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The Desert Rats (1953)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writer:
Richard Murphy (written by)
Release Date:
20 May 1953 (USA)
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Tagline:
They crawled their way across the blazing sands of Africa... to turn disaster into victory!
Plot:
Richard Burton plays a Scottish Army officer put in charge of a disparate band of ANZAC troops on the perimeter of Tobruk with the German Army doing their best to dislodge them. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Rommel
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Tobruk
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Desert Rats
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Desert
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Animal In Title
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Awards:
Nominated for Oscar.
Another 1 win
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NewsDesk:
User Comments:
One of my favorites!
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Cast
(Complete credited cast) | Richard Burton | ... | Capt. 'Tammy' MacRoberts |
 | James Mason | ... | Field Marshal Erwin von Rommel |
 | Robert Newton | ... | Tom Bartlett |
| Robert Douglas | ... | General |
| Torin Thatcher | ... | Colonel Barney White |
| Chips Rafferty | ... | Sgt. 'Blue' Smith |
| Charles 'Bud' Tingwell | ... | Lt. Harry Carstairs (as Charles Tingwell) |
| Charles Davis | ... | Pete |
| Ben Wright | ... | Mick |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
88 min
Country:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Certification:
Australia:G (DVD rating) |
Canada:G (video rating) |
New Zealand:PG |
Netherlands:16 |
Australia:M |
Sweden:15 |
UK:U |
USA:Approved (PCA #16243) |
West Germany:12
Filming Locations:
Fun Stuff
Goofs:
Factual errors: During the last commando raid by Australian soldiers on a German base, the defenders are using Vickers machine guns when in reality they should be using MG34s.
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in Modern Problems (1981)
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Soundtrack:
Waltzing Matilda
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (21 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Desert Rats (1953)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
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| Bad Aussie accents | newlifemedia |
| The quest for THE TRUTH | thomaschipperfield |
Recommendations
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| Bitter Victory | Play Dirty | The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp | Von Ryan's Express | The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel |
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This was the first movies I was ever allowed to stay up and watch on the old Saturday Night At The Movies show on NBC so it has always had a fond place in my heart. Although some might dismiss it as clichéd, it is a tight, well told story that some of today's films might do well to emulate. The realism, ambivalence, and irony of today's war films is definitely missing but one should remember that this was the "good" war. While the other reviewers may criticize its historical accuracy, as someone who grew up hearing war stories from American and Canadian WWI and WWII veterans, it does capture the feeling of a period without going overboard on heroics or far-fetched plot twists.