Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies

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.

4.7

89 min

Cast

Cliff Robertson

as Ace Eli Walford

Eric Shea

as Roger Walford

Pamela Franklin

as Shelby

Rosemary Murphy

as Hannah

Bernadette Peters

as Allison

Alice Ghostley

as Sister Lite

Kelly Jean Peters

as Rachel

Don Keefer

as Mr. Parsons

Patricia Smith

as Mrs. Wilma Walford

Royal Dano

as Jake

Robert Hamm

as Dumb Dickie

Herb Gatlin

as Frank Savage

Arthur Malet

as Brother Watson

Ariana Munker

as Betty Jo

Hope Summers

as Laura

Jim Boles

as Abraham

Lew Brown

as Harrison

Brent Hurst

as Mrs. Parsons

Jan Simms

as Mrs. Parsons

Rodger Peck

as Leroy

Claudia Bryar

as Ann

Jerry Ayres

as Gambler

Director

John Erman