Latest revision as of 17:08, 29 July 2023

The Blue Max

Error creating thumbnail: File missing

Movie poster

Country	Error creating thumbnail: File missing UK
Directed by	John Guillermin
Release Date	1966
Language	English
Studio	Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Distributor	Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Main Cast
Character	Actor
Lt. Bruno Stachel	George Peppard
General Count von Klugermann	James Mason
Countess Kaeti von Klugermann	Ursula Andress
Holbach	Anton Diffring

The following weapons were used in the film The Blue Max:

Machine Guns

Maxim LMG 08/15 "Spandau" (mockup)

The Germans historically used air-cooled Maxim LMG 08/15 machine guns on their Fokker biplanes and triplanes. The guns featured in the movie are either one of two mockup kits. The first is the blank firing version which is achieved by using two submachineguns inside a "shell" made to look like the Maxim. The second is the flame shooting variant, (using gas), that is more faithful to the design of the original Maxim but only fires a gas flame. The revealing mistakes for the blank firing version are easily spotted: The cocking handle on each MG doesn't move when the gun is fired unlike the original. The brass also ejects through the right side of the gun and actually from the middle of the cooling jacket as opposed to the original. Another giveaway is that the barrel of each MG is seen protruding from just above the exact center of the cooling jacket. (In reality, the barrel was at the bottom of the jacket.) Another strong hint that the movie MG's are a mockup is the presence of stick magazines inserted very near where the movie-version MG's is seen ejecting brass. The mockups might are the main reason (at least in part) why the pilots are using a handle to fire the MG's even though the historical aircraft used buttons attached to the flight stick in order to fire the onboard weapons.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[Image:BlueMax.jpg|thumb|right|300px|''The Blue Max'' (1966)]]
+{{Infobox Movie
+|name = The Blue Max
+|picture = BlueMax.jpg
+|caption = ''Movie poster''
+|country = [[Image:UKD.jpg|25px]] UK
+|director = [[John Guillermin]]
+|date= 1966
+|language = English
+|studio=Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
+|distributor=Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
+|character1=Lt. Bruno Stachel
+|actor1=[[George Peppard]]
+|character2=General Count von Klugermann
+|actor2=[[James Mason]]
+|character3=Countess Kaeti von Klugermann
+|actor3=[[Ursula Andress]]
+|character4=Holbach
+|actor4=[[Anton Diffring]]
+|character5=
+|actor5=
+}}
 {{Film Title|The Blue Max}}
 __TOC__<br clear=all>
@@ Line 6: / Line 25: @@
 =Machine Guns=
 == Maxim LMG 08/15 "Spandau" (mockup)==
-The Germans use air-cooled [[Maxim#Maxim MG08/15|Maxim LMG 08/15]] machine guns on their Fokker biplanes and triplanes.  The guns mounted are mockups due to a number of revealing mistakes. The cocking handle on each MG doesn't move when the gun is fired. The brass ejects through the right side of the gun in the middle of the cooling jacket which is not where the brass is ejected in the original. The barrel of each MG is shown portruding from just above the exact center of the cooling jacket. In reality the barrel was at the bottom of the jacket. There also seems to be a stick magazine inserted very near where the movie-version MG is ejecting brass. Most likely a pair of submachineguns (judging by the stick magazines and oddly placed ejection ports) were substituted for the real thing.
+The Germans historically used air-cooled [[Maxim#Maxim MG08/15|Maxim LMG 08/15]] machine guns on their Fokker biplanes and triplanes. The guns featured in the movie are either one of two mockup kits. The first is the blank firing version which is achieved by using two submachineguns inside a "shell" made to look like the Maxim. The second is the flame shooting variant, (using gas), that is more faithful to the design of the original Maxim but only fires a gas flame. The revealing mistakes for the blank firing version are easily spotted: The cocking handle on each MG doesn't move when the gun is fired unlike the original. The brass also ejects through the right side of the gun and actually from the middle of the cooling jacket as opposed to the original. Another giveaway is that the barrel of each MG is seen protruding from just above the exact center of the cooling jacket. (In reality, the barrel was at the bottom of the jacket.) Another strong hint that the movie MG's are a mockup is the presence of stick magazines inserted very near where the movie-version MG's is seen ejecting brass. The mockups might are the main reason (at least in part) why the pilots are using a handle to fire the MG's even though the historical aircraft used buttons attached to the flight stick in order to fire the onboard weapons.
