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The Desert Rats (1953)

 -  Action | Adventure | Drama  -  20 May 1953 (USA)
6.7
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Ratings: 6.7/10 from 2,425 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.

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Title: The Desert Rats (1953)

The Desert Rats (1953) on IMDb 6.7/10

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Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win. See more awards »

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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
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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 »
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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  »
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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

During the last few scenes in the dugout, the characters all appear in various states of dirty, dusty, and disheveled, but the radio telephone, papers, and lanterns are all perfectly clean and orderly. See more »

Connections

Follows The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951) See more »

Soundtracks

"Waltzing Matilda"
(1895)
Original music by Christina Macpherson (1895)
(Based on the Scottish tune "Craigielee", music by James Barr, with words by Robert Tannahill)
Revised music by Marie Cowan (1903)
Lyrics by A.B. 'Banjo' Paterson (1895)
Played during the opening credits and often in the score
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
Burton on a roll
20 April 2005 | by (Tokyo, Japan) – See all my reviews

Desert Rats is a 'good old stiff upper lip' yarn with angry young man, Richard Burton, putting in a blinder. The film is set in WW2, North Africa and Rommel has swept across North Africa. The film is about Tobruk and how the German Army were held back. Burton leads ANZAC troops through the trenches of warfare. Good fighters those ANZAC's it appears and the film is a real tribute to them. This is reinforced by the movie being in black and white and quite informative.

The action is OK and I especially liked the black outfit Richard Burton dons for that gritty commando raid. There is also a top encounter between Burton and James Mason - Pacino and De Niro in Heat - but with Burton's angry young man act.

I would recommend it if only for Richard Burton.


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