- A young pilot in the German air force of 1918, disliked as lower-class and unchivalrous, tries ambitiously to earn the medal offered for 20 kills.
- The tactics of a German fighter pilot offend his aristocratic comrades but win him his country's most honored medal, the Blue Max. The General finds him useful as a hero even though his wife also finds him useful as a love object. In the end the General arranges for him to test-fly an untried fighter.—Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>
- 1918. After two years in the trenches, Lieutenant Bruno Stachel becomes a fighter pilot. He joins the fighter squadron of Captain Heidemann. It is soon clear that Stachel's morals and methods are at odds with the chivalrous, honour-led customs of his comrades. Stachel is driven by one thing - get 20 kills and thus win Germany's highest military honour, the Blue Max.—grantss
- Promoted from the ranks after spending two years in the trenches, Bruno Stachel becomes a flying officer in Germany's World War I air force. Most of the officer corps comes from Germany's aristocratic elite and Stachel feels out of place. This does not dampen his ambition however as he single-mindedly pursues his goal: to be awarded the Blue Max, given for shooting down 20 enemy planes. His blind ambition leads him to claim a kill that is not his and when he confides in the beautiful wife of a General, disaster is inevitable.—garykmcd
- The year is 1916, the third bloody year of the Great War. Somewhere within the desolate wasteland of the Western Front, young German infantryman Bruno Stachel (George Peppard) takes cover in a muddy trench and looks up to marvel at an aerial dogfight occurring overhead.
Two years later, the ambitious Stachel has escaped the trenches and is now a fledgling lieutenant in the increasingly depleted Air Corps. He reports to an aerodrome in France and quickly realizes that he must struggle to be accepted by the aristocratic young airmen of his squadron. Stachel's modest upbringing is ridiculed by his high-born comrades, but in truth his background bothers him far more than it does his fellow airmen. On his first mission, Stachel and another flier shoot down a British observation balloon before being ambushed by a pair of British planes. Stachel's partner is shot down, but Bruno scores his first kill. The wreckage of the British plane remains undiscovered by German ground forces, so there is no official confirmation of Stachel's victory. Incensed, Stachel spends several hours fruitlessly searching for the wreckage. His fellow fliers resent his seeming lack of concern over the death of the other squadron member. When challenged about it, Stachel bitterly retorts that when he was confronted with frequent losses in the trenches there was no time to bury the dead, much less remember them over a glass of champagne.
Voluntary patrol pairings are soon announced, and it is apparent that no one wants to fly with Stachel. The squadron's leading ace (and new holder of the coveted Blue Max award), Willi von Klugermann (Jeremy Kemp), eventually agrees to fly with Stachel. While on aerial patrol, Stachel and Willi spot a two-man British reconaissance plane far below them and Stachel attacks it. Stachel badly wounds the rear gunner and attempts to force the British pilot to land at the nearby German airfield. The enemy pilot seems to comply, but as the two planes approach the airfield, the British gunner regains consciousness and tries to open fire. Stachel puts a long burst into the plane and it crashes onto the field, killing both airmen. When Stachel lands, his commander insinuates that Stachel shot down the plane over the field so as to ensure credit for his kill. The other men stare at Stachel reproachfully. He angrily stalks over to the downed plane and carves out the section of canvas with the plane's identification number, throws it at the feet of the squadron adjutant, and smirks sarcastically as he says, "Confirmed."
Stachel's squadron is soon reviewed in parade formation by General von Klugermann (James Mason), Willi's uncle. The general has brought along his young, beautiful, and voluptuous wife, Countess von Klugermann (Ursula Andress). She looks on admiringly as Willi is officially awarded his Blue Max (Pour Le Merite) medal. During the General's visit, it becomes obvious that rather than being ostracized for the recent shoot-down, Stachel is being positioned as a new kind of ruthless hero for propaganda purposes. The German people are war-weary after four long years, and a heroic, working class flier would serve as a powerful symbol.
That night, the Countess comes to Willi's room for a late night visit but accidentally stumbles into Stachel's room next door. She unashamedly admits to an amused Stachel that she and the much older general have an open marriage, and she toys seductively with Bruno before departing for Willi's room.
The Germans soon undertake a major new offensive, with the Air Corps lending support. Stachel soon has eight kills to his credit. On solitary patrol one day, Stachel notices a bright red German triplane flying far below him just as it is attacked by a pair of British planes. Stachel dives steeply to aid the triplane pilot and shoots down one of the enemy planes. But the remaining fighter is soon on his tail. A burst of gunfire wounds Stachel in the arm and knocks out his engine. Stachel crash lands in a field and jumps from his burning plane shortly before it explodes. The grateful pilot of the red triplane makes a low pass over Stachel and waggles his wings.
Stachel is patched up by a German army medic before a truck arrives to pick him up. Stachel climbs in the back, only to find Willi waiting with a bottle of champagne. Willi congratulates Stachel on his tenth victory before pointedly asking what it's like to be shot down. The two wary rivals fence with each other before Stachel raises the stakes by bringing up the Countess. Willi takes the bait and declares that the Countess, like the 1903 vintage champagne, is a trophy that will prove hard to get. Stachel laughingly accepts the challenge.