 [[Image:Maxim MG08-15.jpg|thumb|none|400px|Maxim MG08/15]]
-[[File:BlueMax 11.jpg|thumb|none|600px]]
+[[File:BlueMax 11.jpg|thumb|none|600px|Stachel pulls the (fictionous) handle in order to fire the MG's.]]
 [[File:BlueMax 14.jpg|thumb|none|600px|Note the stick magazine on the MG on the left with a revealing magazine release lever plainly visible.]]
-[[File:BlueMax 23.jpg|thumb|none|600px|Note the trigger with trigger guard mounted on the "Maxim". Unlike Stachel's "MG's", Hauptmann Heidermann's pair seems to have used a different pair of SMG's.]]
+[[File:BlueMax 23.jpg|thumb|none|600px|Note the trigger with trigger guard mounted on the "Maxim". The barrels are also placed higher than on Stachel's machine guns, and even higher than on a original Maxim.]]
 [[File:BlueMax 29.jpg|thumb|none|600px]]
+[[File:BlueMaxMaximFlame1.jpg|thumb|none|600px|Heidemann with his visually correct (but still mockup firing flames) maxims.]]
+[[File:BlueMaxMaximFlame2.jpg|thumb|none|600px|Second shot of same.]]
+[[File:BlueMaxMaximFlame3.jpg|thumb|none|600px|Klugermann with his own pair of flame shooters.]]
-== Lewis gun ==
+== Lewis gun (mockup) ==
-British biplanes are seen armed with the [[Lewis gun#Aircraft Mounted|Lewis aircraft gun]].
+The British fighter craft and recon plane is armed with the [[Lewis gun#Aircraft Mounted|Lewis aircraft gun]] which is revealed to be a mockup on all the planes. Besides the general (incorrect) form of the weapon, the main revealer that it is a mockup is that the ammo drum does not rotate while firing.
 [[Image:Rafmachinegunlewis3.jpg|thumb|none|450px|Aircraft mounted Lewis Gun .303]]
-[[File:BlueMax 15.jpg|thumb|none|600px]]
+[[File:BlueMax 15.jpg|thumb|none|600px|The British observer/gunner after being hit by machine-gun fire from Stachel. Note the hose between his hands which leads to the weapon and supplies the gas for the muzzle flame. The front round sight is also incorrect.]]
+[[File:BlueMaxLewisA (3).jpg|thumb|none|600px|A top-mounted "Lewis" on a British S.E.5. The details reveal it is not a genuine Lewis. First of all the wooden stock. Second, note the hose which supplies the muzzle flame.]]
+== Vickers Mk 1 ==
+[[Vickers]] machine guns seen used by British troops.
+[[Image:VickersMk1.jpg|thumb|none|400px|Vickers Mk1 Machine Gun - .303 British]]
+[[File:BlueMax 28.jpg|thumb|none|600px|Note the soldier manning the MG on the right. His helmet is tilted to his left in an awkward angle. Seconds later this screencap was taken an explosion takes place just to the left of the soldier meaning the tilted helmet was most likely done for safety reasons.]]
-== Maxim MG08 ==
+=== Vickers Machine Gun (mockup) ===
-[[Maxim#Maxim MG08|Maxim MG08]] seen used by British troops.
+The British are also seen using the Vickers MG, though they all seem to be mockups made to shoot flame only.
-[[Image:MaximMG08.jpg|thumb|none|400px|Maxim MG08 7.92x57mm Mauser on sled mount]]
+[[Image:Vickers gun.JPG|thumb|none|300px|Vickers gun with ribbed water jacket - .303 British]]
-[[File:BlueMax 28.jpg|thumb|none|600px]]
+[[File:BlueMaxVickersMG (1).jpg|thumb|none|600px|A British pilot of the S.E.5 aircraft has a Vickers MG mounted bottom right. For some reason, the weapon is never seen fired in the finished movie. The gas hoses for both the top mounted Lewis gun and the Vickers MG are clearly seen though.]]
+[[File:BlueMaxVickersMG (2).jpg|thumb|none|600px|An Anti-Aircraft crew man their dual Vickers MG during an attack by Stachels Squadron. Note the gas hoses hanging down in the center.]]
+== Unknown Light Machine Gun ==
+The Lewis Gun is replaced in some scenes by what appears to be a genuine (but unknown) LMG. It is modified to fire flames only from the muzzle and the hose is visible in most scenes.
