The Desert Fox
by Henry Hathaway
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Cedric Hardwicke, Everett Sloane, James Mason, Jessica Tandy, Luther AdlerDirector: Henry Hathaway
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0; Spanish (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 88 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-05-20
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Movie Reviews of The Desert Fox
Movie Review: The Desert Fox
Summary: 4 Stars
The Desert Fox is a tight little film about Rommel that's directed by Henry Hathaway. I'm sure it's not 100% accurate but what film can be in only 88 minutes? Hathaway certainly glorifies Rommel as an honorable man that was only being a good soldier. Once again, not being a historian, I'm not sure of its accuracy but I don't think I've ever heard the person of Rommel being disparaged. There have been many facts about different German officers of that period that are common knowledge, many of them are never shown in a good light. The exception seems to be Rommel.
The movie is based upon the biography written by Brigadier Desmond Young who had been captured in Africa. He only saw Rommel from a distance one time in the desert & from this, after the war, he researched the background of the Desert Fox. The movie doesn't focus on Rommel's (James Mason) role in the Africa Corps. It focuses more so on the later period when he was a part of the Normandy defenses & his involvement in the assassination attempt on the leader of his nation. None of this is presented in much depth & in the end Ididn't feel any sorrow in the demise of Rommel.
Frau Rommel (Jessica Tandy) is presented as the dutiful wife though there is a hint that she was the catalyst in getting Rommel involved in the plot. Dr. Karl Strolin (Cedric Hardwicke) approaches Rommel about the plot. At this point we are told that Rommel has harbored secret feelings about the situation that he had revealed to his wife. Rommel sees it as an act of treason even though it's the right thing to do. This inner conflict causes Rommel to be hesitant about the consequences.
There's not a lot of action in the movie, it's more of a character study about a man who must make an extraordinary decision. The movie has authentic film footage interspersed throughout. The film even has the part where the satchel bomb was placed in the bunker by Col. Von Stauffenberg (Eduard Franz) to kill the infamous leader (Luther Adler). There are a couple of scenes with Field Marshall Von Runstedt (Leo G. Carroll), one of which reveals where Von Runstedt's sympathies might lay.
The official version of Rommel's death was that he died from his war wounds. The film makes it plain that Rommel was about to be put on trial for treason & it was obvious he was guilty. The messenger (Everett Sloane) makes it plain that Rommel only has one choice. Rommel wants to go to trial but his wife & son would suffer the consequences of this. Rommel is a hero & they would prefer he would go away quietly without making the noises that the German people would hear & respect. Rommel agrees to take the offer in order to protect his family.
The Desert Fox is a good film that gives James Mason a chance to show some of his acting skills. The real life Desmond Young portrays himself in the movie & is the narrator. The film is in very good condition & there aren't any significant bonus features though it does have a Spanish audio track & subtitles in English & Spanish.
Summary of The Desert Fox
James Mason delivers a strong performance in this fascinating portrait of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. In the early 1940's, Rommel's juggernaut Afrika Korps dominated North Africa. But as the tide turned and he came to the painful realization that his Fuhrer, to whom he hd sworn allegiance, was destroying Germany, his ingrained sense of duty pushed him into a conspiracy against Hitler. Co-starring Jessica Tandy as Rommel's wife and Cedric Hardwicke as another anti-Hitler conspirator, The Desert Fox is an intimate look at one of the most respected military tacticians of modern times.What a difference a few years can make. The Desert Fox, released six years after the end of World War II, is a solemnly respectful tribute to Erwin Rommel, Germany's most celebrated military genius. James Mason's portrayal of this gallant warrior became a highlight of his career iconography. The film itself is oddly disjointed: a precredit commando raid to liquidate Rommel is followed by a flashback to the field-marshal's lightning successes commanding the Afrika Korps--a compressed account via documentary footage and copious narration (spoken by Michael Rennie, who also dubs Desmond Young, the Rommel biographer and onetime British POW appearing briefly as himself). The dramatic core is Rommel's growing disenchantment with Hitler (Luther Adler), his involvement in the plot to assassinate der F?hrer, and his subsequent martyrdom. Mason's Rommel returned two years later for a flamboyant, mostly German-speaking cameo in The Desert Rats, a prequel focusing on the battle for Tobruk. --Richard T. Jameson
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