Rating: 
Summary: Great Story!
Review: James Mason is stellar as Field Marshal Rommel. You'll witness his military defeat in Africa and return to Hitler's Germany. This film is a great story about a great general.--Diana Dell, author, "A Saigon Party: And Other Vietnam War Short Stories."
Rating: 
Summary: This (really good) movie could make a good opera (costumes,-
Review: James Mason was such a fine actor that he could portray a credible Rommel and then portray Humbert Humbert in "Lolita". He was very good in this. I first saw this movie 40 years ago on TV, and I enjoy it still.
Rating:
Summary: This (really good) movie could make a good opera (costumes,-
Review: James Mason was such a fine actor that he could portray a credible Rommel and then portray Humbert Humbert in "Lolita". He was very good in this. I first saw this movie 40 years ago on TV, and I enjoy it still.
Rating:
Summary: English actor, James Mason, makes a great Rommel.
Review: Originally copyright by 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, in 1951, only six years after the end of World War Two, this black and white film gives a shallow overview of the last years of German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel: the Desert Fox.Once you get past the opening rather stagey scenes, of British commandos raiding a German headquarters building in north Africa, hoping to kill the Desert Fox in his lair, the rest of the film is carried along guite well, by the great performance of James Mason, as Rommel. This performance is the only reason I rated this film as four stars, without Mason I would have been disapointed. Other members of the cast do fine jobs too, notably Cedric Hardwicke and Leo G. Carroll. One can find good entertainment based on real events. D-Day: the invasion of Normandy, is a highlight of this film. There are several minutes of what appears to be genuine newsreel footage of the storming of the beaches: the ships off shore, the guns, the planes, brave men falling. It's all very real at this point. "The Desert Fox" was made in an era when the directors, producers, and the Hollywood Establishment in general, were less preachy, and less likely to distort the truth in order to promote a social agenda. That is a big plus for this film. On the down side: the film starts off with several undisclosed advertisements for other videos, of like kind, by Fox. This is borderline dishonest, as consumers have paid for entertainment and expect it to be commercial free. At the very least, the ads should be disclosed, before anyone makes a purchaseing decision. All in all, "The Desert Fox" is good entertainment and deserves a look.
Rating:
Summary: Not great history but good entertainment
Review: Rommel was not historically portrayed but the characterization is excellent. The film only comes in B&W due to it's filming date. Not many color films from 1951 huh. James Mason has portrayed Rommel in at least three movies that I know of and has always been a great German Colonel/General/Feld Marschall, as proved by his performances in "The Desert Rats", "The Desert Fox", "The Blue Max", and "Cross Of Iron". This is a great old fashioned romantic warrior style war movie with a hint of history thrown in.
Rating:
Summary: Not great history but good entertainment
Review: Rommel was not historically portrayed but the characterization is excellent. The film only comes in B&W due to it's filming date. Not many color films from 1951 huh. James Mason has portrayed Rommel in at least three movies that I know of and has always been a great German Colonel/General/Feld Marschall, as proved by his performances in "The Desert Rats", "The Desert Fox", "The Blue Max", and "Cross Of Iron". This is a great old fashioned romantic warrior style war movie with a hint of history thrown in.
Rating:
Summary: Mason makes this film
Review: This film biography of General Erwin Rommel is made memorable by the outstanding performance of James Mason in the title role. Mason is the perfect German general and this was his first major blockbuster in Hollywood after a string of disappointing movies after he left his native Britain. There are many historical inaccuracies in this film and it certainly isn't good history, but it's very enjoyable, particularly the latter sections of the movie. The film drags quite a bit at the beginning and is curiously disjointed in sections. The battle sequences are rather poorly done and amateurish, but the dialogue between Rommel and his subordinates is immediate and crisp. The scenes with his wife and son are also interesting and well-scripted. The last thirty minutes of the movie are undoubtedly the best portions, where the German general staff informs Rommel he must die. Rommel's farewell to his family is poignantly written and memorable. The film is worth watching because of Mason's superb performance. Don't expect truthful history, but be engrossed by a great actor.
Rating:
Summary: minor point
Review: This is a fine movie, well reviewed by others. My minor point is that "The Desert Fox" of 1951 has Cold War significance. It was the first American/British following WWII to portray the German military from an on balance favorable perspective. It seems that by 1951 we had recognized that the current danger was from Stalin.
Rating:
Summary: A splendid movie and a bravo James Mason performance!
Review: This is a superb movie dealing with the great German general, Erwin Rommel, dubbed "The Desert Fox." Surprisingly, the movie deals rather tersely with the famed North African campaign, and instead focuses largely on the period after this time, when Rommel becomes disaffected with Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich, and conspires against Hitler. While basically true, this causes the movie to be an incomplete and imperfect portrayal of Rommel. Despite its flaws, this movie is well worth watching and owning. James Mason is very authentic as Rommel. The movie is narrated by Michael Rennie, and this narration significantly adds to the quality of the film. Overall, a fine war film about a great subject which is made even better by the fact that it is true to history, albeit incomplete.
Rating:
Summary: A splendid movie and a bravo James Mason performance!
Review: This is a superb movie dealing with the great German general, Erwin Rommel, dubbed "The Desert Fox." Surprisingly, the movie deals rather tersely with the famed North African campaign, and instead focuses largely on the period after this time, when Rommel becomes disaffected with Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich, and conspires against Hitler. While basically true, this causes the movie to be an incomplete and imperfect portrayal of Rommel. Despite its flaws, this movie is well worth watching and owning. James Mason is very authentic as Rommel. The movie is narrated by Michael Rennie, and this narration significantly adds to the quality of the film. Overall, a fine war film about a great subject which is made even better by the fact that it is true to history, albeit incomplete.
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