Rogue Male

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.

The story is good, but the whole thing is let down by some truly appalling camera work/lighting that makes the whole thing look cheap as chips. Some decent, if slightly wooden, acting from O'Toole, upstaged by Sim.

This is a remake of the 1941 movie "Man Hunt" based on the same book. It's a pity one can't combine the casts of both films, because the villain in the earlier version was played by George Sanders, who would have been wonderful opposite O'Toole.

The plot is marvellously gritty, with a brutal struggle for survival and a sense of desperation rarely seen in British films.

I first saw this on TV back in the mid 70's and it was definitely a story of the time, when WW2 was still in the forefront of many peoples minds.

Maybe not to the more modern taste, I've always enjoyed this film. It has a feel of the Thirty Nine Steps about it.

Just before the outbreak of WW2, Peter O'Tooles character fails in his revenge assassination attempt on Hitler. With the help of a sympathetic German, and English sailors, he escapes back to Britain and has to go on the run from the British and Nazi authorities who are both after him to return to Germany to answer for his "crime". He goes into hiding in the country, drawing on his hunting experience, and waits to the outbreak of war when his assassination attempt is looked on in a completely different light by the British, who now see him as a potential asset.

Rogue Male is a superior chase film with a superb characterization by Peter O'Toole, who occupies about 80% of the screen time.

Absolutely top-notch direction, cinematography, and editing and a respectable, not overlong, 103 minute running time.

It's a pity the DVDs have used such deteriorated source material.

The movie, if in perfect condition would be worth 10/10, as it is among the very best, however, as it is it is only worth about 7/10 because of the deterioration of the print.

If you get a chance to see Rogue Male, please do as it is worth it, even with the poor print.