Ace of Aces: A sculptor with something to prove

Is it worth it?

Look, if you have a soft spot for 1930s aviation dramas that don't quite know if they want to be a romance or a war movie, sure. Give it a spin. If you need your war movies to be grounded in reality or have actual pacing, you’re probably gonna hate this. It’s got that specific kind of stiff-upper-lip melodrama that feels like it’s vibrating at a frequency only dogs and historians can hear.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Ace of Aces (1933) through its definitive frames.

Richard Dix is playing the sculptor here, and he looks about as comfortable holding a clay tool as I would be holding a live grenade. The whole premise is that he's a conscientious objector, but then he catches some flack for it and decides the best way to fix his reputation is to go blow things up in the sky. It’s a very logical leap, obviously. 🙄

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Ace of Aces (1933) through its definitive frames.

The flying sequences are... well, they are something. You can tell they were trying really hard with the budget they had, but it’s mostly a lot of frantic editing and model planes that seem to be fighting a stiff breeze. There’s a moment where he’s in the cockpit, and the background just looks like someone shaking a blanket behind his head. It’s charming in a 'they tried' sort of way, but don't expect Top Gun.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Ace of Aces (1933) through its definitive frames.

I couldn't help but think about how different this is from something like Machi no hitobito. Where that film feels like it's trying to capture a specific soul, Ace of Aces is just trying to hit its marks. The transition from 'sensitive artist' to 'ace pilot' happens so fast you’ll get whiplash. One minute he’s smoothing out a bust, the next he’s screaming in a dive. It’s wild.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Ace of Aces (1933) through its definitive frames.

The dialogue is also pure cheese. Everyone talks like they’re reciting lines from a play performed in a giant hall where the back row is half a mile away. Nobody talks like this! But then again, it’s 1933, so maybe they did? I doubt it.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Ace of Aces (1933) through its definitive frames.

• The sculptor's studio set looks like it was built out of cardboard and optimism.
• The romance feels tacked on, like the studio said, "Hey, put a girl in it so people don't fall asleep."
• The dogfights have this weird, repetitive rhythm that makes you feel like you're playing an arcade game from the 80s.

It’s not a masterpiece, and it’s certainly not high art. But it’s got a strange, frantic energy that kept me watching until the end. It reminded me a bit of the weird pacing in The Varmint, just with more propellers. Don't go in expecting a deep dive into the horrors of the Great War. Go in expecting a guy in a leather cap looking very stressed out while he makes faces at the camera. Sometimes, that’s just enough. ✈️