For years, I avoided watching "The Desert Fox" because I assumed, like most Hollywood produced films of the era that the movie would play fast and loose with the facts. This is just too often the case with bio- pics of the era. So, I am usually much more likely to watch a documentary and get the facts instead of seeing a film which is intended much more as entertainment than a history lesson. And, given that I was a history teacher, of course I'd prefer documentaries. But in this case, I was surprised. While the film was far from perfect, what you saw was true and the filmmakers did a good job of establishing at the beginning that they conducted a lot of interviews in order to tell the story right--including consulting with Rommel's widow. I really appreciate this--and that is why I rate the film an 8. Plus the acting and most of the production were very, very nice.

So, is it perfect? Nope. I had a few problems. I usually hate the overuse of stock footage and this film is no exception. In one case, I was really mad because its use was so sloppy. You see an American torpedo plane (an Avenger) become a British fighter plane in mid-air because of sloppy editing! Also, the film is NOT a comprehensive story about Rommel's life or even his life during WWII. It's much more spotty and emphasizes his progression from a loyal officer to a guy who had some knowledge of the plot to kill Hitler and kept his silence because he saw that this mad man was destroying his country. It's not a bad choice to do this sort of study but I would love to have seen more--more about him as a man.

By the way, I did laugh at a scene between Rommel and von Rundstedt that would have occurred in June 1944. You see von Rundstedt putting on his scarf and picking up a heavy winter coat at the end of their talk. Where was von Rundstedt stationed...Antarctica?!

Though The Desert Fox is good as far as it goes and James Mason is perfectly cast as Erwin Rommel, one would hope that a fuller biographical study might be done on the screen.

Erwin Rommel was one of a group of like minded military leaders in various countries who after World War I, rose to the top of their country's military establishment because they saw the value of the tank in any future war. Some of those people would be Charles DeGaulle in France, Dwight Eisenhower and George Patton in America, Marshal Tukachevksy in the Soviet Union and Rommel in Germany.

In 1942 Hitler as he was constantly doing sent Rommel in to bail out the Italians who up to that point had been running the desert campaign in North Africa. With less men and supplies, his tactical ability bedeviled the Allied command until The Second Battle of El Alamein.

The film starts with Rommel as desert warfare genius and then when he does become ill and is invalided out of North Africa, the Allies regain the initiative and beat his famed Afrika Korps. Rommel is then sent to Western Europe to supervise the defenses on the Atlantic.

There comes a point when Rommel does realize that his Fuehrer is destroying his country and becomes involved in the plot to kill him and overthrow the government. That is what most of the film deals with.

James Mason is a stalwart Rommel a perfect conception of the man they called The Desert Fox. In this mostly male film, Jessica Tandy has little to do but be loyal and supportive as Frau Rommel.

Luther Adler who among other parts he played in his long distinguished career was David Ben-Gurion. He goes the whole opposite way in his portrayal of a ranting and malevolent Adolph Hitler. How a man who took his Jewish heritage as seriously as Luther Adler did, prepare for the role of Hitler is beyond my scope. But then again, there were few actors as good as he.

Though Mason does a fine job given what limited material he had to work from, archives have been opened and we know a whole lot more about Erwin Rommel. Time for another biographical study.

THE DESERT FOX is a sympathetic biopic of Rommel, one of the great Nazi generals, who led his troops to victory in North Africa before becoming embroiled in one of the most notorious conspiracies of the Second World War. What's apparent from the outset is just how well made this movie is: it's an exemplary piece of story-telling, crisply shot, fast-paced, and with real heart behind it.

Much of the film's success is down to James Mason in the titular role. Mason was always a consummate professional and no more so than here; his portrayal of a conflicted figure is an entirely sympathetic one and it's hard to imagine another actor doing so well in the role. The supporting cast is fine, too, but it's Henry Hathaway's direction which really shines. He brings a freshness and vitality even to those moments which are well-known to history, and his film is utterly compelling as a result. Great stuff indeed.