The Blue Max(1966)

The Blue Max (1966) – A ruthless, young pilot from a commoner family looks to advance his social position by becoming a flying ace during World War I.

Directed by John Guillerman                       Starring – George Peppard, Ursula Andress, James Mason

If you are an aviation history buff, you probably want to skip this one.  Twentieth Century-Fox just shrugged their shoulders at any issues of historicity here.  The planes are wrong, the guns are wrong, even the uniforms are wrong.

If you can set those concerns aside, you end up with a fun movie that includes some amazing flying scenes.  Peppard does a nice turn as the icy, self -centered pilot, Stachel.  Achieving the Blue Max (the highest award available at the time in Germany) by becoming a 20 kill Ace is the only focus in his life.  Nothing and no one is beyond betrayal in that pursuit.  Stachel is chilling.  He makes no pretense of “respecting his betters” in any way.  Peppard’s arrogant smirk carries through every outrage and act of destruction.  Stachel will lie, cheat, and use anyone to achieve his goals. My appreciation of Peppard’s performance has grown with repeated viewings.

Ursula Andress does what she does best, which is be beautiful.  Her voice is dubbed here (as it often was early on).  There’s a scene where she is wearing nothing above her hips but a towel draped around her neck where it doesn’t matter what she is saying or who is actually saying it.  James Mason plays another of his patented smooth, ethically flexible characters.  The general says he is fighting to save the honor of the German officer class.  To do it, he willingly sacrifices that very honor.

Why You’ll Like It – A fun flying action movie with a great performance by Peppard.  As long as you don’t get hung up on the history, you’ll have a good time.

Rating – *** Worth A Look