Tobruk (1967) User Reviews

Good, But Could Have Gone Deeper

[SgtSlaughter · 6/10 · 1 January 2006]

Loosely based on fact, "Tobruk" tells the story of an Allied mission to destroy Rommel's fuel supply at the port city of Tobruk. The film is quite entertaining, and there are some good ideas in the script, and some nicely shot action scenes, but the film never really rises above average.

In 1942, the fate of the Mediterranean hangs in the balance. The Allies have devised a scheme to stop Rommel's advance to the Suez Canal. A group of German Jews led by Captain Bergman (George Peppard), now working with the British, will escort a company of English commandos led by the staunch Colonel Harker (Nigel Green) across 800 miles of harsh desert right into the port of Tobruk, where they will knock out the harbor guns which prevent British troops from landing in the harbor. Then the British will land a strike force to destroy Rommel's colossal underground fuel dump. The movie follows the trek across the desert, where the characters bicker over opposing ideals and motives, discover a traitor in their midst, get stuck in a minefield, etc. etc., and as expected, resolve their differences during a climactic encounter with the enemy.

"Tobruk" is ultimately a movie about conflicting ideals. There are plenty of noisy action sequences and suspenseful moments, but at the heart of the story is a weakly established conflict over different moral standards held by the main characters. Director Arthur Hiller had a significant background in directing TV shows, and it shows. "Tobruk" has a small-scale feel to it from start to finish. The sets – even the vast outdoor desert plains – are never filled with thousands of extras. This is a movie about what goes on between a few main characters. What's unfortunate is that in "Tobruk" they're never fully developed and, therefore, it's hard to care when they are settled. Major Craig is a selfish pacifist, but all he really does is bicker about how much he hates being on the mission. Nigel Green's Colonel Harker is a typical English officer, playing a part written as most Hollywood roles for the English characters were. He demands order, obedience and when men don't stand up to his authority he just shouts a lot and gets his way. Of the leads, George Peppard makes the most of his role as Captain Bergman. Bergman, a victim of Nazi terror, is out for revenge and out to help re-unite the Jewish people. What's hard to swallow is that Bergman already seems to know the Jews will re-unite in Israel, when it wasn't re-formed into a nation by the U.N. until sometime after the end of World War II. Despite this, Peppard is passionate but never overacts. This is the type of role he was perfectly suited for, and it was fun to watch his performance.

All that said, "Tobruk" is still a pretty good movie. The question of heroism and duty is answered quite well near the film's conclusion, as each of the leads is forced into a situation they would rather not be in, where they must put their lives at stake in order to accomplish something important bigger than they are. Harker states, "We have few saving graces… perhaps our willingness to die for what believe is all that matters." Craig comes to respect Bergman's religious ideals and backs him up during the final battle sequence. And with that said… the final battle sequence is, quite simply, incredibly well-filmed. The Allied assault on the harbor guns is fantastic. There are dozens of soldiers running about on the beach as a huge artillery installation is blown to bits, and not the least part of it looks staged or faked. Later, this scene is put to shame as some of the heroes take out the entire fuel supply for Rommel with a tank. The fuel dump explodes in grand fashion, with dozens of huge explosions and orange fireballs, some of which must have been real. The visual effects are state-of-the art, especially when one considers that this film was shot in 1966. (It was nominated for Best Special Effects at the 1968 Oscars, but lost to Doctor Dolittle).

"Tobruk" is entertaining and a sufficient afternoon adventure story. From start to finish, and it looks and sounds very authentic. Nothing about this movie seems staged, and despite an average-quality script, it's engaging and thought-provoking. I would suggest renting it at some point.

Not the Real Story of Tobruk

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 17 September 2006]

The Longest Day started a trend in Hollywood to have big all star cast productions showing with documentary accuracy good accounts of some of the major events of World War II. Other such films like this would be Patton, MacArthur, Midway, and A Bridge Too Far. Note I do not include The Battle of the Bulge in this list.

The seesaw struggle for Tobruk would make a great film as the key port city on the North African coast passes from Axis to Allied hands a few times over the 1940-1942 period. But if you're looking for a factional account of that story, this ain't it.

What it's about is an allied raid on the fuel bunkers at Tobruk that keep Rommel's panzers going. The idea is that a group of Jewish soldiers who like Paul Newman in Exodus fought in the British army and these are German Jews, led by George Peppard, with appropriate accents and language will disguise themselves as Nazi soldiers. They will escort British 'prisoners' into Tobruk led by Colonel Nigel Green who will blow up the fuel dumps along with a combined naval and air assault. Along for the ride is Rock Hudson, a Canadian major who dreamed up the idea.

Well at least they didn't make Rock an American since there no American soldiers in that part of Africa at all. But Canada has always been handy if you want to cast a name American movie star in a British locale. Fortunately it fits the plot situation here.

