Rogue Male (1976 TV Movie) User Reviews

A Story of Nazi Appeasement

[Aglaope · 7/10 · 17 July 2006]

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.

Right On Target

[reelreviewsandrecommendations · 8/10 · 16 April 2024]

It is 1939, and Europe is on the verge of war. At a manor house deep inside German territory, Hitler is entertaining guests. From the surrounding woodland, Sir Robert Hunter, an Englishman, watches the party through the lens of his sniper rifle. He means to assassinate the Fuhrer, though at the last moment, his plans are scuppered. With his life hanging in the balance, Hunter must summon all his wit and courage to withstand the Nazis' brutal interrogation methods and plot a daring escape.

Directed by Clive Donner, 'Rogue Male' is an exciting, tense made for TV movie based on the novel of the same name by Geoffrey Household, first published in 1939. A gripping thriller, the tale had been previously adapted for screen in 1941, as Fritz Lang's 'Man Hunt,' which starred Walter Pidgeon and Joan Bennett. Closer to the source material than Lang's version- though still not without differences- it is engaging, with sharp dialogue and a compelling narrative one would be hard pressed to forget.

The film weaves a tale of peril and perseverance, set against the backdrop of a Europe teetering on the brink of war. Frederic Raphael's screenplay showcases not only the external conflict of a continent on the precipice of international combat but also the internal struggle of a man fighting for his principles. Sir Robert Hunter's character arc is a testament to the human spirit's resilience in the face of overwhelming adversity.

The tension escalates as Hunter, a man out of his element but not out of his depth, uses his ingenuity to turn the hunters into the hunted. His journey is not just a physical one, but also a moral odyssey, as he grapples with the consequences of his actions and the true meaning of justice. In the broader context of war thrillers, Donner's film distinguishes itself with its focus on psychological warfare and the survivalist aspect of Hunter's journey. It doesn't rely solely on action sequences to build suspense; instead, it crafts a tense atmosphere through character development and the looming threat of discovery.

As Hunter evades his pursuers, the English countryside becomes a character in its own right, with its rolling hills and shadowed woods providing both sanctuary and peril. The cinematography captures the stark contrast between the tranquil beauty of nature and the dark undercurrents of Hunter's flight; which Christopher Gunning's emotive score compounds. Moreover, Tony Abbott's production design- as well as John Bloomfield's costume design- is grittily authentic, lending a weight of realism to proceedings.

Peter O'Toole stars as Hunter, supported by Alaistair Sim, John Standing, Harold Pinter and Michael Byrne. O'Toole's nuanced lead performance is a standout of his career, deftly capturing the essence of a man driven by conviction and haunted by the moral implications of his mission. Sim, in his final film, brings a gravitas to his role as Hunter's uncle, that underscores the film's serious undertones, while John Standing's work as one of the villains of the piece brims with a witty menace. Similarly, Pinter does fine work as Hunter's friend and lawyer, while Byrne is excellent as a sadistic jackbooted Nazi- a role he has played numerous times and always to great effect.

Clive Donner's 'Rogue Male' is more than a chase thriller; it is a reflective piece on the choices we make and the paths we take when civilization itself hangs in the balance. Featuring a compelling narrative, witty dialogue and strong characterisation; it has a lot to offer. Boasting fine performances from all in the cast- especially those of star Peter O'Toole and Alastair Sim- as well as an effective score and striking cinematography- it is, in every respect, right on target.

Indifferent "made for British TV" direction can't disguise the strength of the story

[lemon_magic · 7/10 · 21 March 2016]

I first read "Rogue Male" as a young boy (of perhaps 10 or 11), and although the themes and the prose were obviously too mature and dense for even an avid reader of that age, even I was deeply impressed by the grittiness and elemental brutality of the plot and the relentlessness and implacability of the unnamed protagonist's pursuers.

Say what you will about the technical shortcomings of this made-for-TV version, the script preserves the essence of that story. And although O'toole is perhaps the last "high-end" British actor of that era that I would have chosen for the role (it's hard to imagine anyone less believable as a big-game hunter), he does right by it. The supporting cast ranges from fair to great, and the result is quite watchable for any fan of the suspense/thriller genre.

