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The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel
The Desert Fox is a superb filmed biography of German general Erwin Rommel, concentrating on the period between his retreat from North Africa and his government-decreed death. A brilliant tactician, Rommel earns the respect not only of his own men but of the enemy. Unfortunately, Adolph Hitler (Luther Adler), laboring under the delusion that he too is a military genius, demands more of Rommel than he's able to provide. Ordered to stand his ground in Africa to the last man, Rommel realizes that it's more intelligent in the long run to retreat; this incurs Hitler's wrath, but Rommel is a war hero, and as such is virtually 'untouchable'. Increasingly disgusted by Hitler's behavior, Rommel joins in a plot to assassinate the Fuhrer. The attempt fails, and Rommel's complicity is discovered. He is given a choice: either face a horrible death by torture, or commit suicide, thereby saving his family and his reputation. Rommel opts for the latter; the official story given to the press is that Rommel died heroically of his war wounds. Also appearing in The Desert Fox are Jessica Tandy as Rommel's wife and Leo G. Carroll as an insufferably aristocratic Von Ruhnstedt. The film caused a critical stir in 1951 by providing a tense ten-minute dramatic sequence before the opening credits--a technique that is all but de rigueur today. The Desert Fox was based on the book by Brigadier Desmond Young, who narrates the film and appears as himself in the early scenes.
28 October 1899, New York City, New York, USA
31 October 1902, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
February 11, 1915 in Huron, North Dakota, USA
12 April 1896, Kingman, Arizona, USA
April 24, 1889 in Los Angeles, California, USA
24 August 1907, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
March 14, 1921 in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
5 October 1905, Bronxville, New York, USA
10 April 1916, Horden, Durham, England, UK
29 August 1899, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
4 October 1904, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
15 August 1900, Reading, Pennsylvania, USA
23 August 1908, Aberystwyth, Wales, UK
30 September 1911, Redhill, Surrey, England, UK
1892
6 June 1914, Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA
31 August 1925, Dublin, Ireland
19 October 1921, Pasadena, California, USA
9 December 1931, Los Angeles, California, USA
4 May 1903, New York City, New York, USA
October 4, 1914 in Dublin, Ireland
4 February 1909, London, England, UK
18 June 1917, Los Angeles, California, USA
August 6, 1924 in Mile End, London, England, UK
June 06, 2011
The purpose of the book and movie is not to tell the complete story of Rommel's life, but to set the historical record straight about his death.
January 03, 2005
Mason is great as the Nazi tank commander.
May 24, 2010
It's sympathetic of the legendary Nazi general to the point it makes him an heroic figure.