There's action enough for those who like that as I do. But the most interesting part about Tobruk is the relationships between the German Jews and the British. Hudson is the outsider here so he does see both points of view. There is some garden variety anti-Semitism among the British, but it's also tempered with the fact that as Nigel Green puts it, he and others served in Palestine before war in Europe broke out.

Nevertheless as Peppard puts it for the first time Jews are acting like a people since the days of Rome. They are going home to where they started post World War II, to Israel before that was a name of a nation. Anyone who wants to start trouble can find them there. Sad to say a whole lot of people have wanted to start trouble for their own reasons.

So much battle footage was filmed for Tobruk that four years later it got used in another vastly inferior film, Raid on Rommel.

Not a great film Tobruk, but entertaining enough. But hopefully the real whole story of Tobruk will be told.

Nice and entertaining film about British commandos against Rommel's Africa-Korps

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 12 May 2005]

This thrilling wartime picture contains high-powered action-packed, shootouts , grand-scale blow-up , intrigue and lots of fun . The film belongs the sub-genre of warfare commandos , being highlighted by a stirring and thrilling climax with overwhelming action scenes . This WWII actioner talks upon a motley group formed by British soldiers (Nigel Green ,Percy Herbert , Jack Watson, Leo Gordon -who also wrote the script-) led by a Major (Rock Hudson replaced Laurence Harvey , though role was formerly offered to Dirk Bogarde who turned down) and rebel Jews (George Peppard) craving the dreamed country against the Nazi and Italian armies in the North African desert -Libya- during WWII with the aim to knock out the guns of Tobruk . They ought to sneak to clear the path for bombing strike at oil supply depots before Erwin Rommel (The Fox of the desert) arrives in Egypt (he'll be stopped in the Alamein by Montgomery who defeated the German army in the 1942-43 years). They must pass through Alix line disguised as German soldiers escorting allied privates . There actually was a raid on Tobruk, 13-14 September 1942, including the German-Jewish SIG and fake British POWs. Unlike the outcome in the movie, "Operation Agreement" was a complete failure.

Decent wartime movie full of battles , explosions , thrills and extraordinary feats . From the beginning until ending the exciting warlike action is continued and the film runtime is adjusted . In the movie there is tension , suspense , emotion and for that reason results to be amusing ; besides , fast movement , and various happenings as well as spectacular scenes makes it entertaining and no boring . The picture has a certain remembrance with ¨Dirty dozen¨ , ¨Kelly's heroes¨ and ¨When the eagles dare¨ and the group of films were made about warlike adventures during the 60s and early 1970s . Portions of the film were edited into the 1971 Richard Burton film ¨Raid on Rommel¨ (1971) by Henry Hathaway and nearly all the action scenes was footage taken from Tobruk . The final confrontation between the protagonists and the enemies on the Nazi desert fortress is stimulating , it's the highlight of the movie . Russell Harlan's cinematography is good , like is well reflected on the splendid desert's photography . Rousing and breathtaking musical score by the great Bronislau Kaper . Well produced by Gene Corman , brother of legendary producer/director Roger Corman , as Gene financed several successful War films such as ¨The secret invasion¨, ¨Von Richthofen and Brown¨ ,¨You can win'em all¨ and the best of all them : ¨The Big Red One¨ . The motion picture was professionally directed by Arthur Hiller . Rating : Acceptable and passable warfare flick . The yarn will appeal to WW2 enthusiasts and Rock Hudson fans.

A classic of its subgenre

[cmark51 · 8 August 2005]

That subgenre being the war movie about a small group of specialist soldiers - "commandos" - who pull off a daring raid, with lots of drama and personality conflicts - these days they're called "special operators." And it's the sort of war picture they sure don't make any more. Pity, in a way. In this screenplay it's the Long Range Desert Group, based on a legendary North Africa force, plus a bunch of German Jews out to confound the Nazis and use their contribution as leverage to achieve nationhood in Palestine -no, Israel!, as George Peppard brusquely corrects Rock Hudson. Which is what gives this movie a very interesting historical dimensions, bringing in as it does, along with Rommel and the Desert War, or course, the meddling of the Grand Mufti, Arab affinities for Nazism, and the struggle for Israel as the Holocaust goes on in Europe. Note the movie was made in '67 - Six-Day War anyone? The premise of the commandos masquerading as Afrika Korps I found a bit much, though. Also much mirth garnered by the use of all-American trucks and tanks (a lot of them post- WWII) for German, Italian, British - I noticed the California National Guard got a big credit at the end. The Grumman Goose was a cute touch, too. At least they got most of the guns right - but the P-40 was good, the right type for the time and place. Also a nice touch to have Rock Hudson play as a Canadian, not an American. And get a load of Dean Stockwell. And there was some pretty good camera work and some clever crane and dolly shots, too. For all its flaws and preposterous elements, and for being a bit of a period piece, it is a most entertaining picture, and lots of stuff blows up.

If Rommel's tanks reach Al Alamein the Germans will soon have Egypt!