Glad I finally got a chance to see it.

This is a remake of the 1941 move "Man Hunt" based on the same book.

[Matinee-3 · 23 March 2000]

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.

Rogue Male

[CinemaSerf · 6/10 · 1 April 2023]

Based on Geoffrey Household's rather far-fetched book, Peter O'Toole is British aristocrat "Sir Robert" who lays plan to assassinate Adolf Hitler before the start of WWII. After missing an open goal his plan goes awry, and after some fairly brutal torture at the hands of his captor Michael Byrne, he manages to flee the scene of his own proposed demise and to make it back to Blighty where his solicitor and kindly uncle (Alastair Sim) recommends he keep his head down for fear his plot be publicised, and the country be dragged into war...! The Nazis have not, however, given up on their chase and his efforts to stay out of their sights quite literally drive him underground. It is all just a bit silly, to be honest, and the sort of stiff-upper-lip gentlemanly code of hunter and hunted borders a little too much on the sarcastic to be scary and not enough to be amusing - even though O'Toole does have some quite pithy put downs for his Aryan pursuers. It is just about worth watching for fans of the star, but the rest of it need not have been remade from the superior 1941 iteration.

Good story let down by cinematography, and one too many soppy cut-tos

[martinhalford · 6/10 · 26 September 2019]

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.

Adolf's mustache in the telescope.

[RodrigAndrisan · 7/10 · 2 June 2019]

There are in this movie two actors very dear to me, I grew up with their films: Peter O'Toole and Alastair Sim. Unfortunately, Sim has a small role, and the last of his career. O'Toole does an excellent job but I liked him more in "The Night of the Generals", "Murphy's War" and "The Ruling Class". John Standing and Michael Byrne are both very good in two roles of negative characters.

The book was better

[PimpinAinttEasy · 7/10 · 21 November 2021]

Read the book last week. The film ignores some of the nautical thrills in the book. Or it merely suggests they happened. This is a bummer because the nautical action scenes were awesome in the book.

But still a solid film. Toole maybe a bit too old for the main role. But does a neat job - correctly projects the attitude of the character in the book.

The film is more like a revenge tale while the book is about a lot more. About a man who likes to be on the run and live alone in nature.

(7.5/10)

Excellent Rendering of the Novel

[rsquires · 9/10 · 22 January 2007]

I wasn't expecting much, and the horrendous VHS-to-DVD transfer didn't help matters, but the close following of screenplay to novel, and the perfect casting of O'Toole as the vulnerable English aristocrat, makes this TV?!? adaptation a must see.

Much of the quality and suspense of the novel comes through, and the wordiness if you will of the script gave O'Toole the freedom to express his character and the political-vs-personal tensions Household filled _Rogue Male_ with.

This must have been an English production, I can't imagine an American one including the racial characterizations, 30's political details, or the quick repartee.

A credible BBC remake of Fritz Lang's 1941 Man Hunt

[wulfstan · 6/10 · 13 February 2010]

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.

Not a patch on Lang's version!

[JohnHowardReid · 5/10 · 24 April 2015]

This tepid remake of Fritz Lang's "Man Hunt" (1941) substitutes Peter O'Toole for Walter Pidgeon and way, way, way down in the cast line-up Maureen Lipman for Joan Bennett. Produced on a sparse budget, this over-talkative, slow-moving account of Geoffrey Household's 1939 novel has all the handicaps we expect of a low budget TV movie. The pace is slow, the acting comes across as solidly dreary, the sets fail to impress, the photography never shines and the direction is both stolid and stagnant. Admittedly, this version is more faithful to the novel's story line and characterizations, but give me Fritz Lang's energetic input any day rather than director Clive Donner's tepid, budget- conscious approach. Available on an excellent Alpha DVD.

a great yarn

[pearsontepper · 9/10 · 31 August 2003]

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.

A new version of 1941's "Man Hunt".