Back at the airfield, the red triplane is waiting. Baron von Richthofen thanks Stachel for saving his life and invites him to join his squadron. Surprisingly, Stachel declines, stating that he would prefer to prove himself where he started out. General von Klugermann now steps up his Home Front propaganda campaign by summoning the wounded Stachel to Berlin to inspect a sensational new monoplane. The high-performance machine is still deemed too risky to fly. Afterward, Stachel is taken to a hospital and carefully photographed as his injury is tended to. Later, he attends a dinner party at the home of the General. After the rest of the guests have departed, Stachel completes his conquest of the sensuous Countess.
Back at the front, Stachel is dropped off at his airfield, where he presents the contemptuous Willi with a bottle of champagne, vintage 1903. Enraged, Willi promises Bruno that his insolence will cost him one day. If they weren't before, the two are now bitter enemies.
Germany has now been forced onto the defensive. Willi and Bruno volunteer to escort a reconnaissance mission over British lines in the squadron's only pair of triplanes. They are soon jumped by a British patrol. When Stachel's guns jam, Willi downs the enemy planes on his own. Afterward, he taunts Stachel by rolling his aircraft completely around Bruno's plane. Willi then challenges Stachel to a deadly test of airmanship by executing a dangerous pass through the narrow arch of a bridge. Stachel, accepting the challenge, ups the ante with an even more dangerous low pass. Willi is daunted by the stunt but refuses to concede. He tries to repeat the maneuver and crashes to his death.
Back at the field, Stachel is confronted by his commanding officer, Captain Heidemann (Karl Michael Vogler). He inquires about Willi and Stachel reports that he is dead. The captain seethes at Stachel's matter-of-fact attitude and says that Willi was the better man, to which Stachel angrily replies that his death would seem to prove otherwise. The adjutant then enters to announce that two enemy planes were shot down. Heidemann automatically credits the planes to Willi without even asking Stachel. Offended by the captain's reflexive assumption, Stachel foolishly asserts that they were his kills. The incredulous adjutant retorts that the armorer's report indicated that Stachel's guns jammed after only forty rounds were fired. It is obvious that Stachel has lied. Heidemann initially refuses to confirm Stachel's dubious victories, but General von Klugermann orders him to do so.
At Willi's funeral, the icy Countess is curiously unmoved by his death, beyong being flattered that he died in a contest over her. When Stachel and the Countess meet for a tryst later that evening, Stachel foolishly confides to her that he claimed two of Willi's kills. Back in combat, Heidemann leads the squadron against large enemy troop formations. He stresses that their mission is to provide strafing and bombing support against the British, not to risk their planes in aerial combat. The German planes wreak havoc among the helpless Tommies. Their presence above the battlefield is uncontested and effective, but then British fighters suddenly appear above them. Heidemann uses hand signals to order the squadron back to base, but Stachel ignores the command and climbs to meet the enemy. One by one, his aggressive squadron mates follow him. A huge dogfight ensues, with numerous losses on both sides. Once on the ground, Heidemann is furious, raging at Stachel that his insubordination has cost half of the squadron. Stachel merely replies that they accounted for seven enemy planes, three of them his. His twenty-two victories have qualified him for the Blue Max, even without the two fraudulent kills. Heidemann swears that he will never wear the medal and vows to court-martial him.
Stachel is ordered to Berlin along with Captain Heidemann. Upon their arrival, they encounter a city of long food lines and riots. Germany is in disarray. At headquarters, von Klugermann informs Heidemann that Stachel will receive the Blue Max. Over the Captain's strenuous objections, the General informs him that there will be no court-martial, as it could dishonor the German officer corps and weaken Germany's fragile morale.
Stachel is treated to a luxurious hotel suite, where he soon receives a visit from the Countess. She explains that she is leaving- the handwriting is on the wall, Germany will lose the war, and she doesn't intend to stay around for the bitter aftermath. She asks Stachel to come with her, but he coldly informs her that he has no intention of running away to become one of her well-kept lap dogs. The Countess angrily storms from the room.
Stachel receives the Blue Max at an airfield the following day. During the ceremonies, General von Klugermann receives a phone call from a Field Marshal. Stachel's unearned kills have come to light, via a petulant phone call from the Countess. Stachel is to be publicly disgraced. The General angrily confronts his vindictive wife, but the die is already cast.
Captain Heidemann, who has just completed a test flight in the new monoplane, enters the airfield command shack to tell von Klugermann that the machine's structural design is seriously flawed. It is a death trap. The General dismises Heidemann and issues an immediate order to have Stachel sent up in the monoplane, with the added admonition to really put the airplane through her paces. Stachel puts on a dazzling display of aerobatics until the performance is abruptly ended by the loud rending of metal from high above. Stachel's plane enters a death spiral and crashes in the distance. His personnel file is officially stamped and closed as von Klugermann announces that Lieutenant Stachel died a hero.
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