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

Nicky Henson was interviewed for a part.

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Goofs

Use of an "interrupter gear" cam mechanism to allow fuselage-mounted machine guns to fire through propellers without shooting them off by stopping the gun whenever the propeller was in the way caused a far slower rate of fire than shown in the film. (The British SE-5 simply avoided the problem by mounting a machine gun to the plane's upper wing and firing over the top of the propeller.)

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Quotes

Reporter: You started the war as a cavalry officer, yeah?
Baron Manfred von Richthofen: Yeah.
Reporter: So, now, how does it feel to fly? To fight in the sky?
Baron Manfred von Richthofen: My ancestors were Teutonic knights; I've merely exchanged my horse for an airplane.
Reporter: [laughing] I see, so the flying is just a means to an end?
Baron Manfred von Richthofen: The flying is wonderful! But it's the hunt that I find most satisfying: the stalking, the chase, and finally the kill. The climax.
Reporter: Oh, so you enjoy it sir?
Baron Manfred von Richthofen: What should I say? War is the father of nations. It makes them slaves or it makes them free....
[...]

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Connections

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

User Reviews

Warfare film about the famous hero and his contender with drama , thrills and overwhelming aerial scenes

Baron Manfred Von Richthofen (John Phillip Law) was the most feared and celebrated pilot of the German air force in World War I . Manfred Von Richthofen arrives from the Cavalry, at a squadron in the German Airforce under the command of honorable Oswald Boelcke (Peter Masterson). He quickly becomes an aerial ace with several victories . To him and his companions , air combats are events of sporty nature , technical challenge and upright acting, ignoring the terrible extent of war . Manfred must decide if he is a soldier first or part of the ruling class whose father is a notorious Baron (Ferdy Mayne) . But after Manfred realizes he is only used for propaganda means , as the tactics of both sides break more rules and become more destructive . This is an exciting story based on facts about Manfred Von Richthofen, the German air ace during the World War I and his struggle with the enemy aces and some jealous German officers as the ruthless Herrmann Goering (Barry Primus) who subsequently will have a long career as Nazi leader during WWI . The allied squad has similar class divisions : its Major , an aristocrat , laments that men he considers peasants are now fliers , including a tough and Canadian named Roy Brown (Don Stroud) , the squad's main ace . Von Richthofen is wounded during an aerial battle and Brown and his squadron decide to attack Allied airfield , destroying their planes on the ground and killing his brother Lothar (Brian Foley). Then the baron seeks vengeance and attacks on the opposite British airfield . Red Baron and Brown have some strong aerial battles , trivial in the larger scheme yet fateful . Caught between his disgust for the war , and the responsibility for his fighter wing , Von Richthofen sets out to fly again . With the help of a batch of new fighters from Anthony Fokker (Hurd Hatfield), the 'Richthofen Flying Circus' launches a counter attack against English aircrafts . 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.

Spectacular dogfighting , impressive scenario , fine star cast and memorable acting . Acceptable budget extended adventures produced by Jimmi T Murakami and Gene Corman about a maverick pilot and his partners undergoing risked feats on air and bombing on earth . Very good aerial actioner plenty action , tragic drama , fantastic cloudy scenes and breathtaking dogfighting . John Philip Law and Don Stroud show professionalism as crack fighter pilots , two ambitious young men assigned to dangerous missions . Top-notch support cast gives excellent performance as Stephen McHattie , Barry Primus , Ferdy Mayne and Hurd Hartfield as Fokker . Colorful cinematography by Michael Reed and rousing musical score by Hugo Friedhofer .

The motion picture is professionally directed by Roger Corman . After his period realizing poverty-budget horror movies as ¨Swamp woman¨, ¨The beast with a million of eyes¨, ¨Attack of the crab monsters¨, ¨Undead¨, then came the cycle of tales of terror based on Poe as ¨ House of Usher¨, ¨Pit and pendulum¨, ¨The raven¨ , ¨Tales of terror¨, ¨The masque of the red death ¨ , and Corman made his undisputed masterpiece , ¨X¨ , that won the Golden Asteroid in the Trieste Festival of Science Fiction Films in 1963 . Later on , he directed films as ¨Angels of hell¨, ¨The St. Valentine's day massacre¨, ¨The trip¨, ¨Bloody mummy¨, ¨Gas or It became necessary to destroy the world in order to save it¨ and of course ¨Von Richthofen and Brown¨, and finally (1990) ¨Frankestein unbounded¨ . ¨Red Baron¨ rating : 6 , acceptable and passable , definitively wholesome watching , Corman's achievement to have bent the wartime genre with nice results. Good and entertaining fare , it's a fairly watchable and spectacular film and results to be a good treatment of WWI flying aces .