MOVIEmeter
SEE RANK
Up 2,618 this week

The Desert Rats (1953)

 -  Action | Adventure | Drama  -  20 May 1953 (USA)
6.7
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 6.7/10 from 2,423 users  
Reviews: 23 user | 11 critic

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.

Director:

Writer:

0Check in
0Share...

Related News

Irish Actor Davis Dies
| WENN
Desert Rats Star Tingwell Dies
| WENN

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 1623 titles created 4 months ago
 
a list of 250 titles created 23 Apr 2011
 
a list of 47 titles created 13 Sep 2011
 
a list of 1042 titles created 3 weeks ago
 
a list of 1639 titles created 7 months ago
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: The Desert Rats (1953)

The Desert Rats (1953) on IMDb 6.7/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of The Desert Rats.
Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Action | Adventure | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

A British team is sent to cross occupied Greek territory and destroy the massive German gun emplacement that commands a key sea channel.

Director: J. Lee Thompson
Stars: Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn
Action | Adventure | War
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.1/10 X  

An American POW leads a group mainly British prisoners to escape from the Germans in WWII.

Director: Mark Robson
Stars: Frank Sinatra, Trevor Howard, Raffaella Carrà
Certificate: M Action | Adventure | War
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

Allied agents stage a daring raid on a castle where the Nazis are holding an American General prisoner... but that's not all that's really going on.

Director: Brian G. Hutton
Stars: Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood, Mary Ure
The Blue Max (1966)
Adventure | Drama | War
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X  

A young pilot in the German air force of 1918, disliked as lower-class and unchivalrous, tries ambitiously to earn the medal offered for 20 kills.

Director: John Guillermin
Stars: George Peppard, James Mason, Ursula Andress
Drama | Action | War
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.6/10 X  

A British multinational seeks to overthrow a vicious dictator in central Africa. It hires a band of (largely aged) mercenaries in London and sends them in to save the virtuous but ... See full summary »

Director: Andrew V. McLaglen
Stars: Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris
Action | Adventure | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

A Marine and a Nun, both shipwrecked on a Pacific Island, find solace in one another as the two wait out the war.

Director: John Huston
Stars: Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum
War | Action | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X  

Four American soldiers and one Brit fighting in Europe during World War II struggle to return to Allied territory after being separated from U.S. forces during the historic Malmedy Massacre.

Director: Ryan Little
Stars: Corbin Allred, Alexander Polinsky, Kirby Heyborne
Action | Adventure | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

During the Napoleonic Wars, a brash British captain pushes his ship and crew to their limits in pursuit of a formidable French war vessel around South America.

Director: Peter Weir
Stars: Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, James D'Arcy
Action | Adventure | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

A platoon of special ops are tasked to parachute into the remote Burmese jungle and destroy a strategic Japanese radar station, but getting out isn't as easy.

Director: Raoul Walsh
Stars: Errol Flynn, James Brown, William Prince
Action | Adventure | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

During the Napoleonic wars, a British naval captain has adventures in Central American waters.

Director: Raoul Walsh
Stars: Gregory Peck, Virginia Mayo, Robert Beatty
Action | Adventure | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.2/10 X  

Mercenary James Shannon, on a reconnaissance job to the African nation of Zangaro, is tortured and deported. He returns to lead a coup.

Director: John Irvin
Stars: Christopher Walken, Tom Berenger, Colin Blakely
War
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

An American colonel who has never been in combat is tasked with creating a special forces unit from Canadian troops and a ragtag group of American misfits.

Director: Andrew V. McLaglen
Stars: William Holden, Cliff Robertson, Vince Edwards
Edit

Cast

Complete credited cast:
...
Capt. 'Tammy' MacRoberts
...
...
Tom Bartlett
Robert Douglas ...
General
Torin Thatcher ...
Col. Barney White
Chips Rafferty ...
Sgt. 'Blue' Smith
Charles 'Bud' Tingwell ...
Lt. Harry Carstairs (as Charles Tingwell)
Charles Davis ...
Pete
Ben Wright ...
Mick
Edit

Storyline

Rommel has the British in retreat on his way to the Suez Canal. All that stands in his way is Tobruk, held by a vastly out numbered force of Australian troops. Richard Burton leads these troops on daring raids against Rommel, keeping him off balance as they earn the nickname 'The Desert Rats'. Written by Derek Picken <dpicken@email.msn.com>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

tobruk | rommel | german | british | desert | See more »

Taglines:

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

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | War

Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

|

Release Date:

20 May 1953 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Les rats du désert  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(Western Electric Recording)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Richard Burton was obliged to make the film as part of his short-lived contract with 20th Century Fox. He later said every line of dialog sounded as though it had been taken directly from an army training manual. See more »

Goofs

When Rommel (James Mason) is informed about the upcoming sandstorm he shouts "benutzen!". He clearly wants to say "Use it!", so in German he would just have said "nutzen!" See more »

Connections

Edited into All This and World War II (1976) See more »

Soundtracks

"Greensleeves"
(uncredited)
Traditional
Played on the harmonica
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

The beginning of the end for Rommel.
6 April 2000 | by (Pt Chevalier, New Zealand.) – See all my reviews

Interesting re-enactment of the desert campaign during WWII as seen through the experiences of one small company in the British army. They are a disparate group of soldiers. A motley band of commonwealth troops of mixed personalities led by Captain MacRoberts played by Richard Burton. Through the fire and hell of battling the Desert Fox and his war-hardened troops MacRoberts by lifting their spirits and their morale eventually melds his men into a fighting fit group of warriors. Enough said.

Although the story has neither the forced authenticity of 'The Longest Day' or the Hollywood panache of 'Where Eagles Dare' I believe it still manages to stand out in a special place on its own. Prior to a host of many other war movies it was the first to concentrate exclusively on the common soldier in the trenches, his anxieties for the present and hopes for the future. I also liked the side story of the young captain who is surprised to have under his command a favourite old school master, Bartlett played by Robert Newton. It causes some quizzical looks amongst the men, especially when he insists on continuing to address the old private as sir. Here the Desert Fox is played with dignity and respect by James Mason. The other german characters are also portrayed benignly, perhaps in view of the fact that very few atrocities were committed by Rommel's troops unlike their counterparts in Eastern Europe. History records accurately what eventually happened to Rommel in the aftermath of the plot to assassinate Hitler but here that is all in the near future. I recommend this b & w film to all war movie buffs of this English made genre but if you're looking for 'Saving Private Ryan' perhaps you should give it a miss.


18 of 19 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Bad Aussie accents newlifemedia
Day for night shot bobo-29
Discuss The Desert Rats (1953) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?