Raid on Rommel
| Raid on Rommel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Henry Hathaway |
| Written by | Richard M. Bluel |
| Produced by | Harry Tatelman |
| Starring | Richard Burton John Colicos Clinton Greyn Wolfgang Preiss Danielle De Metz |
| Cinematography | Earl Rath |
| Edited by | Gene Palmer |
| Music by | Hal Mooney |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Raid on Rommel is an American B movie from 1971, directed by Henry Hathaway and set in North Africa during the Second World War. It stars Richard Burton as a British commando attempting to destroy German gun emplacements in Tobruk. Much of the action footage was re-used from the 1967 film Tobruk and the storyline is also largely the same.
Plot
Libya 1943. Captain Alex Foster, an intelligence officer with the British Army, allows himself to be captured by a German Afrika Korps convoy transporting British prisoners, pretending to be injured. Once integrated with the prisoners, remnants of a commando force and a medical unit, Foster outlines his plans to take over the convoy, with the help of the prisoners, and redirect it towards the Libyan port town of Tobruk.
On the way, they find an unexpected concentration of German tanks, and they surmise that there must be a fuel depot hidden nearby. Foster, in Afrika Corps uniform, and Major Tarkington, the medical officer as his 'prisoner', gain access to the depot and meet Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. During a friendly dispute over philately between Rommel and Tarkington, Foster notices a map which indicates the location of the fuel depot.
They make excuses, leave, capture a tank and blow up the fuel dump. They escape towards Tobruk, where they destroy a coastal battery. The prisoners are embarked in boats launched by attacking Royal Navy warships. However, Foster and Tarkington are captured by German soldiers. The film leaves their fate unexplained.
Cast
- Richard Burton — Capt. Alex Foster
- John Colicos — Sgt. Allan MacKenzie
- Clinton Greyn — Maj. Hugh Tarkington
- Wolfgang Preiss — Gen. Erwin Rommel
- Danielle De Metz — Vivianne Gagliardo
- Karl-Otto Alberty — Capt. Heinz Schroeder
- Christopher Cary — Cpl. Peter Merrihew
- John Orchard — Dan Garth
- Brook Williams — Sgt. Joe Reilly
- Greg Mullavy — Pvt. Ed Brown
- Ben Wright — Admiral
- Michael Sevareid — Cpl. Bill Wembley
- Chris Anders — Tank Sergeant
Reception
The film was poorly received by critics. It has a 24% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[1] Many would say the film was not as exciting as Hathaway's past action films. The absence of subtitles seriously affects the understanding of the film's plot.
In 2006, the BBC's Radio Times wrote: "It says a lot for Richard Burton that he was able to plumb the depths in dreary Second World War action movies such as this one, about a British officer releasing prisoners to attack Tobruk, without doing any apparent damage to his career. Even the usually dependable director Henry Hathaway falters in this flawed effort that was originally meant for TV".[2]
References
- ^ "Raid on Rommel". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
- ^ Radio Times review 29 January 2006
External links
- Raid on Rommel at IMDb
- Amazon viewer reviews of the film
- ‹The template AllMovie title is being considered for deletion.› Raid on Rommel at AllMovie
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