Rogue Male

1977
6.6| 1h43m| NR| en
Details

In 1939, Sir Robert Thorndyke takes aim at Adolf Hitler with a high powered rifle, but the shot misses its mark. Captured and tortured by the Gestapo and left for dead, Sir Robert makes his way back to England where he discovers the Gestapo has followed him. Knowing that his government would turn him over to German authorities, Sir Robert goes underground in his battle with his pursuers.

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Reviews

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film
Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
clanciai Fritz Lang made this film in 1941, but the two versions are very different and compliment each other - none will spoil the other. Peter O'Toole's version is more actionlike, the dialogue is very much reduced and replaced by more credible action, while in the Fritz Lang version the dialogue is all, and there are many interesting conversations. Above all, the original film stresses the actual theme of the book, which is British sportsmanship, while this tends to get lost in the Peter O'Toole version. However, Peter is a much more suitable actor for the role than Walter Pidgeon, who is not quite convincing and certainly no hero. Peter makes a hero with terrible ordeals to go thorugh, while Walter is rather unscathed throughout. Peter is more convincing as an absolute gentleman, you can judge him for what he is just by his appearance, while Walter Pidgeon is a bit overgrown in maturity almost lijke a middle aged bore - his opponent George Sanders actually outshines him. Peter is also assisted by the incomparable Alastair Sim for his uncle, who still in his old age remains perfectly irresistible. Walter Pidgeon's uncle you forget at once.So although Fritz Lang's film has a better script, is more literary and more brilliantly composed, while Peter's suffers from bad TV quality and is action for large audiences, Peter's version is more efficient and credible, realistic and dramatic. It's a great story, who wouldn't have dreamed of assassinating Hitler in time if he had the chance, and no matter how much you depart from the original story, you can't make a bad film on it.
wulfstan Kerrigan's plot summary above misses the point. I suppose since the code of gentlemen hunters is so ignored these days that even a "conservative" Governor Tim Pawlenty leaves a deer he shot to die in the woods so he can make a rubber chicken political lunch, one must understand this.But the point is precisely that Thorndike was making a stalk just as he told his interrogator, not attempting to assassinate Hitler. The challenge was being able to do it. Pulling the trigger was superfluous. The gun only went off because Thorndike got tackled by the SS men while sighting in with a round in the chamber.There seems no indication here of the fine Fritz Lang film in which George Sanders played a deliciously civilized monster Nazi interrogator and Walter Pidgeon played Thorndike.While it is always fun watching Peter O'Toole writhing in agony in another over the top performance... you might want to take a look at Man Hunt.
FelixFlanken I found this film lurking in the BBC Archives with dust on it.Last viewed the year it came out.It is an immensely atmospheric film shot in that typical seventies film which has aged - slightly murky and blurred with low and dark colour range, a bit like Bergerac or outside scenes of Fawlty Towers! I think Peter O'Toole does a great job in this and is so suited to the role and is really the only real acting presence apart from perhaps the chap he shoots at the end.There are a couple of nice quirky characters though who he meets on the , like the couple who sell him a tandem in a quaint village in Dorset and his plump uncle who we only ever see in a Turkish steam room.This a a good bit of greyish British seventies TV.
pearsontepper This is a faithful adaptation of the book by Geoffrey Household. It was made in 1941 as Man Hunt, directed by Fritz Lang. That was also a good film, particularly the George Sanders character, but in no ways is it as good as Rogue Male. This was a TV movie, and the color has faded over the years, but it is extremely provocative of the country in south England. I give it a 9.

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