The Blue Max | |
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original poster by Frank McCarthy
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Directed by | John Guillermin |
Produced by | Christian Ferry |
Written by |
Novel: 1964 by Jack D. Hunter Adaptation: Ben Barzman Basilio Franchina Screenplay: David Pursall Jack Seddon Gerald Hanley |
Starring |
George Peppard James Mason Ursula Andress |
Music by | Jerry Goldsmith |
Cinematography | Douglas Slocombe |
Edited by | Max Benedict |
Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date
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21 June 1966 |
Running time
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156 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Budget | $5 million |
Box office | $16,151,612 |
The Blue Max is a 1966 British war film in DeLuxe Color and filmed in CinemaScope, about a German fighter pilot on the Western Front during World War I. It was directed by John Guillermin, stars George Peppard, James Mason and Ursula Andress, and features Karl Michael Vogler and Jeremy Kemp. The screenplay was written by David Pursall, Jack Seddon, and Gerald Hanley, based on the novel of the same name by Jack D. Hunter as adapted by Ben Barzman and Basilio Franchina.
In contrast to films that romanticize the Flying Aces of the Great War, the protagonist of The Blue Max is depicted as a man with no conscience, no empathy, and no feelings for anyone but himself. The film also explores the decline of chivalry and the advent of total war. Furthermore, in its depiction of a conflict between an amoral officer promoted from the ranks and a principled member of the officer class, The Blue Max is similar to the 1960 film Tunes of Glory.
German Corporal Bruno Stachel (George Peppard) leaves the fighting in the trenches to become an officer and fighter pilot in the German Army Air Service. Joining a squadron in spring 1918, he sets his sights on winning Germany's highest medal for valor, the Blue Max, for which he must shoot down 20 aircraft.
Of middle class origins, Lieutenant Bruno Stachel considers himself better than the aristocratic pilots in his new fighter squadron and sets out to prove it. Meanwhile, Willi von Klugermann (Jeremy Kemp), takes him under his wing. Their commanding officer, Hauptmann Otto Heidemann (Karl Michael Vogler) is an aristocratic officer whose belief in chivalry and the laws and customs of war conflict with Stachel's contempt for them.