Von Richthofen and Brown

1971
PG-13
1h 37m

IMDb RATING

6.0/10

1.4K

YOUR RATING

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.

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Action Biography Drama History War

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.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.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
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.0/10

1.4K

YOUR RATING

Director
- Roger Corman
Writers
- John William Corrington
- Joyce Hooper Corrington
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
Production was shut down briefly due to a disaster on another semi-related film in the area. Birch Williams, an American living expat in Ireland, was the owner of the period planes Roger Corman leased for the production. He was so interested in and excited by what Corman was doing that he decided to make a similar film himself, using his own planes. Unfortunately, there was a midair mishap, and Williams and two pilots were killed. In response, the Irish government shut down all film flying, and the insurance company canceled Corman's policy. It took several days of negotiation to get their status restored, and to resume production.

Goofs
Hermann Goering was not assigned to the Flying Circus until he took over as its commander several months after Manfred von Richthofen's death. Also, his later reputation notwithstanding, there is no evidence that Goering ever machine-gunned civilians or committed other atrocities as a World War One fighter pilot.

Quotes
Canadian Reporter: Lieutenant Brown, the readers of the Toronto Star want to know about Canada's newest Ace.
Roy Brown: What is there to know? I'm just a technician; I change things.
Canadian Reporter: Change things?
Roy Brown: Put a plane in front of me, with a man in it, I change them into a wreck and a corpse.
Canadian Reporter: Well... well how do you like France?
Roy Brown: It's a nice country, isn't it? Lots of my friends will be staying after the war.
Canadian Reporter: Ah... how do you like the French girls, Lieutenant?
Roy Brown: With both their arms and legs, I think.
Canadian Reporter: [coughs] ... the German planes, are they dangerous?
Roy Brown: The Germans, they're dangerous. The planes, they're dangerous too. They kill as many Germans as we do, the same way ours do us.
Canadian Reporter: But now that we outnumber the Germans, we're... we're winning, aren't we?
Roy Brown: How in Christ's name do I know? I go out in the morning and try to stay alive till I run out of petrol. One day I come back and they tell me I'm an Ace.
Canadian Reporter: But you've... you've shot down eight German planes!
Roy Brown: Is it eight? God Almighty I thought it was a hundred. I keep shooting him down but he's always up there in the morning. How the hell do I know who's winning the war? One of these mornings...
Canadian Reporter: One of these mornings, it'll all be over.
Roy Brown: How can it be over? There's still some of us alive. They wouldn't end it with any of us alive, now would they?

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.

Connections
Featured in Chivalry in Warfare: Corman, Von Richthofen and Brown (2019)

User reviews32

Review

Featured review

Excellent Action in the Air

Von Richthofen and Brown (1971)

** (out of 4)

John Phillip Law plays Baron Manfred von Richthofen and Don Stroud plays Roy Brown, the famous dog fighters of WW1 who would eventually meet in the air. This Corman production takes a look at the two men's lives leading up to that day in the air. This is a rather strange film because on one hand it's easy to recommend to people because the stuff in the air is downright brilliant yet on the other hand, everything on the ground is a complete bore. This would turn out to be Corman's final film as director for nearly two decades so it's an interesting film to go out on. For the most part he handles the material quite well but I can't help but wish he had spent a few more dollars on the screenplay and delivered a more interesting story. I must admit that my mind kept wondering around and losing focus because everything that happens on the group is just downright boring and at times it's hard to figure out what's going on. History buffs say the film isn't that true to reality but I can live with that. I do wish that Corman had done something more because what we get just isn't enough to work as a bio flick or as any type of human drama. What does work are the amazing aerial shots that are quite thrilling. Apparently all of the aerial things were filmed over a two week period and they are so well made that they certainly make you feel as if you're up there in the air fighting yourself. The cinematography that captures all of this is exceptional as well. The violence is quite bloody throughout but it's realistic. Both actors turn in decent performances but they can only work with what they got. In the end, action fans might want to check this one out for the amazing battle scenes but history buffs will probably be upset with the film.