Okay, pull up a beanbag chair, maybe grab a Tab cola if you can find one, because we’re about to rewind to a truly peculiar gem from the mid-80s video store shelves. Picture this: you're a struggling New York catering hotshot, Jim Ferguson (Alex Hyde-White), laser-focused on landing that big corporate gig, probably involving some questionable vol-au-vents. Then, without warning – zap! – you’re suddenly thousands of feet above the trenches of World War I, sharing airspace with biplanes and dodging very real German bullets. Sounds utterly mad, right? Welcome, friends, to the wonderfully bizarre world of Biggles: Adventures in Time (1986).
### From Canapés to Dogfights
This film takes the beloved British literary hero, Squadron Leader James "Biggles" Bigglesworth – a staple of adventure fiction created by Captain W. E. Johns – and throws him into a premise so audacious, so quintessentially 80s, you have to admire the sheer nerve. The hook? Jim Ferguson discovers he’s Biggles’ “time twin,” cosmically linked across seventy years. Whenever one of them is in mortal danger, the other is violently teleported across time and space to help out, often at the most inopportune moments (like, say, mid-presentation with a futuristic laser gun that accidentally materializes from 1917).
It's a concept that likely had W. E. Johns purists spluttering into their tea. The original Biggles books were straight-laced tales of aerial bravery and wartime espionage. Adding time travel and a bewildered 80s American feels like adding pineapple to a perfectly good roast beef dinner – baffling, maybe even wrong, but you have to taste it, don't you? Director John Hough, known for grittier fare like Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974) and the genuinely creepy The Legend of Hell House (1973), tackles this odd mix with a surprising amount of straight-faced gusto.
### A Tale of Two Eras
What makes Biggles such a curious watch today is this constant, often jarring, juxtaposition. One minute we’re treated to rather well-staged WWI dogfights, featuring actual vintage aircraft (or convincing replicas) doing impressive aerial maneuvers – a testament to the practical effects work of the era. The next, we’re back in mid-80s London (standing in for New York for budgetary reasons, no doubt), dealing with Jim’s exasperated girlfriend Debbie (Fiona Hutchison) and navigating the perils of modern life, usually complicated by a sudden temporal shift or the appearance of a German machine gun nest in his apartment.
Neil Dickson absolutely nails the titular role. He is Biggles – stoic, brave, impossibly British, and utterly baffled by the strange future world his time twin occasionally drags him into. His clipped accent and unwavering resolve are the anchor in this sea of temporal absurdity. Alex Hyde-White, meanwhile, does his best as the relatable, perpetually confused Jim, our eyes and ears in this bewildering adventure. His performance captures that classic 80s "ordinary guy in extraordinary circumstances" vibe quite effectively. The chemistry between the two leads, born of shared peril and mutual confusion, is one of the film’s stronger points.
### Biplanes, Blasters, and Budget Constraints
Let's talk trivia, because Biggles has some fascinating nuggets. Produced for around £7.5 million, it wasn't exactly a shoestring affair for a British film at the time, but it sadly failed to make much of an impact at the box office, quickly finding its home on VHS. Perhaps the wild premise, deviating so sharply from the source material, alienated the built-in audience while proving too quirky for mainstream tastes. The script, credited to John Groves and producer Kent Walwin, clearly aimed for a broad, adventurous appeal, mixing the derring-do of WWI with the fish-out-of-water comedy popular in 80s cinema.
One particularly poignant piece of trivia is that Biggles features the final film appearance of the legendary Peter Cushing as Air Commodore William Raymond. Though his screen time is brief, seeing him imparts a certain gravitas, a final tip of the hat from a horror icon lending his presence to this oddball adventure. And who could forget that theme song? Yes, that Jon Anderson (of Yes fame) contributed music, adding another layer of 80s progressive rock weirdness to the proceedings. The practical effects for the aerial sequences hold up surprisingly well, showcasing real skill in capturing the feel of WWI combat before CGI took over completely. There's a tangible quality to those biplanes against the sky that still impresses.
### A Fond Farewell to a Quirky Adventure
Is Biggles: Adventures in Time a misunderstood masterpiece? Probably not. The plot is undeniably silly, the tone lurches between wartime drama and 80s comedy, and some of the dialogue clunks harder than a Sopwith Camel hitting the deck. Yet, there's an undeniable charm to its ambition and its sheer, unadulterated strangeness. It’s the kind of film that could only have been made in the 80s, a time when high-concept mashups felt like the next frontier in blockbuster entertainment.
Watching it now feels like uncovering a time capsule filled not just with 80s fashion and tech, but with a particular brand of cinematic optimism, where even the most ludicrous ideas felt worth trying. It perfectly captures that feeling of renting something purely based on the cover art and discovering an adventure far stranger, and perhaps more memorable, than you ever expected.
VHS Heaven Rating: 6/10
Justification: While the plot is ludicrous and the tonal shifts can be jarring, Neil Dickson is a perfect Biggles, the aerial sequences are genuinely well-executed for the era, and the sheer oddity of the concept provides undeniable entertainment value. It earns points for ambition, practical effects work, and delivering a truly unique (if flawed) adventure featuring Peter Cushing's final bow. It falls short of greatness due to script weaknesses and uneven execution, but it’s far from a total crash landing.
Final Thought: A glorious, head-scratching collision of eras, Biggles may not soar into the cinematic stratosphere, but its uniquely baffling charm makes it a fondly remembered flight of fancy from the wild blue yonder of the video store shelves. You had to be there... or maybe you just had to rent the tape.