Von Richthofen and Brown (1971)

The story of Manfred von Richthofen, the German air ace during World War I and his struggle with the enemy aces and some jealous German officers.

Director:

Roger Corman

Writers:

John William Corrington, Joyce Hooper Corrington (as Joyce H. 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

Manfred von Richthofen (John Phillip Law) arrives from the Cavalry, at a squadron in the German air force under the command of Oswald Boelcke. He quickly becomes an ace. Meanwhile, a Canadian pilot named Roy Brown arrives at a British squadron, where the top scoring pilot is Victoria Cross winner, Major Lanoe Hawker. Brown ruffles the feathers of his squadron mates by refusing to drink a toast to von Richthofen. Von Richthofen and fellow squadron pilot, Hermann Goering clash when squadron commander Boelcke is killed after a mid air collision( Boelcke's upper left wing struck the undercarriage of Böhme's Albatros ). von Richthofen is given command of the squadron. Outraged when he is ordered to have his aircraft camouflaged, von Richthofen has the squadron's aircraft painted in bright conspicuous colors, claiming that gentlemen should not hide from their enemies. Later, von Richthofen is wounded during an aerial battle; meanwhile Lanoe Hawker is killed. Brown and his squadron decide to...

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Plot Keywords:

character names as title | surnames as title | four word title | based on real person | 20th century | 

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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:

Action | Biography | Drama | History | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for war action violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stunt pilot Charles Boddington was killed during filming when the vintage biplane he was flying crashed at Weston aerodrome near Dublin. The following day, another aircraft crashed, injuring pilot Lynn Garrison and actor Don Stroud.

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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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Crazy Credits

The name of the German ace that brought Richthofen into his squadron at the beginning of the film was spelled wrongly as "Boelke" in the credits. His name was Oswald BOELCKE.

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Connections

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

User Reviews

Ambitious by Roger Corman standards with mixed results.......

Roger Corman leaps beyond crab monsters and biker chicks to the skies over World War1 France. The film takes right off with flying sequences, which are surprisingly good. Characters are introduced at an overwhelming rate with little or no development. Both John Philip Law and Don Stroud appear uncomfortable in their flying ace roles. In their "spaghetti westerns" they look and act like they belong, but here they seem lost and out of their element. Romantic female characters are introduced, only to never be seen again. The air battles are definitely the strong point of "Von Richthofen and Brown", but even they become redundant. - MERK

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1