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 1 September 2022]

"Rogue Male" is a remake of the 1941 film, "Man Hunt". Both stories are very, very similar though "Rogue Male" is much more violent and gritty, as it was made over three decades later...and in 1941 films weren't allowed to be THIS violent due to the American Production Code.

The story begins just before WWII begins. Sir Robert Hunter (Peter O'Toole) is on holiday near Hitler's retreat in southern Bavaria and Sir Robert is there to do something rather nonsensical. He wants to get Hitler in the crosshairs of his rifle...not to shoot him but in order to prove to himself that he COULD kill Hitler if he wanted to! Apparently, he's some sort of goofy great white hunter.

Sir Robert is caught by the Germans and is tortured (and it's much more vivid in "Rogue Male"). They want him to admit he was trying to kill this evil man but he admits nothing. So, to get rid of this 'problem' they arrange for Sir Robert to die and make it look like an accident. Well, surprisingly, he survives the huge fall and manages to escape Germany.

Now you'd think Sir Robert's problems would be over but there are two problems. First, this was during the Neville Chamberlain era...and Brits didn't want war and they mostly thought Hitler was a reasonable man. So, no one wanted to hear about how beastly the Gestapo dealt with Sir Robert. Second, the Germans apparently REALLY want him dead and they show up in Britain to kill him. Again, most folks don't want to irritate Germany and he finds it tough to get anyone to care. Can Sir Robert manage to avoid assuming room temperature?

I think "Rogue Male" is much like "Man Hunt" in that the basic premise really doesn't make any sense. BUT, if you suspend disbelief and just watch it, it's a most enjoyable adventure movie....but also a tad slow at times.

Unbelievable tale

[pilot1009 · 4/10 · 22 April 2022]

Highly unlikely story with a loose ending that has the only redeeming feature of portraying the english upper class as they were. For me the idea of the main protagonist hiding in a hole in the ground is just, well, stupid. In that age the idea that a person with money could not disappear is quite feasible so why dig a hole to hide in.

O'Toole gives his all as the professional that he is but whole thing is just unbelievable and long drawn out to no gratifying end.

A first-rate thriller receives a superior adaptation.

[lime-3 · 2 July 1999]

"Rogue Male" is Geoffrey Household's finest thriller, and has long been one of my favorite books. I only discovered the existence of the film recently, and, sold by the screenwriter, director and cast listings, bought it sight-unseen, which I NEVER do. I was not disappointed. Cuts and changes were made, of course, the vast majority thoroughly justifiable. One or two others, while perhaps not strictly necessary, did no harm at all. The result was complete justice to the novel and a fine film!

Acceptable tale of British subject fleeing Nazi chase

[adrianovasconcelos · 7/10 · 30 September 2023]

The film opens with British aristocrat Peter O'Toole, a purported bird watcher/hunter apparently trying to place Hitler in his gun's cross hairs. Bad luck that a German soldier spots him and he is put through some nailbiting torture, before Gestapo hatches plans to dispose of him as part of a staged accident.

By some miraculous luck the nobleman falls from a considerable height but survives, and by even greater luck a German national (who obviously did not approve of Adolf, which must have been ultra-rare in the late 1930s) he gets on a boat and manages to get back to the UK, but even there he is not out of the woods.

As a 1976 TV flick, one must not expect a high flying cinematic production, and ROGUE MALE's cinematography never amounts to more than standard. Both O'Toole and Sim look well past their prime, and the former clearly shows the effects of excessive alcoholic consumption, which affects both delivery and facial expression.

Worth watching, but I doubt I will rewatch it. 7/10.

A Superior Chase Film

[george_chabot · 9/10 · 10 December 2006]

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.

Life is not a game of Cricket

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 1 January 2021]

Peter O'Toole plays Sir Robert Hunter. In 1939 Hunter attempts to assassinate Hitler and fails. Left for dead by the Nazis, Hunter manages to make it to England where he is still hunted as England and Germany are not at war.

Not much action or thrills. More like a drama of a rich guy on the run.

