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The Desert Rats

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6.3/10 • 91

1953-05-201h 28m

WarAction

They crawled their way across the blazing sands of Africa... to turn disaster into victory!

In North Africa, German Field Marshal Rommel and his troops have successfully fended off British forces, and now intend to take Tobruk, an important port city. A ramshackle group of Australian reinforcements sent to combat the Germans is put under the command of British Captain MacRoberts. The unruly Aussies immediately clash with MacRoberts, a gruff, strict disciplinarian, however this unorthodox team must band together to protect Tobruk from the German forces.

Directors
Robert Wise
Writters
Richard Murphy
Editors
Richard Murphy, Barbara McLean

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Richard Burton

    Richard Burton

    Captain "Tammy" MacRoberts

  2. James Mason

    James Mason

    Field Marshal Erwin von Rommel

  3. Robert Newton

    Robert Newton

    Tom Bartlett

  4. Robert Douglas

    Robert Douglas

    General

  5. Torin Thatcher

    Torin Thatcher

    Col. Barney White

  6. Chips Rafferty

    Chips Rafferty

    Sgt. "Blue" Smith

  7. Charles Tingwell

    Charles Tingwell

    Lt. Harry Carstairs

  8. Charles Davis

    Charles Davis

    Pete

  9. Ben Wright

    Ben Wright

    Mick

Reviews3

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John Chard Avatar

John Chard

Apr 16, 2014

7/10

Come out of your holes you desert rats! The Desert Rats is directed by Robert Wise and written by Richard Murphy. It stars Richard Burton, Robert Newton, Robert Douglas, Torin Thatcher, Chips Rafferty and James Mason. Music is by Leigh Harline and cinematography by Lucien Ballard. The follow up to The Desert Fox (it's not a sequel) from two years earlier, was in essence an attempt to readdress the balance after The Desert Fox annoyed certain quarters with its admiration for what a great soldier Field Marshal Rommel was. So here we have the battle of Tobruk orchestrated by the astute Robert Wise, the plot is simple, but the characterisations are most certainly not, with lead men Burton and Newton terrific. This important part of the war is given mature treatment, with the battle sequences realistically staged and the tactical nous of allied force leaders rightly given credence. Sadly Mason is barely in the picture, which is more frustrating when you witness the extended scene that is shared between Mason and Burton, a British film fan's dream right there. While elsewhere it should be noted that this is, perhaps inevitably, not an accurate history lesson, so students of Tobruk don't be basing your thesis on this telling. Still, a good quality war pic for sure. 7/10

Media

  • The Desert Rats poster
  • The Desert Rats poster
  • The Desert Rats poster
  • The Desert Rats poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
world war iidesertlibyan desertrommeltobruk