Why did Stachel lie about that?

[Willi Von Klugerman]

After Willi was "KIA" Bruno explained to the Hauptman that "He hit trees!".He saw the entire thing,why did he lie about that?

[rainbase]

In the book Stachal actually drove Von Klugermann into the trees (or smokestack?). It was murder, pure and simple.

[Mode One]

In the movie, Willi hit what looks like an old church steeple or castle tower. It appears this made his triplane uncontrollable and he crashed into the ground. Yes some trees were near by; but, the cause was hitting the steeple or tower.

I'd love to read the book! While reading it, in your minds eye, did Stachel look like George Peppard and was Katie as beautiful as Ursala?

[dglewwe]

"I'd love to read the book!"

By all means, do so! -much better than the movie, IMO.

[Mode One]

I guess I'll stop by my library and see if I can find the book.

[bsmith13]

Possibly Stachel was afraid of an official reproach for voluntary dangerous non-combat related flying (like flying under bridges).

Or possibly, the script and/or story boards (if they used them for TBM) indicated that Willi hit trees after flying under the bridge for the second time, and the special effects guys changed it to a church steeple.

Gonna have to find the book...

[Ginger.]

If I remember the book correctly Stachel was a bit of a drunk, even when flying.

[Stachel]

I too will look for the book. My thoughts are that Stachel played a deadly game of cat and mouse, flying Willy into the ground to remove the competition for the Countess. His statement was technically true. "He hit the trees."Stachel.

[bristol scout]

Originally Posted by Ginger.

If I remember the book correctly Stachel was a bit of a drunk, even when flying.

Did'nt he have a tube leading to his bottle under the seat---or something along those lines so his fellow pilots would'nt see him 'tippling'....

Dave.

[Pete Hill]

The film makes the scene more ambigious, the viewer cannot be sure whether Stachel is merely trying to out-fly Willi and is he really trying to fly his rival into the ground? In Hunter's original novel, the motive is more clear, Stachel wants Von Klugermann dead- pure and simple. It is not surprising that the film version would water the scene down so as to not risk the audience losing sympathy for Stachel.
Interestingly, the novel contains a measure of ambiguity as well for Stachel's character as there seems to be a battle raging for his soul, between his sense of decency and humanity on one hand as opposed to his raging ambition to escape his past and to claw his way up through the ranks of society. In the novel, Stachel, whilst off-duty, rescues a child from drowning and he appears annoyed afterwards, not just with the gasping gratitude of the villagers but also with himself for allowing the caring side of his nature to influence his actions. Perhaps Stachel fears that such gestures would lead his rivals to sense weakness in him.
Stachel who was a Corporal in the German Infantry, has survived two years in the trenches. The film makes at least one reference to the trauma he is enduring from those experiences when we see the haunted, uncomfortable gaze on his face as he listens to the opening bombardment of Operation Michael from his bedroom window.
And we see the bond he still feels with the foot-sloggers when he gives a bottle of wine to some wounded infantrymen in the opening scenes of the film- “That was a full bottle, Herr Leutnant”, the bemused driver comments to which Stachel simply replies “Yes” with a sly grin.
Stachel is a man with a chip on his shoulder, resenting the humble, lowly position that the class-divided society of early 20th century Germany has placed him. This resentment has fostered a determination, hardened by two years in the Trenches, to gain the respect of his social betters and to climb the upper rangs of society. Both the novel and the film conclude on a rather bleak note. In the novel, Otto Heidemann is killed whilst flying the 'new monoplane' that the High Command know to be defective, sacrificing the idealistic officer for their sinister, cynical means. In the film, it is Stachel who, despite his ambition, is still naively helpless against the establishment and it is he who is ruthlessly and carelessly sacrificed. The closing shot of the film is highly effective as the camera pans back, showing the shocked crowd of spectators running towards the plume of smoke coming from Stachel’s fatal crash. Otto Heidemann and his wife cling to each other, as if things have suddenly become colder and Germany has become a grim place. It is a bleak ending. The powerful establishment have won and perhaps the film is saying that is the way it always has been and always will be. Stachel was a mere interloper and when he became too much of an upstart and a threat, he had to be dispensed with.
Pete