The Desert Rats (1953)

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:

Robert Wise

Writer:

Richard Murphy

Stars:

Richard Burton, James Mason, Robert Newton

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win.

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	...	Col. Barney White
Chips Rafferty	...	Sgt. 'Blue' Smith
Charles 'Bud' Tingwell	...	Lt. Harry Carstairs (as Charles Tingwell)
Charles Davis	...	Pete
Ben Wright	...	Mick

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'.

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Plot Keywords:

tobruk | rommel | german | british | desert | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

20 May 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Les rats du désert

Filming Locations:

Palm Springs, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

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.

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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.

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Connections

Follows The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951)

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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

User Reviews

Burton on a roll

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.