+[[File:BlueMaxLewisA (1).jpg|thumb|none|600px|A flame shooter standing in for the Lewis. The design, however, suggests it is based upon a unknown (but genuine) Light Machine Gun.]]
+[[File:BlueMaxLewisA (5).jpg|thumb|none|600px|Second shot. Note the hose.]]
 =Rifles=
 ==Lee-Enfield No.4 Mk.I==
-[[Lee-Enfield No.4 Mk.I]] carried by both German and British troops.  The rifle is also seen in the hands of Bruno Stachel ([[George Peppard]]).
+[[Lee-Enfield No.4 Mk.I]] is carried by German troops.  The rifle is also seen in the hands of Bruno Stachel ([[George Peppard]]) during his own time in the trenches. The movie was shot in the Republic of Ireland and there was a lack of genuine German firearms (with one exception) for the shoot so older Irish Defence Forces weapons were substituted for German weapons. The bayonet is a "No 9 MK1" which was issued in 1947.
 [[Image:LeeEnfield4Rifle.jpg|thumb|none|400px|Lee-Enfield No.4 Mk.I - .303 British]]
-[[File:BlueMax 03.jpg|thumb|none|600px]]
+[[File:BlueMax 03.jpg|thumb|none|600px|Stachel during the 1916 prolouge (when he was still in the infantry) with his British rifle and bayonet.]]
-[[File:BlueMax 18.jpg|thumb|none|600px]]
+[[File:TheBlueMaxEnfield1.jpg|thumb|none|600px]]
-[[File:BlueMax 28.jpg|thumb|none|600px]]
+[[File:BlueMax 18.jpg|thumb|none|600px|The Germans are seen with Lee-Enfield rifles during the depiction of the first day of the historical ''Kaiserschlacht'' (Kaiser's Battle) offensive starting 21 March 1918.]]
+[[File:BlueMax 28.jpg|thumb|none|600px|Several British soldiers with their Lee-Enfields are visible.]]
+==Lee-Enfield No.1 Mk.III*==
+[[Image:SMLE.jpg|thumb|none|400px|Lee-Enfield No.1 Mk.III* - .303 British.]]
+In a reasonable move made by the producers all the British soldiers are carrying the older [[Lee-Enfield No.1 Mk.III*]] with it's original sword bayonet to distinguish it from the German soldiers who (due to lack of German authentic weapons) carry the Lee-Enfield No.4 Mk.I with it's shorter bayonet.
+[[File:BlueMaxEnfield3A.jpg|thumb|none|600px|British soldiers await the German attack with their Mk.III*'s. Note the very long bayonet which would prove too long and cumbersome in trench warfare. It's successor is ironically carried by the Germans with their Mk.IV short bayonet.]]
+==Lee-Enfield Mk.I (probable)==
+During the hand to hand combat scenes at least one German is seen with what appears to be an older [[Lee-Enfield]] Mk.I. The rifle is identifiable via the magazine cut-off switch visible and the portruding barrel which none of the later Lee-Enfield models had. The bolt action handle, (for the combat scenes), seems to have been removed though the bolt itself seems to be in place.
+[[Image:Leemk1.jpg|thumb|none|400px|Lee-Enfield Mk.I - .303 British.]]
+[[File:BlueMaxLeeEnfield1A.jpg|thumb|none|600px|A British soldier is stabbed by a German soldier with what looks like a Lee-Enfield Mk.I. Note the slightly visible magazine cut-off switch and lack of a bolt handle.]]
+[[File:BlueMaxLeeEnfield1B.jpg|thumb|none|600px|A top shot of the same rifle showing the portruding barrel and long bayonet. The bayonet matches a P1888 model issued to the Mk.I.]]
 =Handguns=
 ==Luger P08==
-The [[Luger P08]] can be seen briefly carried by a German officer.
+The [[Luger P08]] can be seen briefly carried by a German 2nd. Lieutenant.
 [[Image:P08Luger1917.jpg|thumb|none|300px|Luger P08 9x19mm. This is a 1917 dated handgun, thus it is a World War I firearm.]]
 [[File:BlueMax 20.jpg|thumb|none|600px]]
@@ Line 42: / Line 89: @@
 [[Image:Webley Signal Pistol.JPG|thumb|none|300px|Webley & Scott No. 1 Mk. III* Signal Pistol - 1 inch]]
 [[File:BlueMax 16.jpg|thumb|none|600px]]
+{{DEFAULTSORT:Blue Max, The}}
 [[Category:Movie]]
 [[Category:Drama]]
 [[Category:War]]
+[[Category:John Guillermin]]

The Blue Max: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 17:08, 29 July 2023

Machine Guns

Maxim LMG 08/15 "Spandau" (mockup)

Lewis gun (mockup)

Vickers Mk 1

Vickers Machine Gun (mockup)

Unknown Light Machine Gun

Rifles

Lee-Enfield No.4 Mk.I

Lee-Enfield No.1 Mk.III*

Lee-Enfield Mk.I (probable)

Handguns

Luger P08

Other

Webley & Scott No. 1 Mk. III* Signal Pistol

Navigation menu

Search