Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies ( 1973 )

Overview

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.

Top 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

Arthur Malet

Brother Watson

Ariana Munker

Betty Jo

Hope Summers

Laura

Jim Boles

Abraham

Lew Brown

Harrison

Brent Hurst

Mrs. Parsons

Jan Simms

Mrs. Parsons

Rodger Peck

Leroy

Claudia Bryar

Ann

Jerry Ayres

Gambler