As almost a followup to his 40,000 Horsemen, Australian producer/director Charles Clauvell paid a wartime tribute to the Aussie diggers who held out at Tobruk until relieved by British troops from April until October of 1941. The men of the 9th Australian Division are unique among the soldiers from the land down under since they fought at different times both the Germans and the Japanese.
The Rats of Tobruk were so named by Lord Haw Haw and we hear the broadcast in which the 9th Australian division men were so dubbed. Our American soldiers were popularly named GIs in World War II, but the troops from Australia and New Zealand retained their name of 'Digger.' It seemed singularly appropriate that the Aussies be called that because dig they did at Tobruk, in First World War like trenches, stopping Rommel's infantry advance.
Clauvel's stars from 40,000 Horseman Grant Taylor and Chips Rafferty are in this one and they are joined by a very young Peter Finch in one of his earliest movie roles. They play three mates from western Australia, a stockman, a miner, and a writer. Like in 40,000 Horseman they join up at the first call and the siege at Tobruk is seen through their eyes.
For the sake of wartime unity a lot could not be said, but the Aussies were relieved so they could go back to Australia and prepare for war against the Japanese. It was quite a diplomatic tussle between Winston Churchill and Australian Prime Minister John Curtin, both arguably the greatest men to occupy their respective offices. Some of the 9th Australian went to Greece as the film points out and more than likely were killed or captured there. James Coburn's Aussie soldier in The Great Escape may have been captured in that theater.
The final shots of the film are of the Diggers returning home to a ticker tape parade down whatever equivalent street in Sydney they have for Broadway. A lot of those men, the best and brightest of their generation of Aussies met death at the hands of the Japanese, a lot of those you see in that newsreel footage were already dead when The Rats Of Tobruk made it to the theaters.
Richard Burton did a fine Hollywood based film, Desert Rats, about the same siege at Tobruk and Chips Rafferty had a featured role in that. Of course the production values were much superior, still The Rats Of Tobruk shows a lot of care about the Australian fighting man and his contribution in World War II from the folks they were defending.
The Rats of Tobruk were so named by Lord Haw Haw and we hear the broadcast in which the 9th Australian division men were so dubbed. Our American soldiers were popularly named GIs in World War II, but the troops from Australia and New Zealand retained their name of 'Digger.' It seemed singularly appropriate that the Aussies be called that because dig they did at Tobruk, in First World War like trenches, stopping Rommel's infantry advance.
Clauvel's stars from 40,000 Horseman Grant Taylor and Chips Rafferty are in this one and they are joined by a very young Peter Finch in one of his earliest movie roles. They play three mates from western Australia, a stockman, a miner, and a writer. Like in 40,000 Horseman they join up at the first call and the siege at Tobruk is seen through their eyes.
For the sake of wartime unity a lot could not be said, but the Aussies were relieved so they could go back to Australia and prepare for war against the Japanese. It was quite a diplomatic tussle between Winston Churchill and Australian Prime Minister John Curtin, both arguably the greatest men to occupy their respective offices. Some of the 9th Australian went to Greece as the film points out and more than likely were killed or captured there. James Coburn's Aussie soldier in The Great Escape may have been captured in that theater.
The final shots of the film are of the Diggers returning home to a ticker tape parade down whatever equivalent street in Sydney they have for Broadway. A lot of those men, the best and brightest of their generation of Aussies met death at the hands of the Japanese, a lot of those you see in that newsreel footage were already dead when The Rats Of Tobruk made it to the theaters.
Richard Burton did a fine Hollywood based film, Desert Rats, about the same siege at Tobruk and Chips Rafferty had a featured role in that. Of course the production values were much superior, still The Rats Of Tobruk shows a lot of care about the Australian fighting man and his contribution in World War II from the folks they were defending.