Von Richthofen and Brown (1971) on Netflix
Manfred von Richthofen flies in Oswald Boelcke's German squadron and holds to a gentlemanly idea of war. Canadian wheat farmer Roy Brown joins a British squadron on the other side.
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Trailer
Plot summary
Roy Brown, a Canadian wheat farmer, joins a British squadron commanded by Lanoe Hawker and angers the other pilots by declining to toast the German ace Richthofen. Across the lines, Manfred von Richthofen serves as an average pilot in Oswald Boelcke's German squadron and holds that war should be fought like a gentleman. Werner Voss, Ernst Udet and Hermann Göring are among the pilots he meets, and he earns his first victories under Boelcke's advice. His brother Lothar joins the squadron.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Von Richthofen and Brown (1971)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- During the film's last scheduled flight, a jackdaw struck pilot Lynn Garrison in the face and knocked him unconscious as he flew a Stampe low over Lake Weston. The aircraft ran through five powerlines and plunged inverted into the River Liffey; Garrison and actor Don Stroud were rescued from the water, Stroud unhurt but Garrison needing 60 stitches.
- Stunt veteran Charles Boddington, who had worked on The Blue Max and Darling Lili, was killed on 15 September 1970 when his S.E.5 spun in during a low-level maneuver over the airfield.
- United Artists insisted the German characters be redubbed with accents after seeing Corman's final cut, and the director walked off the film in protest. Character actors did the new dubbing, which Corman said heavily damaged the film.
- Interiors were shot at Powerscourt House in County Wicklow, Ireland, where German architect Richard Cassels had given the entrance hall a Germanic motif, letting the stately home stand in visually for a German location.
- For the aerial scenes Corman photographed from an Alouette II helicopter and a Helio Courier, using camera mounts Lynn Garrison built for individual aircraft, so John Philip Law and Don Stroud appear to be flying. Garrison trained Law and Stroud until they could take off, land a Stampe and fly basic sequences themselves from the rear seat.
- United Artists refused Bruce Dern, Corman's original choice for Roy Brown. Don Stroud, whom Corman had selected to play Richthofen, was given Brown instead, and John Phillip Law was cast as the Red Baron.
- The film was originally to focus on Richthofen alone, but studio executives thought that would make it too German, so Canadian pilot Roy Brown, credited with shooting the Red Baron down though there is debate over who actually killed him, was added to the story.
- A sex scene between the actors Law and Karen Huston was cut from the finished film after it caused a preview audience to laugh.
