Ace of Aces

I never liked Richard Dix very much. He's just awful in the wonderful film, Cimarron, which earned him an Oscar nomination. Any other film I've seen in him seems to show him off as a hammy, middle-aged actor just going through the paces. But Ace of Aces was a slight surprise. This WW I story about a pacifist artist who joins up and become a bloodthirsty killer under the guise of being a flying "ace" seems like the kind of role he needed. In a way it's similar to the role of Yancy in Cimarron, but minus the "Wahoos" he lets out sporadically in that film. Plus in Cimarron Dix pales in comparison to the great performance turned in by Irene Dunne. In Ace of Aces, Dix is the star. No one else registers very strongly. Elizabeth Allan is the girl friend, Ralph Bellamy the commanding officer, Theodore Newton the best friend, Nella Walker the socialite, and the Stroud twins (Claude and Clarence) play fellow flyers. Not a great film by any means, but a solid story certainly helps. The aerial dogfights are good but not as good as in Hell's Angels. Check it out.

Considering the era it was made this film was very well made. Of all the fluff that came out of Hollywood I'm sure this was a pleasant change of pace for moviegoers of the day and is still worth watching some 70 + years later.

War and especially combat change a man and usually not for the better for a long time if not for life. This movie went into the dark corners of these human transformations. Great acting, writing, and directing was put into this effort.

Richard Dix was well chosen for the lead of this film as the role called for a tough character in this lead role of fighter pilot ace. Although Mr. Dix is not as well known in film history as Gable or Bogart he was very popular back in the 30's and 40's and a leading man. His untimely death at age 56 shortened a great career. If you get the chance to see this movie, please seize the opportunity to view some real Hollywood history.

As America decides to enter WWI, an artist (Richard Dix) tells his patriotic girlfriend (Elizabeth Allan) that he objects to getting involved in a pointless war "like a lemming." Feeling guilty over her rebuke, he signs up, and after overcoming initial qualms about killing, quickly becomes the best fighter pilot in his squadron, having killed 43 of the enemy. When the pair happen to run into one another on a weekend pass he has in Paris, he tells her that he'll only spend the time with her if she'll have sex with him - that's what he's looking for from other women - and she reluctantly consents (certainly a pre-Code moment). He's gone through quite a transformation, oozing masculinity and aggression so much that even fighting seems to be mostly about personal glory, but he's shaken when he sees real suffering in the hospital, including a man he personally shot down.

The film has elements glorifying war, such as the ragtag fighter crew and their aerial exploits, but it also has elements condemning it, such as the men suffering cruel, lingering deaths, PTSD, and a suicide. Despite having secured an instructor's position, the man feels compelled to go back out and earn more kills to beat some other hotshot's record, something I initially thought might be a metaphor for humanity inevitably continuing the crazy cycle of warfare, but his subsequent actions show a nice (if rather forced) sense of enlightenment.

Unfortunately, despite all these great concepts, the film is rather clunky in its mechanics for delivering them. At times it feels abrupt and at others, confused. It needed some other element with an edge - someone bringing up how ridiculous this particular war was in the first place, a darker change in Dix's character, some kind of arc to Allan's character, or an ending that was less saccharine - to have truly succeeded. It could also have used a little more star power and flair in its performances. I liked the antiwar components and how they reflected the psyche of the country in between the wars, but this one was just average, and not terribly special.

Richard Dix gets above the title on this war time flick. Co-stars british Elizabeth Allan and Ralph Bellamy. Actor Dix was already forty, much older than everyone else in the troop of foreign flyers, fighting the germans in the sky. He is a great pilot and strategist, and racks up many kills. Keep an eye out for the awesome Grady Sutton, when he comes in with news of the war. Had mostly uncredited roles before this, and even this one was uncredited. It's the typical war time flick. Men went off to war, and came back changed. How will the experience change his relationship with his girl Nancy from back home? And he gets a little too philosophical near the end... does the viewer really need a discussion on the pros and cons of going to war? Bellamy was just getting started in hollywood... this was one of TWELVE films released in 1933 for him. Granted, it wasn't a big role. Story based on bird of prey by John Saunders. Directed by walt ruben. Married to actress Virginia Bruce when he died at 43 of a bad heart. Dix also died young at 56, of heart problems.

Plot in a Nutshell: Spurned by his lover for his pacifist views, a man (Richard Dix) enters the fray of WWI as a fighter pilot and becomes a one-man wrecking crew in the skies over France.

Why I rated it an '8': Several reasons. The anti-war sentiment of Rocky Thorne was an interesting centerpiece and serves to remind us that a fair percentage of the population wound up believing (in hindsight) that the U.S.'s involvement in WWI was perhaps not such a great idea after all (similar to Vietnam and the Iraq war). The pre-code hotel conversation between Rocky and Nancy certainly got my attention. In it, Rocky uses Nancy's words against her - "everyone should do their part" and "give what they can give" - in a successful seduction where Nancy gives in to his sexual demands, in essence as part of the 'war effort.' It does not endear one to Thorne, as he comes across as callous and manipulative, but it's something you wouldn't see in a film just a few years later I'm sure.

SFX were decent for the time period. The German character actually spoke German and/or broken English which was a realistic touch. My only real complaint is why Thorne swings from one extreme to the other without much prodding (pacifist to remorseless killer). The best one can say is perhaps 'kill or be killed' - perhaps - but of course he didn't need to enlist as a pilot in the first place. He could have been an ambulance driver like Ernest Hemingway and avoided the requirement to kill altogether. Even so, a pretty enjoyable pre-code WWI flick.

Best Line: Rocky Thorne (to Nancy): "Courage? At a time like this it takes courage to stick to one's principles."

Times watched: 1. Would I watch again (Y/N)?: Yes.