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.
7 May 1906, Gossau, Switzerland
November 7, 1906 in Manhattan, New York, USA
31 October 1902, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
23 August 1908, Aberystwyth, Wales, UK
7 June 1920, Buenos Aires, Argentina
23 September 1902, Berlin, Germany
16 July 1911, Steinwehr, Pomerania, Germany [now Kamienny Jaz, Zachodniopomorskie, Poland]
29 June 1920, London, England, UK
4 October 1904, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
January 9, 1890 in Denver, Colorado, USA
October 4, 1914 in Dublin, Ireland
19 February 1893, Lye, Worcestershire, England, UK
November 11, 1885 in San Gabriel, California, USA
25 August 1909, Bradford, Yorkshire, England, UK
June 30, 1904 in Naples, Italy
11 May 1895, Des Moines, Iowa, USA
25 October 1886, Weedon Bec, Northamptonshire, England, UK
4 February 1909, London, England, UK
1892
5 February 1920, Columbus, Ohio, USA
August 6, 1924 in Mile End, London, England, UK
28 January 1906, Cumberland, Maryland, USA
April 24, 1889 in Los Angeles, California, USA
6 June 1914, Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA
April 13, 1925 in Suwanee, Florida, USA
28 October 1899, New York City, New York, USA
29 August 1899, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
10 March 1884, Chicago, Illinois, USA
May 24, 2010
It's sympathetic of the legendary Nazi general to the point it makes him an heroic figure.
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.
