inspection. Cast (Name in brackets for the equivalent character in Journey's End.) Production Development The idea for the film came from producer Benny Fisz, who had served in the RAF in the Second World War, who pitched the idea of remaking Journey's End to British director Jack Gold. Although initially wary of it being an aviation film, Gold agreed after Howard Barker revised the screenplay. Gold said he was attracted to the film because "That was innocence, extreme youth, marred lives of these pilots who knew they are going to die. And we could show not only chivalry and bravery but also the fear." "What interests me is human relationships," said Gold. "Aces High has aerial battle scenes but they're not just thrown in. It has songs but they're not just cue music. They do tell something about the characters." The movie was co-financed by EMI Films. Casting Peter Firth and Christopher Plummer joined Malcolm McDowell, who agreed to appear in the film because Gold had such a good reputation among actors at the time. Filming The shooting schedule took seven weeks with one week for rehearsal. Exteriors were shot in Spain and Southern England with principal photography at Booker Airfield, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, as well as St Katharine Docks and Eton College. Interiors were completed at Pinewood Studios. The production paid close attention to authenticity with First World War era equipment being used throughout the film such as the airfield facilities, barracks and motor transport. The depicted squadron (known as 76 Squadron) is loosely based on 56 Squadron, which flew the S.E.5 that regained Allied air superiority in mid 1917. Some scenes are based on real RFC stories, such as pilots choosing between jumping to their deaths or burning alive in their aircraft (as they were not issued parachutes). The juvenile mess room songs and young pilots "public school" attitudes capture the fatalistic attitudes of the time, when the life expectancy of a new pilot could be measured in weeks. Aerial sequences Although the film reused some aerial sequences from The Blue Max (1966) and Von Richthofen and Brown (1971), the producers shot their own flight scenes. All British S.E.5s were heavily modified Stampe SV.4s, a Belgian two-seat trainer that first flew in the 1930s. Sinclair's plane was a period Avro 504. German aircraft were all adapted post-WWI aircraft except for a replica Fokker E-III . The reproduction is