JohnHowardReid
NOTES: Fox publicity to the contrary, Desmond Young did not narrate the film. Michael Rennie did. Location scenes filmed at Borrego Springs and in the Anza Desert, California.
Other screen interpretations of Rommel can be found in Five Graves to Cairo, Hitler, The Longest Day, Foxhole in Cairo, The Night of the Generals, Raid on Rommel, Patton and Desert Patrol. COMMENT: When Rommel - Desert Fox went into production at the end of May 1951, there was an immediate storm of protest, suggestions that the film might be a defense of Fascism, and that it sought to glorify the exploits of one of the chief villains of the Nazi machine. Although Zanuck and his aides issued a plethora of denials, the attack was renewed when the film was released. It presented Rommel as a sincere, courageous soldier who turned against Hitler as a gesture of decency.Although its accuracy of characterization is debatable, the film is quite brilliantly directed. The prologue, which depicts a raid by British commandos on one of Rommel's headquarters, is one of the most exciting sequences ever put on film, and there are two notable touches of mise en scéne: Sir Cedric Hardwicke eluding his shadower at a train terminus; and the scene in which Rommel's jeep is chased by an Allied 'plane - the jeep crashes, and the camera cuts to Rommel's staff, lying in the middle of the road.
inspectors71
An infuriatingly uneven biopic, Henry Hathaway's The Desert Fox, is so poorly made that one might be tempted to ignore the topic of Erwin Rommel, a brilliant and chivalrous Wehrmacht commander who was more loyal to his men and patriotic toward Germany than a follower of Hitler.The internal conflict is classic, cut from the same basic cloth as Brutus in Caesar.You would think this film would be riveting. It's not. Even though James Mason is magnificently Prussian as Rommel, and there are several other great performances, we're left with a clunky and truncated story of the man George Patton called a "magnificent bastard."That's a great name for Rommel. Born and bred to an ethic of an earlier time, Rommel became an anachronism to the new and improved concept of warfare in World War II.Yet, if you don't know anything about Erwin Rommel--and you're willing to accept that he has been romanticized by history and Hollywood-- this film is something of a good start.
Leofwine_draca
THE DESERT FOX is a sympathetic biopic of Rommel, one of the great Nazi generals, who led his troops to victory in North Africa before becoming embroiled in one of the most notorious conspiracies of the Second World War. What's apparent from the outset is just how well made this movie is: it's an exemplary piece of story-telling, crisply shot, fast-paced, and with real heart behind it.Much of the film's success is down to James Mason in the titular role. Mason was always a consummate professional and no more so than here; his portrayal of a conflicted figure is an entirely sympathetic one and it's hard to imagine another actor doing so well in the role. The supporting cast is fine, too, but it's Henry Hathaway's direction which really shines. He brings a freshness and vitality even to those moments which are well-known to history, and his film is utterly compelling as a result. Great stuff indeed.
woundedegomusic
I'm at that point in my life where I'm so jaded and despondent to movies in general that I rarely waste my time. Not that Hollywood is slacking, because they are not, but just that a lot of the thrill is gone from watching the hero tale unfold. But this little gem was so surprising and "unkempt" from an expectations point of view that I found myself in constant admiration. The "hero" of the story is a man who completely embodies the virtues of "the right" (the dutiful soldier) and INCOMPLETELY embodies the values of "the left" (putting human decency above order) and his conflicting inner compulsions yield ambiguous, or perhaps ironic, results.His wife plays "the wife" in a way that complicates and elevates her role in a subtle but powerful way -- much as in real life.I thoroughly enjoyed this, admired it, and hope the whole world enjoys and appreciates it. This is class, classy art.
AD
