Von Richthofen and Brown (1971)

The story of Manfred von Richtofen, the german air ace during the World War I and his truggle with the enemy aces and some jealous german officers.

Director:

Roger Corman

Writers:

John William Corrington, Joyce Hooper Corrington

Stars:

John Phillip Law, Don Stroud, Barry Primus

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Phillip Law	...	Baron Manfred von Richthofen
Don Stroud	...	Roy Brown
Barry Primus	...	Hermann Goering
Corin Redgrave	...	Major Lanoe Hawker VC
Karen Ericson	...	Ilse (as Karen Huston)
Hurd Hatfield	...	Anthony Fokker
Stephen McHattie	...	Werner Voss
Brian Foley	...	Lothar von Richthofen
Robert La Tourneaux	...	Ernest Udet
Peter Masterson	...	Major Oswald Boelke
Clint Kimbrough	...	Major von Höppner
Tom Adams	...	Owen
Ferdy Mayne	...	Richthofen's father
David Weston	...	Murphy
John Flanagan	...	Thompson

Storyline

World War I: an allied squadron and a German squadron face off daily in the skies. Manfred von Richtofen, the Red Baron, leads one, and, although one of his decisions cost the life of his predecessor, he expects his men to honor codes of conduct. The allied squad has similar class divisions: its colonel, an aristocrat, laments that men he considers peasants are now fliers, including a cynical and ruthless Canadian, Roy Brown, the squad's ace. As the tactics of both sides break more rules and become more destructive, the Baron must decide if he is a soldier first or part of the ruling class. He and Brown have two aerial battles, trivial in the larger scheme yet tragic.

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Plot Keywords:

fighter plane | aerial combat | world war one | part fiction | biplane | 

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Taglines:

On April 21, 1918, the Red Baron of Germany and the Black Sheep of the R.A.F. met in the skies of France for the last time!

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Genres:

War | Action | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for war action violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 September 1971 (Finland)

Also Known As:

The Red Baron

Filming Locations:

Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Box Office

Budget:

$900,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Corman Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While the dogfights were shot in Ireland over a two-week period using actual vintage planes, the crash sequences were filmed at Andrews Air Force base in a single day, using models assembled by a group of teenaged hobbyists Roger Corman happened across while scouting locations.

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Goofs

The national anthem, you can hear during the German empire scenes, is the republican anthem, introduced after the revolution 1918. Funny enough the German anthem during the Kaiserreich had same melody like UK anthem 'God Save the King'.

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Quotes

Roy Brown: [Walking away from another pilot after an argument on the firing range, when the other officer turns his machine gun to Brown but does not use it] What's the matter? You can't shoot a man in the back if he's not in a plane?

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Connections

Referenced in The Directors: The Films of Roger Corman (1999)

User Reviews

A let down.

Took a chance to see if perhaps a really good WWI film had slipped my notice--this isn't it. John Phillip Law and Don Stroud are both stiff in their acting and miscast for their roles. The dialogue is dumb or non-existent; the flying sequences are okay but pretty repetitive. Compared to the terrific "Blue Max" this movie should never have been made. Watch George Peppard,James Mason, and Usula Andress in the BM and you get why that movie is one of the best war films ever made and this isn't. Recently released on DVD Richtofen and Brown is presented as some great 'lost classic' from the 70's, I resold mine the day after I bought it. Don't waste your time or $.