Biggles (film)

Development

As early as 1968, there were plans to make a film based on W.E. Johns' books entitled Biggles Sweeps The Skies. James Fox was tapped to play Biggles and even appeared in promotional material.^[6] However, the film was never made.^[7] Peter James bought the rights to the Biggles stories in 1976.^[8]

The film was produced by Yellowbill Films, a company set up in 1979^[9] by British producer Kent Walwin, and one of its first acquisitions was the rights to the Biggles character.^[10] Additional financing came from a subsidiary of Hammer Films, Tambarle Ab Ltd,^[11] and Heath Financial Services, a group of insurance brokers,^[12] which the film is copyrighted by.^[13] The Eady Levy was about to expire in early 1985, so to take advantage of additional funding, the film was rushed into production. In 1988, Compact Yellowbill Ltd was set up,^[14] a company 50/50 owned by Kent Walwin and the other producer, Pom Oliver, and the film's production credit was changed to that. Walwin had the idea of creating a series of Biggles films in the same format as the James Bond series which the option on all of the books could have opened the door to.^[3]

John Hough had already directed several movies for Hammer Films and had had success with Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry. He had read the Biggles books as a child and signed to direct in November 1984.^[15]

The original script called for an adventure film in the mould of Raiders of the Lost Ark and would have been much more faithful to Johns' original novels. Some sources claim that during scriptwriting, however, Back to the Future was released and became a major hit, so the script was duly altered to follow this trend, in an attempt to capitalise on Back to the Future's popularity. However, Biggles had already completed filming by the date of Back to the Future's UK release date of December 1985.

Filming

Principal photography took place over six weeks between January and March of 1985.^[16]

Before Neil Dickson was cast as Biggles, Dudley Moore was in the running for the part.^[17] Dickson had been a fan of the original books since childhood and was very keen to appear in the film, however when he signed on, there was no final script written.^[18]

Biggles was both Dickson's and Alex Hyde-White's first leading role in a motion picture.^[19] It was also Fiona Hutchison's first movie role. She described her character Debbie as 'trapped and terrified.'^[20]

Veteran stuntman Gerry Crampton co-ordinated the action sequences and designed the stunts for the film.^[21]

Locations

The film was mostly shot in London and on various locations in the home counties.^[22] Some of the aerial sequences were shot near Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire. The 1917 weapon testing ground scene was shot at the Beckton Gas Works, which a year later was used for scenes in Full Metal Jacket and had been the location for the pre title sequence in the 1981 Bond film For Your Eyes Only and the finale of the John Wayne actioner Brannigan.^[23] The exterior church scenes were all filmed at All Saints Church, Holdenby, and the courtyard scenes were filmed by the stable blocks of Holdenby House.^[24]

Aircraft

Several aircraft were used in the film. These included a Stampe SV.4, which is flown by Biggles, and a Boeing Stearman, which is flown by his archrival, von Stalhein. Both these bi-planes are actually from the 1930s. The Stampe was flown by Stuart Goldspink while the Stearman was piloted by John Jordan.^[25] Also used in ground scenes are several genuine World War I aircraft from the Shuttleworth Collection, including the Avro 504 and LVG C.VI.^[26] The aircraft and flying scenes were based at and around Old Warden aerodrome in Bedfordshire.^[27] The film includes a scene where Biggles lands the helicopter (a Bell 206 JetRanger) on a flat wagon on a moving train. This was filmed on the Nene Valley Railway and was apparently the first time such a stunt had been attempted. Fifteen takes were needed before the sequence was finished. The helicopter was flown by renowned stunt pilot Marc Wolff.^[28] The Sopwith Pup biplane seen at the beginning of the film was specially built by Skysport Engineering and suspended on a crane for filming.^[29] During filming, the cable holding the prop biplane snapped, causing it to crash. With no replacement, the scene had to be rewritten.^[30]

The flying sequences were of major interest to aviation fans, so much so that features on the filming of the scenes appeared in specialist magazines.^[31]

Writing

The film takes much liberty with the storyline of the original novels. In addition to the introduction of a science-fiction plot, Biggles is much older than in the books (where he is only a teenager in 1917), and the characters Ginger and Bertie feature although they don't join Biggles until much later in the book series. However, the presence of Biggles' friend Algy, adversary Erich von Stahlein and love interest Marie fits with the earlier books in the series.^[32]

Books

A novelisation of the script was published by Coronet Books in paperback and Severn House in hardcover reprint. The author was Trevor Hoyle, writing under the pseudonym "Larry Milne." The novel follows the film closely but expands certain scenes and ideas. At one point Biggles and Jim repel a mustard gas attack. The book features a chapter on the making of the film.^[42]

A 48-page storybook entitled "Biggles: The Untold Story" was also produced, written by Peter James, it includes several photographs from the movie, and was published by Pan Books.^[43]

A read-along storybook and cassette was also released for younger children.^[44]

Several of W.E. Johns' original novels were reprinted to tie in to the release of the film, including Biggles: Pioneer Air Fighter, the very first Biggles adventure.^[45]

A set of lobby cards was produced for some European releases.^[46]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Stanislas Syrewicz and released by MCA Records on vinyl and cassette tape.^[47]

Jon Anderson, frontman of Yes wrote the lyrics for the film's signature song, Do You Want to Be a Hero, while Stanislas composed the rhythm.^[48] Anderson and Stanislas were both signed to Island Records at the time and agreed to collaborate on the music.^[49]

• Jon Anderson – "Do You Want to Be a Hero"
• Jon Anderson – "Chocks Away"
• Deep Purple – "Knocking at Your Back Door"
• Mötley Crüe – "Knock 'Em Dead, Kid"
• Queen - "Another One Bites The Dust"
• The Immortals – "No Turning Back" Co-written by John Deacon in his second non-Queen recording. The track was released as a single, and the accompanying music video also starred Peter Cushing. The song failed to chart.^[50]

Video game

As a tie-in to the film, a video game with the same title was released in 1986 by Image Works for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum.^[51] The game was based on the movie's storyline and featured four different missions which including flying combat sequences with biplanes, a rooftop chase, searching for the secret weapon in a trench setting and first person helicopter gameplay.^[52] The game received mixed reviews.^[53]

Musical film

Dickson later reprised the Biggles character in all but name in the Pet Shop Boys' 1987 feature film It Couldn't Happen Here.