Film Review: Von Richthofen and Brown (1971)

Roger Corman, the self-proclaimed “king of B-movies,” cemented his legacy as a cinematic titan through a prolific output of genre films that not only shaped the contours of exploitation cinema but also served as a launchpad for countless directors, writers, and actors. Though often dismissed as a purveyor of low-budget thrills, Corman’s work exhibited an undeniable versatility, spanning science fiction, horror, and even occasional forays into historical drama. However, his filmography’s uneven quality occasionally revealed the cracks beneath its ambitious surface, nowhere more evident than in his penultimate directorial effort, Von Richthofen and Brown (1971). This war biopic, a sprawling yet ultimately underwhelming attempt to transcend his B-movie roots, stands as a testament to Corman’s ambition—and his limitations—as a filmmaker.

The film’s screenplay, written by poet John William Corrington and his wife Joyce, is framed as a tribute to Manfred von Richthofen, the legendary “Red Baron” of World War I, whose 80 aerial victories made him the deadliest fighter pilot of the conflict. The Corringtons’ script, however, prioritises dramatic narrative over historical rigour, weaving a fictionalised account of Richthofen’s rise and fall. Corman, in his later memoirs, admitted that United Artists pressured him to include Roy Brown—a Canadian pilot credited (controversially) with downing the Red Baron—as a secondary protagonist. This decision, ostensibly to broaden the film’s appeal in North America, creates a contrived ideological dichotomy between the aristocratic German ace (John Phillip Law) and the pragmatic Canadian (Don Stroud). While the contrast between their philosophies—Richthofen’s chivalric code versus Brown’s ruthless efficiency—provides thematic backbone, the script’s adherence to Brown’s perspective (evident in scenes where his superiors reluctantly endorse his “ungentlemanly” tactics) undermines the film’s potential for nuanced exploration of war’s moral ambiguities.

The narrative opens with a young Richthofen joining the Luftstreitkräfte fighter squadron under the mentorship of Oswald Boelcke (Peter Masterson), a visionary tactician whose death early in the film catalyses Richthofen’s ascension to command. The film’s central conflict emerges through Richthofen’s clash with Hermann Göring (Barry Primus), whose ruthless pragmatism foreshadows his later infamy as a Nazi leader. Richthofen’s adherence to a knightly ethos draws scorn from Göring and some of his British adversaries alike. The titular rivalry between Richthofen and Brown culminates in their final duel, though the film’s climax, muddled by rushed editing and a reliance on audience prior knowledge of Richthofen’s death, fails to resolve the tension satisfactorily. The unresolved debate over whether Brown or Australian infantrymen fired the fatal bullett further weakens the narrative’s emotional weight.

Corman’s decision to leave American International Pictures (AIP) and pursue Von Richthofen and Brown with major studio United Artists marked a bold attempt to shed his B-movie reputation. Yet the film’s shoestring budget betrayed its ambitions. Reusing replica planes from The Blue Max (1966)—itself a superior WWI aerial drama—Corman relied on Ireland’s landscapes to stand in for the Western Front. While the aerial combat sequences retain a visceral energy, the film’s aesthetic suffers from repetitive editing, recycled explosions, and a rushed pace that prioritises brevity over clarity. The result is a visual cacophony that obscures the story’s potential for gravitas.

Corman’s aim to capitalise on anti-war sentiment—rooted in the contemporaneous Vietnam conflict—is evident in scenes like Göring’s sadistic machine-gunning of British nurses or a cabal of German officers scheming to blame Jews and socialists for Germany’s upcoming defeat. These moments, however, feel tacked-on and anachronistic, disrupting the film’s tenuous grip on historical plausibility. Similarly, the subplot involving aircraft designer Anthony Fokker (Hurd Hatfield) and his seductive associate Ilse (Karen Huston) introduces a half-hearted critique of the military-industrial complex, but the Ilse’s exploitation-oriented costume undercuts its seriousness. Meanwhile, Brown’s ill-advised flirtation with a French village girl—a character whose amputated legs symbolise the war’s brutality—feels tonally jarring, serving as a muddled metaphor rather than a coherent narrative beat.

When measured against The Blue Max, a film that tackled similar themes with greater emotional depth and technical precision, Von Richthofen and Brown falters. While The Blue Max explored the psychological toll of aerial combat through a humanist lens, Corman’s film oscillates between melodrama and confused polemics. The rushed editing and reused sets create a sense of déjà vu, particularly in the climactic dogfight, which lacks the urgency or clarity needed to justify its 1971 release date. Critics at the time lambasted the film for its historical inaccuracies, weak characterisation, and uneven pacing, while audiences responded with indifference.

The film’s commercial and critical failure marked the end of Corman’s directing career. His subsequent Frankenstein Unbound (1990)—a surreal sci-fi misfire—confirmed that his strengths lay in production, not direction. Von Richthofen and Brown remains a curiosity, a flawed attempt to balance ambition with the constraints of B-movie economics. While it underscores Corman’s willingness to experiment, it also reveals the limits of a creative vision too often constrained by practicality.

RATING: 4/10 (+)

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