Von Richthofen and Brown

Roger Corman is usually immediately associated with exploitive movies made for B studios, but there were a few times when he worked for major Hollywood studios, "Von Richthofen and Brown" being one example. Additional interest is that this movie is one of the few times Corman made a serious movie - there's no exploitive tone to be found here. So how are the end results? Well, with a major studio bankrolling the production, the look of the movie is pretty well done. There's no signs of cost-cutting or missing details. Also, the aerial sequences are excellent, exciting and breath-taking. However, Corman was working with an inadequate script. Though the various actors in the cast do a professional job, the screenplay simply doesn't get into the heads of Von Richthofen or Brown (or anyone else for that matter.) We don't really learn what's driving them or what they are really thinking. While I wouldn't say that this is a terrible movie despite that fatal flaw, I would only recommend the movie to Roger Corman fans who are intrigued about the idea of him making a serious movie on an A-level budget.

Well, only slightly worse in that although this film misses the earlier film's scope and spectacle, it slims down the narrative substantially so that it goes down a little easier. Similarly to George Peppard, John Philip Law gives us an aloof performance of a German fighter ace rising up through the ranks, hitting most of the same notes including getting a medal from The Kaiser and bedding some classy rich woman as reward for his deeds.

Don Stroud gives us another of his mopey forlorn performances so characteristic of leading men of this era. We don't really ever come to like him unfortunately but that goes for Law too. Although I'd call this one of Roger Corman's more "respectable" films in that it doesn't exude any obvious incompetence, it does feel a little light and small considering there's supposed to be a whole World War going on. For those expecting any real insight into the true story of The Red Baron, look elsewhere as this film doesn't feel particularly accurate or well-researched. Surprisingly, it does contain dozens of vintage planes and a couple cool base attack scenes. That's probably where all the money went.

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.

This is not the greatest WWI movie ever made. But it's still pretty good. The special effects and the flying sequences are superb. And Roy Brown not only is identified as a Canadian --- rare for Hollywood --- but he also is presented as the prickly and difficult character he was. That's also rare for Hollywood which tends to ignore the warts on its heroes. The movie is also reasonably historically accurate.

Given the very negative comments by others on IMDB about this film, I wasn't really expecting much, especially given that it was directed by Roger Corman, who, whilst he certainly has his talents, would not really be expected to helm a period piece with high production values. Actually I found this film not at all bad. Certainly its narrative plays fast and loose with historical details. But it is quite authentic in many respects - the planes themselves, and the nature of air combat depicted, are reasonably accurate (better, for example, than the planes in The Blue Max, which often look like very thinly disguised Tiger Moths). And fair chunks of the dialogue seem to be taken almost directly from the writings of actual WW1 flyers. Even the rather melodramatic plot does have roots in historical truths, and functions well enough to engage the viewer's attention throughout. I'd say it's definitely worth a look, and compares surprisingly well with the generally much better regarded The Blue Max.