The Desert Rats (1953)

Director:

Robert Wise

Writer:

Richard Murphy (written by)

Release Date:

20 May 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | War

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.

Plot Keywords:

Tobruk | Rommel | German | British | Desert

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Patrick Aherne	...	English Officer (uncredited)
John Alderson	...	Corporal (uncredited)
John Blackburn	...	Sergeant (uncredited)
Robert Boon	...	German Lieutenant (uncredited)
Frederic Brunn	...	German Gunner (uncredited)
Arthur Brunner	...	German Radio Man (uncredited)
Paul Busch	...	German Orderly (uncredited)
Paul Cavanagh	...	Colonel (uncredited)
Frank Chase	...	Commando (uncredited)
Tony Christian	...	German Sentry (uncredited)
Trevor Constable	...	Ginger (uncredited)
Nicolas Coster	...	Medic (uncredited)
Ashley Cowan	...	Corporal (uncredited)
Gene Darrell	...	Aussie (uncredited)
Noel Drayton	...	Captain (uncredited)
Harold Dyrenforth	...	Observer (uncredited)
Charles B. Fitzsimons	...	Fire Officer (uncredited)
John Fraser	...	Artillery Man (uncredited)
Arno Frey	...	Kramm (uncredited)
Ray Harden	...	Hugh (uncredited)
Charles Keane	...	Sgt Donaldson (uncredited)
Lester Matthews	...	Foreign Secretary (uncredited)
Clyde Morris	...	British Communications Man (uncredited)
Gavin Muir	...	Captain (uncredited)
James O'Hara	...	Communications Man (uncredited)
John O'Malley	...	Riley (uncredited)
Pat O'Morre	...	Jim (uncredited)
Peter Ortiz	...	Wireman (uncredited)
Michael Pate	...	Cpl. Currie (uncredited)
Richard Peel	...	Rusty (uncredited)
Guy Prescott	...	Maj. O'Rourke (uncredited)
Jack Raine	...	C.I.C. (uncredited)
Otto Reichow	...	Gunner (uncredited)
Michael Rennie	...	Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Jerry Riggio	...	Commando (uncredited)
Per Skavlan	...	German Guard (uncredited)
Frederick Stevens	...	German Major (uncredited)
Gilchrist Stuart	...	Captain (uncredited)
Albert Taylor	...	Jensen (uncredited)
John Wengraf	...	German Doctor (uncredited)
Alfred Zeisler	...	von Helmholtz (uncredited)

Directed by
Robert Wise

Writing credits
Richard Murphy		(written by)

Produced by
Robert L. Jacks	....	producer

Original Music by
Leigh Harline

Cinematography by
Lucien Ballard		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Barbara McLean

Art Direction by
Addison Hehr
Lyle R. Wheeler		(as Lyle Wheeler)

Set Decoration by
Fred J. Rode		(set decorations)

Makeup Department
Ben Nye	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Richard Maybery	....	assistant director (as J. Richard Maybery)

Sound Department
Alfred Bruzlin	....	sound
Roger Heman Sr.	....	sound (as Roger Heman)

Special Effects by
Ray Kellogg	....	special photographic effects

Stunts
Fritz Ford	....	stunts (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Charles Le Maire	....	wardrobe director

Music Department
Alfred Newman	....	musical director
Edward B. Powell	....	orchestrator (as Edward Powell)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (presents) (as Twentieth Century-Fox)

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1953) (USA) (theatrical) (released by) (as Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1962) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• 20th Century Fox (1954) (France) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:M | Sweden:15 | UK:U (passed with cuts) | USA:Approved (PCA #16243) | West Germany:16 (f) | Australia:G (DVD rating) | Canada:G (video rating) | New Zealand:PG | Netherlands:16 | Australia:PG (Cable TV rating) | UK:U (tv rating)

Filming Locations:

Palm Springs, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Legendary Australian actor Chips Rafferty appears in this movie as Sergeant 'Blue' Smith. About a decade earlier, Rafferty appeared playing Milo Trent in another movie featuring "The Desert Rats" entitled The Fighting Rats of Tobruk (1944).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The German tanks used are actually U.S. built, late-war M-24 Chaffee light tanks, which is to be expected given the lack of German vehicles in the early 1950s.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Modern Problems (1981)

Soundtrack:

Waltzing Matilda

One of the most realistic and best of the fifties war movies with excellent direction by Robert Wise

1941 Lybian desert, North Africa. German forces are pushing through to Suez, the key to the Middle East , only Tobruk is still holding out, there's a considerable unit there. With the British in full retreat, nothing stood in Rommel's way but the tiny garrison of Empire troops cut off in the fortress won of Tobruk.Meantime, Germans dropping leaflets captioning : Surrender! German forces have surrounded Tobruk, it is useless to try to escape. Single soldiers waving handkerchiefs will not be fired upon. Aussies..do not sacrifice yourselves needlessly. Lay down your arms. Surrender! . The picture is the story of Tobruk and the men who made up its garrison, of the fight they made against the pick of Hitler's troops and of the nickname they won with blood and bore with pride: ¨The Deser Rats¨. British headquarter Cairo's ordered to take up defensive positions for two months ,reunited the officers(Robert Douglas, Torin Thatcher, among others) deal the Tobruk 's defense : the positions are the following, the first line of defense ,using the old Italian perimeter, the second line by Colonel White's supporting artillery and the inner fortification. The British plan of defense is based chiefly on the belief of a Bilzkrieg by Rommel(a splendid James Mason reprise his role from ¨The Desert fox¨). The general proposes to let Rommel's tanks come through here unopposed, leaving the tanks to proceed up this avenue alone. Colonel White will have moved artillery to line both sides of the avenue.Meanwhile the soldiers are already digging positions for the captured Italian field-pieces. So, the longer we hold our fire, the deeper Rommel's tanks will advance into this box and the easier they will be to destroy. The General assigns to McRoberts, an infantry captain with battle experience, twice decorated, he must put into the line.The crusty captain( a stiff but sensitive acting by Richard Burton) takes a charge of an Australian division formed by valiant soldiers and a kind-hearted schoolmaster alcoholic(sensible performance by Robert Newton steal the show as drunk turned reluctant soldier) fighting a desperate rearguard action against overwhelming German forces.

This reconstruction of a phase in the battle of Tobruk(deeds also filmed by Arthur Hiller in ¨Tobruk¨ with Rock Hudson) is correctly based on true events, though excessive importance for the Aussies. The actual deeds are based on series of engagements between British and Axis forces over Libyan port. Occupied by Italy 1911, Tobruk was taken by Britain in Operation Battleaxe 1941.It was captured by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel June 1942 after the retreat of the main British force to Egypt, and this precipitated General Sir Claude Auchinleck's replacement by General Bernard Montgomery as British commander. Montgomery recovered it after the second of Battle of El Alamein and it remained in British hands for the rest of the war.