Taut thriller - wasted on the plebeian generation

[jatrius · 8/10 · 18 July 2005]

I have read the book, and it is still, rather surprisingly, not as well known as some of the lesser output of Alastair MacLean or Hammond Innes, for example, despite its being of the very highest order.

This adaptation does slightly change the plot but not to the detriment of the pace or the characterisation. This is not a jolly hockeysticks pre-War John Buchan world that these characters inhabit. The protagonist, never named in the novel, is emotionally stunted by virtue of his aristocratic upbringing and the grieving process for his one true love, whom we can guess at being either a Czech, or a Pole from Danzig/Memel. In a gesture of futile resistance the lord decides to hunt down the great dictator, in a spirit of cold vengeance and sporting curiosity. He is caught and tortured and having expended much inexplicable violence upon him the Gestapo decide to fake his death as a fall from a cliff in order to explain his injuries, having satisfied themselves that his actions were not instigated by the British government. He survives this ill use and then begins one of the most stirring manhunts in literature as he attempts to return to England without embarrassing his former circles.

However, when he returns to England he finds that not all is well back in the sceptred isle.......

O' Toole is on fabulous form. The lead villain is all you would expect from a Fascist sympathiser, polished, virile and an emetic upon right-thinking people. the celebration of countryside and sport is not lost upon the director as the motor for the political beliefs espoused by both sides as Milord strives to survive and the German Foreign Service seek to make political capital out of his predicament once they have his admission of acting under orders wrung out of him. It is a beautifully paced evocation of a rustic idyll that no longer exists as a result of the chancre, which it, itself, has spawned.

Waste of Celluloid

[PolitiCom · 2/10 · 6 July 2002]

There is a reason why this made for British TV movie only appeared at the 1977 Toronto Film Festival. It is dull, plodding and lacking in suspense.

Peter OÕTooleÕs diffident performance and the appearance of playwright Harold Pinter are the only elements of interest.

Note : Some British film fans will enjoy seeing Philip Jackson, best known for his portrayal of Inspector Japp in the Poirot television series, in one of his earliest roles....

Peter O'Toole at His Best

[alicecbr · 29 September 1999]

For those of us who still wonder at how the world could have been hornswaggled so long by Hitler, this movie gives us an insight into the spell he had some of the English under!! O'toole plays the brave nobleman who attempts to assassinate the personable madman at his holiday digs. I could have done without the 'pull his fingernails out' scene, but the point was driven home.

He was tortured and escaped with some help from a wonderful German who considered the Nazi thugs 'trash', as well as English sailors. Knowing O'toole's background in the Royal Navy, his disguise didn't take much acting. The 'by the book' captain who refused to allow a search of his vessel by the intimidating Germans made me wonder if any of my compatriots would stand up to that today.

If you've never seen the Tower Bridge, the significance of O'toole coming up from his cramped hiding place onboard the ship, seeing the underside of the bridge, might escape you. He portrays the joie de vivre of that moment wonderfully. I could just fall into his beautiful blue eyes!!

The interplay between O'toole and his uncle, as the love then hate relationship between Parliament and Hitler progresses, gives great insight into how this horror happened. O'toole, the rogue, is under suspicion and search by, not only the Nazi English agents, but his own people, normal agents of government!!! This only added to my usual cynicism concerning governments. Now to read the book!!!!

"We can pull out your fingernails while we wait"

[rhinocerosfive-1 · 8/10 · 2 April 2008]

Through long practice, Clive Donner has mastered the art of making pictures unmistakable for anything but British television - cramped, carelessly framed shots; anachronistic hairdressing and set decoration; the cheapest possible film stock; music disinterred from a muzak burial ground; scenes every single one of which was obviously the first take; editing apparently committed with a greasy boning knife by a whimsical butcher. Yet for all its brownish greens, awkward flashbacks and 70s sideburns, the WWII thriller ROGUE MALE is that rarest of items, a badly directed good movie.

