Aces High ** (1976, Malcolm McDowell, Christopher Plummer, Simon Ward, Peter Firth, John Gielgud, Trevor Howard, Richard Johnson, Ray Milland, David Wood) – Classic Movie Review 10,065

Director Jack Gold’s worthy 1976 reworked film version of the old R C Sherriff play (and 1930 film) Journey’s End is now titled Aces High and transferred to the British air war against the Germans. It unexpectedly suffers with dull and flat performances from Malcolm McDowell as the bitter squadron leader Gresham and Peter Firth as Croft, one of his group of new rookie First World War pilots. These are good actors, and trendy names, but maybe this time they were the wrong actors, just too contemporary.

Aces High is talky and static on the ground, but its liberal sentiments are well-meaning, it looks good (cinematography by Gerry Fisher and Peter Allwork for the aerial photography) and there is some compensation in the thrillingly staged sky battles. The play, of course, is about life and death in the trenches, which is much less cinematic but much more powerful.

Neither Howard Barker’s screenplay nor Gold’s direction gives a clear idea of why a remake was needed in the mid-1970s, even a reworked remake like this.

But the 2017 remake Journey’s End does.

It also stars Christopher Plummer, Simon Ward, John Gielgud, Trevor Howard, Richard Johnson, David Wood and Ray Milland, with David Daker, Barry Jackson, Ron Pember and Tim Pigott-Smith (in his theatrical movie debut).

A British French co-production, it is shot in the studio at EMI Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England; and filmed on location at North Weald, Essex, England (airfield); Booker Airfield, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England (Wycombe Air Park, Booker); and Eton College, Eton, Berkshire, England.

The opening credits locate it as England October 1916.

Aces High is directed by Jack Gold, runs 114 minutes, is made by S Benjamin Fisz Productions, Les Productions Jacques Roitfeld and Cine Artists Pictures, is released by EMI Films (1976) (UK) and Cinema Shares International Distribution (1977) (US), is written by Howard Barker, is shot by Gerry Fisher and Peter Allwork (aerial photography), is produced by Irwin Margulies (executive producer), S Benjamin Fisz and Jacques Roitfeld, scored by Richard Hartley, and designed by Syd Cain, with visual effects by Derek Meddings.

McDowell, Ward and Wood were in If… together. Firth and Gielgud did The Picture of Dorian Gray (1976) together in the same year.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,065

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