Desert Fox, The (Wars & Westerns)

James Mason delivers a strong performance in the title role of this sympathetic study of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. In the early '40s, Rommel's juggernaut Afrika Korps dominated North Africa. But as the tide turned and he came to the painful realization that his Fuhrer, to whom he had sworn allegiance, was destroying Germany, his ingrained sense of duty pushed him into a conspiracy against Hitler. Focusing on the later part of Rommel's career, the film portrays him as a dedicated soldier, sympathetic to his men and devoted to the art of waging war in a dignified, disciplined manner. Co-starring Jessica Tandy as Rommel's wife and Cedric Hardwicke as another anti-Hitler conspirator, The Desert Fox is an intimate look at one of the most respected military tacticians of modern times, openly admired by both those who followed him into combat and those who faced him on the field of battle.