielberg wrote this, and it is about a time in American history about which one could write a sentimental father-son barnstorming team movie. This movie has very little sentiment (Spielberg maybe tried to make up for this with "Always"?) and NO charm despite it's unique setting.