The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951)

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers:

Nunnally Johnson (screenplay)
Desmond Young (biography)

Release Date:

17 October 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Biography | Drama | History | War

Plot:

The life and career of the respected World War II German general.

Plot Keywords:

Rommel | Italian Army | WWII In Africa | Hitler | Plot To Kill Hitler

Cast

James Mason	...	Field Marshal Erwin Johannes Rommel
Cedric Hardwicke	...	Dr. Karl Strolin
Jessica Tandy	...	Frau Lucie Marie Rommel
Luther Adler	...	Adolf Hitler
Everett Sloane	...	Gen. Wilhelm Burgdorf
Leo G. Carroll	...	Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt
George Macready	...	Gen. Fritz Bayerlein
Richard Boone	...	Capt. Hermann Aldinger
Eduard Franz	...	Col. Klaus von Stauffenberg
Desmond Young	...	Himself, Lt. Colonel Desmond Young

Also Known As:

Rommel, Desert Fox (UK)
The Desert Fox (USA) (short title)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

New Zealand:G | USA:Approved (PCA #13272) | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Imperial County, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Several film reference books credit Dan O'Herlihy with playing the officer who leads the raid in the opening pre-credits sequence, but he does not appear in the film. The mistake is understandable since the actor playing the officer does bear a resemblance to O'Herlihy.

Goofs:

Continuity: Narrator says Rommel was wounded June 17, 1944 the same day he met with Hitler. He later says he was wounded three days before the July 20, 1944 assassination attempt. He was wounded July 17th not as the narrator says June 17th. After the D-Day invasion, Rommel requests and gets a personal interview with Hitler for "June 17". Returning from meeting on "June 17", his car is strafed and overturns, severely injuring him (Rommel). Yet "three days later" it is "July 20".

Quotes:

[a British officer steps from the back of his tralier to address the officers before him]
British officer: Gentlemen, the following order from General Auchinleck, is to all commanders and chiefs-of-staff of the Middle East Forces.
[reads]
British officer: "There exists a real danger that our friend Rommel is becoming a kind of magician or bogeyman to our troops, who are talking far too much about him. He is by no means a superman, although he is undoubtedly very energetic and able. Even if he were a superman...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kahlekuningas (2002)

Fine Bio, but.....

This is a fine biopic of a worthy and honorable opponent serving a despicable cause. Unfortunately, there is not enough North Africa Campaign in the film to satisfy a war film buff. When I first saw it in the theater, it did whet my appetite to learn more about this horrendous and costly war. I have been interested in it since. The acting is first-rate, and, unlike Enemy at the Gate, the British and American accents don't detract from the film, the British accents at any rate. As others have noted in their reviews of this film, Rommel probably wasn't anti-semitic. He deliberately ignored Hitler's orders to round up Jews during the invasion of France. He also never forgave Hitler for abandoning the Afrika Korps to their fate in 1942, not to Hitler's less than energetic attempts to keep the DAK supplied.