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 | General | Hitler | Nazi Soldier | WWII

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:

USA:Approved (PCA #13272) | New Zealand:G | 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:

Revealing mistakes: When Rommel is on his walking tour of the "Atlantic Wall" there is a scene where he and his entourage are walking in front of a gun emplacement fronted with a slope covered with stone blocks. The faintly visible straight shadows indicate, however, that they are walking in front of a painted backdrop.

Quotes:

Field Marshal Gerd von Runstedt: [It's] too late for me. I'm seventy now - too old to fight, too old to challenge authority, however evil... but not too old, however, to wish you and your friends the best of luck in their extremely interesting enterprise.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kahlekuningas (2002)

Compelling

It wasn't simply the way Mason captured the screen with a class that few if any actors could handle today. Sometimes, it only takes one scene to make a movie great. The scene between Rommel and Hitler (Mason and Adler) is that scene. You forget that these are actors and immerse yourself in the moment as Rommel becomes the one man who dares confront Hitler about his battle plans. He refuses to back down to the most evil man of our time and it makes this movie one of the best WWII movies ever made.

The makers of Pearl Harbor should take note: When you have the people like Rommel and Hitler (Or Roosevelt and Yamamoto) as your characters, you don't need to invent a silly story line. History is the best story teller of all. This movie is about history.