The Black Fox

The winner of the Oscar for best documentary feature, this is a fascinating exploration of the historical factors that led to the rise (and fall) of Adolf Hitler. Narrated by Marlene Dietrich (who refused Nazi overtures to make a triumphant return to the Fatherland), Louis Clyde Stoumen's film resorts to some overly familiar newsreel footage. But it also offers some perceptive insights into the general European situation and the nature of the German people, who so readily accepted a fascist dictatorship. Less successful are the references to Goethe's retelling of the medieval fable of Reynard the Fox.