The Desert Fox (1951)
Subtitled The Story of Rommel this is slightly misleading for whilst it is about Field Marshal Erwin Rommel it's not about his famed desert campaigns in North Africa and how he became the 'Desert Fox', it's basically about operation Valkyrie and the plot to remove Hitler from power.
James Mason is however excellent as Rommel in a beautifully acted movie and he comes across as a dedicated, dignified man and a highly respected soldier even though that was probably by the Allied forces rather than the bureaucrats who held power in Germany alongside his Fuhrer.
The Desert Fox is a short film, clocking in at under 85 minutes. It would have made for far superior viewing had it been at least double that length and taken into account in detail his time with the Africa Korps. As it is we are left with a sympathetic study of his final months.
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