It seems he went through such a dramstic change from the 16 going on 17 scene to the garden scene with the captain and the baroness.
shareHe was probably just getting into the Nazi ideology at the start of the film then went through the full Hitler Youth Program which set him on the course.
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I'd say that, in the end, Rolfe revealed who and what he really was all along. His true self came out at an opportune moment. Granted, he was still a teenager, but it was clear that he'd already absorbed enough of the Nazi ideology to make him a louse.
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it was an interesting twist. often in movies like this characters come to a cross-roads that will determine the rest of their lives... he chose poorly.
im glad they did it that way!
I think when Captain Von Trappe took the gun out of Rolfe's hand and said "You will never belong to them", Rolfe wanted to prove himself and that's why he called out to the other soldiers that the Von Trappes were hiding in there.
sharewas Rolfe a Nazi at the start?
Rolfe was most likely a member of a Hitler Youth unit at the beginning. He received plenty of indoctrination.
"May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?"
As an Austrian prior to the anschluss he wouldn't have had access to the Hitler Youth programme. By the time it came around he was too old.
I think he was impressionable rather than a true-believer. Also, his sweetheart's father was a grumpy old tyrant. Maybe he just wanted to annoy him, and challenge his authority.
I would say that he'd definitely drank the kool aid much like youth today are persuaded into these dark ideologies.
His father's grumpy old tyrant father was only 34 when filming began and about 36 on its release. Not so old...
There was a significant change from the stage play to the film.
In the play, Rolfe calls out to his superior when he discovers the von Trapps hiding in the abbey, but then after aiming his flashlight at Liesl and seeing her look of horror, he shouts out "No one here" and the Nazis leave.
I don't think he was a Nazi at the beginning, but the Hitler Youth was getting into his mind. At the end, when he threatens to shoot the Captain, I could tell by the look on his face, that he wouldn't really do it. I agree with the Captain that Rolfe wasn't really one of them, but perhaps just going along with the crowd.
shareThat was more convincing. I don't envy Rolf his explanation for losing his gun!
Old post, but...
To a 17 year old a 36 year old is OLD!. His own parents were likely of similar age. If he is being rebellious, and most 17 year olds are to one extant or another, he certainly would be to Leisl's father; though not likely to his face.
Georg Von Trapp was 58 at the time of the Anschluss.
shareRolfe was most likely a member of a Hitler Youth unit at the beginning. He received plenty of indoctrination.
I always thought that he was. I thought that the only reason he was with Liesl was to infiltrate the family so to speak.
shareWas Max in the Nazi Party? He seemed to be indifferent to the problems of what was going on in Austria with the oncoming Anschluss. Also when he was with the children and members of the Nazi Party approached him about the Capt. not flying the Nazi flag; he seemed to know the Nazi salute but was only hesitant to do the motions because of the children.
shareHe was having that vaguely political conversation with the butler at the beginning, so I think he was pro-German at the outset. The Captain's high-handed treatment of him later on might have solidified his position; some people thought that National Socialism represented a more meritocratic deal, with a narrower gap between the top and bottom socio-economic groups.
sharethey showed his transformation too rapidly in terms of screen time. in real time, he would have had enough time to be indoctrinated but there was not enough time to give him more scenes in the film to show the development
Frankly, I think that a seventeen-year-old is plenty old enough to be totally indoctrinated by Nazi propaganda, and to use it against anybody he felt like using it against.
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