Rogue Male – 1976 | 103 mins | Thriller | Colour

Plot Synopsis

BBC made-for-television film faithfully adapted from Geoffrey Household’s classic 1939 novel Rogue Male, which had previously been filmed as Man Hunt (1941) by Fritz Lang. This was one of Peter O’Toole’s favourite roles and he produces a reticent performance as the stalked nobleman haunted by memories of a lost love, whilst Alastair Sim perfectly portrays his blimpish Uncle accepting a policy of appeasement towards Adolf Hitler. The production’s television values are clear and Clive Donner’s direction is merely perfunctory, but he keeps the story moving apace and creates a genuine atmosphere of trepidation.

Set in 1939 prior to the outbreak of WWII, English aristocrat Sir Robert Thorndyke (Peter O’Toole) attempts a sporting stalk of Adolf Hitler, or does he subconsciously plan to assassinate the Nazi leader. Thorndyke is captured by the Nazi’s whilst stalking his prey and held for interrogation and torture, when he refuses to sign a forced confession declaring he is a British agent they throw him from a ravine supposedly to his death in an attempt to cover up his mistreatment. However, the woodland branches break his fall and with the assistance of a friendly German and a British sailor, the bruised and broken Thorndyke is able to return to London.

But England provides no safety. Thorndyke is warned by his uncle, The Earl (Alastair Sim), that the Prime Minister is furious by his actions and that Sir Robert could be extradited so he should make himself scarce. The hunter has become the hunted as Gestapo agents are now following Thorndyke, so Sir Robert clears up his business matters with barrister Saul Abrahams (Harold Pinter) and seeks to evade his pursuers. However, at Holborn tube station Sir Robert becomes perilously close to being captured and throws the Nazi agent on to the live rails. Now Thorndyke is trailed by the Nazis and the English police, so strips away all the trappings of status and goes to ground like an animal. He flees to Dorset, but with newspapers regularly printing sightings and his description, his chief pursuer, Nazi agent Major Quive-Smith (John Standing) is doggedly hunting his quarry.