It's Frederic Raphael, the most pretentiously named writer since Goldsworthy Dickinson, who bears primary responsibility for the film's success. He keeps things fairly rushing along, always ready with a clever quip for Peter O'Toole to flip from the tip of his furred tongue.

Within five minutes, O'Toole at his most wan and inebriated is tortured by Michael Byrne, the same Nazi who twenty years later was hurled off a cliff by Harrison Ford. Here, he and O'Toole insult each other's public school before O'Toole is hurled off a cliff onto a shotgunned pig. Then O'Toole, probably of necessity, is allowed to abandon vertical ambulation, crawling and slithering through much of the movie. It's a good start to a really fun little spy hunter.

This is the O'Toole of legend, the one who falls off stages reciting sonnets backward, the famous wastrel, the untamed actor so charming and well-equipped that even when he forgets his line, can't walk without a stagger, or drifts through entire scenes with the most bleary of stares, delivers a thoroughly entertaining and credible performance. When the Nazis stuff a dead cat into his burrow, he recites Byron to it. How many actors could pull that off, drunk or sober?

Incidentally, his character's name in this film is Robert Hunter, not Thorndyke, which title IMDb curiously bestows upon him. (In the novel the character is unnamed, and in Fritz Lang's previous adaptation MAN HUNT he's Alan Thorndike with an i. Hmm.)

O'Toole excellent; film poor

[irish23 · 3/10 · 27 April 2007]

Very much a film from the times -- extremely long sequences with no dialogue, bad flashbacks, and an almost entirely male cast. The two women who appear have a total of under 10 lines and exist only as romantic interests for men.

O'Toole is riveting whenever he speaks; unfortunately, he spends much of his time peering through shrubbery. Alastair Sims is always a joy to see but he, too, is terribly underused.

The film has one additional positive aspect, in that it depicts many aspects of British fascism and fascist sympathies (such as the casual appearance of the Mosley graffiti) that many people today are unaware of. Too many of today's films about WWII paint the Allies as all-good and the Axis as all-evil, when history tells us people are far more complicated than that!

This would be a good movie for when you're recovering from the flu and are bundled on the couch and not able to absorb anything too complex. If you just need something to pass the time while your electrolytes stabilize, this is the movie for you.

If not the nazis, then I wud have definitely removed the fingernails of the hunter for failing to assassinate Hitler.

[Fella_shibby · 8/10 · 13 September 2019]

I first saw this in the mid 90s on a vhs. Revisited it recently. This film is criminally underrated n it definitely deserves a remake with bigger budget, action sequences n a different ending.

The film is about a hunter who gets a chance to shoot Hitler but misses it. He is then tortured n left for dead by the nazis. He somehow manages to make his way back to his home country. Fearing of extradition n the nazis n local cops after him, he goes under the ground. Yes, literally under the ground. The film turns into a survival thriller n we come to kno that our hunter is the forefather of Rambo. The film is beautifully shot with some amazing countryside locations. The editing, acting n direction is top notch.

This film is based on a book. There is a 1941 film version. The writer of the Rambo series got heavily inspired by the book upon which this film is based on.

Target

[BandSAboutMovies · 4/10 · 26 November 2023]

Based on Geoffrey Household's 1939 novel Rogue Male, this BBC TV movie was directed by Clive Donner, adapted by Frederic Raphael and in addition to Peter O'Toole, it also stars Alastair Sim in his last film role.

In early 1939, before the start of World War II, Sir Robert Hunter (O'Toole) takes aim at Adolf Hitler with a hunting rifle. He hesitates to shoot, which ends with him being attacked by an SS guard. He's tortured and claims that this was just an intellectual exercise to see if he could kill the leader. He's a well-known British citizen, so to cover up the torture, they throw him off a cliff.

He survives and escapes to England, where a Nazi sympathizer named Major Quive-Smith (John Standing) recaptures him and demands that he writes a false confession that the British government demanded that he was given orders to kill the German leader. But he's not giving up without a fight.

In 2007, Peter O'Toole named the film as his favorite among those that he had made. One of the reasons he was in it was because his wife Sian Phillips loved the novel.