Von Richthofen and Brown - Production

Production

Roger Corman had been interested in making a film about Von Richthofen for a number of years - in 1965 it was announced he had commissioned a script called The Red Baron from Robert Towne.

Ex-RCAF pilot Lynn Garrison supplied the aircraft, crews and facilities for Von Richthofen and Brown and personally coordinated the flying sequences for Corman’s film. Garrison had purchased the collection of hangars, aircraft, vehicles and support equipment accumulated for filming 20th Century’s top grossing film, The Blue Max, in 1965. The collection included replica Pfalz D.III's, S.E.5s, Fokker D.VII's, Fokker Dr.I's, plus Tiger Moths, and Stampe SV4C's.

Corman used an Alouette helicopter, along with a Helio Courier, for aerial photography, supported by a number of specialized camera mounts Garrison developed for use on individual aircraft. This allowed footage of actors, such as John Philip Law, and Don Stroud “flying” the aircraft. In fact, Lynn Garrison trained Law and Stroud to the point where they could take off, land the Stampe, and fly basic sequences themselves, from the rear seat, filmed with a rear-facing camera. Stunt pilots were still used for the more complicated sequences, one such pilot being famed New Age author Richard Bach. Bach wrote about his experiences with the film production in a short story entitled "I Shot Down the Red Baron, and So What", which is reproduced in his short story collection, "A Gift of Wings".

Corman used a filming schedule that included so-called Blue Days, Grey Days and Don’t Give a Damn Days so that the aircraft were used no matter what the weather presented.

On September 15, 1970, Charles Boddington, veteran of The Blue Max and Darling Lili shoots, was killed when his SE-5 spun in during a low-level maneuver over the airfield.

The next day, during the last scheduled flight on the shooting schedule, Garrison and Stroud were involved in a low-level sequence across Lake Weston, in the Stampe, when a jackdaw struck Garrison in the face, knocking him unconscious. The aircraft then ran through five powerlines, snap rolled and plunged into the lake inverted. Garrison and Stroud were rescued from the waters. Stroud was uninjured while Garrison required 60 stitches to close a head wound.

Corman did not direct another film until Frankenstein Unbound.

Some of the interior shots were filmed at Powerscourt House, a famous stately home in County Wicklow Ireland. Powerscourt had been designed by a German architect (Richard Cassels) and the entrance hall had a Germanic feel to it, making it a suitable location. It was also used for scenes in Stanley Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon" a few years later. The house was destroyed in an accidental fire in 1974, so these films serve a record for the lost interiors, and valuable artifacts, including some left there by Oliver Cromwell.

German pilots were filmed with American accents. Over Corman's objections, they were dubbed over with German accents, which influenced Corman to form his own company so he had final say.