Von Richthofen and Brown

Von Richthofen and Brown, alternatively titled The Red Baron, is a 1971 war film directed by Roger Corman and starring John Phillip Law and Don Stroud as Manfred von Richthofen and Roy Brown. Although names of real people are used and embedded in basic historic facts, the story by Joyce Hooper Corrington and John William Corrington makes no claim to be historically accurate, and in fact is largely fictional. Plot Manfred von Richthofen is newly assigned to a German air squadron under the command of Oswald Boelcke. Across the lines, Roy Brown arrives at a British squadron under the command of Lanoe Hawker. The two pilots are very different; Richthofen is a gentleman who respects tradition and believes in a gentlemanly approach to war, while Brown is a cynical, cocky, ruthless rebel without a cause who doesn't believe in honor. Boelcke is killed after a mid-air collision with fellow pilot Erwin Böhme and Hawker is killed by Richthofen. Richthofen assumes command of the squadron and becomes outwardly energized by the war. Outraged by an order to camouflage his squadron's aircraft, he paints them in bright conspicuous colors, claiming that gentlemen should not hide from their enemies. Later, Richthofen meets Ilse, a beautiful German singer who takes Baron Von Richthofen's mind off airplanes. He dances with Ilse and even kisses her. Brown bullies his way to leadership and has his squadron hunt in packs with a plane as bait. Richthofen suffers a skull wound during an aerial battle, and begins showing troubling signs of memory loss and confusion. After Brown and his squadron attack Richthofen's airfield, destroying their aircraft on the ground, Richthofen, with the help of a batch of new fighter aircraft from Anthony Fokker, launches a counterattack on the British airfield. Back at their aerodrome, Richthofen berates fellow pilot Hermann Göring for strafing medical personnel.