The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951)

1/3/07

Watched The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel, and that movie is a mess. Based on a non-fiction book by British officer Desmond Young, who was a prisoner of war under Rommel, the film is to structuraly loyal to its source material. It starts out with an exagerated account of an attempt to assasiante Rommel by the British, then tells a bit of Young's story, then tells a bit about the North Africa campagin, then jumps ahead a few years to tell the story of Erwins far to gradual disillusionment with Adolf Hitler. Rommel it should be rememberd is treated by many in a manner similar to Confederate General Robert E. Lee, meaning he has been largely rehabilitated and divorced from the oppresive regime which he served. That both men had honorific concepts of the soldier and were true to there conceptions of duty is largely undisputed, however depications I've scene of Lee's life have been much more fully realized and enjoyable to watch or read. Rommel's simply a difficult character, and while I like the work of James Mason, I'm not convinced that his portrial was anything like the real man. I was largely disapointed with this work, espically the screenplay by Graps of Wrath scrib Nunnally Johnson.