[sol-kay · 7/10 · 2 January 2007]

(There are Spoilers) Exciting but not all that accurate account of the war in the Egyptian/Libyan desert in the late summer and early fall of 1942. Being thrown back almost to the Suez Canal the British Army is in a desperate situation and in trying to stem the advance of the almost invincible Afrika Corps. It's then decided by higher up in both London and D.C to launch a major amphibious assault together with a coordinated commando raid on Rommell's fuel reserves, the gasoline that his tank's need to make that final push to Suez and beyond.

Getting Canadian Major Donald Craig, Rock Hudson, freed from a Vicy French POW camp the British with a number of German/Jewish volunteers plan to strike the Afrika Corps where it hurts right in the fuel-tank and prevent it's panzer's together with their infantry detachment from breaking through the Al Alamein defense line and rushing and capturing almost unopposed the Egyptian cities of Alexandera and Cairo. Getting the commando units ready in the far flung desert Maj. Carig has trouble getting the Germans/Jewish commandos and British troops on the same wave length since both have very different ideas, like language in not only how the war in the desert should be fought but what reasons there is for fighting it. The Germans/Jews are fighting for a new homeland, after almost 2,000 years, that they don't have and the British are fighting to keep their empire that's soon to become, after WWII, just another chapter in the history books.

One of the better post-WWII films to come out in the years after the war ended with Rock Hudson as the both strong and silent-type hero Maj. Craig. The Major seems to have gotten in way over his head when he finds out from captured, and later gunned down, German spy's Henry and his daughter Cheryl Portman, Liam Redmound & Heidy Hunt, that the German forces in Tobruk are far more numerous, in both panzer's and manpower, then they and the members of British intelligence back in London ever dreamed that they were. There's also the very serious threat of a Jihad being fomented by the non-Muslim Germans with the help of a number of Egyptian Army officers and non-other then the Mufti of Jerusalem, Hajamin Al Husseini, himself. This in order to whip up the Muslim world against the hated unbelieving infidels, the British and their allies.

Slowly making their way across some 800 miles of German mine-fields and shifting desert sands the rag-tag group of British soldier's and German/Jews get to Fortress Tobruk only to later find that they've been tracked there almost all the way by the Afrika Corps due to a German spy impersonating one of the German/Jewish commandos. With a major British assault about to be launched from the sea Maj. Craig together with the men in charge of both the British and German/Jewish commandos Col. Harker and Capt. Bergman, Nigel Green & George Peppard, now have their work cut out for them. In not only destroying the German fuel dumps thus keeping the panzer's from reaching their goal, the Suez Canal. But having to warn the oncoming British troops to abort their mission in order to keep them from being massacred by Rommel's panzer's troops and big guns just waiting from them to hit the beaches.

Blood guts and countless gallons of ignited gasoline is what explodes across the screen in the movie "Tobruk" tremendously exciting final thirty minutes. With both Rock & George, or Maj. Craig & Capt. Bergman,going all out to prevent the Germans from at first annihilating the British troops on their assault barges' but at the same time knocking out Rommel's precious fuel reserves that are protected by hundred's of his finest Germen troops and about two dozen of his newest and most advanced panzer tanks.

End of the world-like final with Rock, or Maj. Craig, commandeering, with the last few surviving German/Jewish commandos, a German Panzer and blasting away at the fuel tanks bursting them open and causing a river of flaming gasoline to overtake and burn what's still left of the German units who's job it is to guard and defend them. Not the happy ending that you would have hoped for, with both the courageous Capt. Bergman & Col. Harker getting it in the end. But at least Rock or Maj. Craig and the three German/Jewish commandos with him made it back to the British fleet waiting for them off shore a few miles west of Al Alamein. The Egyptian town that they, in their actions, prevented in the future from being overrun and captured by Rommel's Afrika Corps.

gritty sand and unbearable heat war epic

[bengleson · 7/10 · 7 August 2005]

You know, I miss Rock Hudson. I miss the fake guy I guess, the guy who had to hide his sexual orientation because of the way the world is about 'manliness.' Anyway, Tobruk is a gritty little war thriller escapade that causes the viewer to sweat and recall a far away war in the desert, a war that had justification. Political diatribe aside, Tobruk reminds us about treachery, duplicity and the ever toxic fifth column that insinuated itself into WW11. Hudson is magnificent, Peppard is intense and aware and Nigel Green, a particular favourite, has that snooty, over-bearing right at all costs attitude down to a Tee. The Portman father and daughter fifth column team seem especially right.

The screenplay was written by the much under-rated Leo Gordon. And okay, I acknowledge that he must have watched Guns Of Navarone a few times. Still, its a fun war film (if that's possible.) His ferocious, simmering presence has a small but useful role in the film

The world I belong to has vagueness as an ethical base. Tobruk and films like it remind me of a more pure, righteous and simpler time. Sorry, I know that's a bit sentimental but age does that.

Explosive men-on-a-mission story doesn't disappoint

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 6 December 2016]

TOBRUK is another decent WW2 film with a North African setting. This time around the film gets the big budget Hollywood treatment with an all-star British/American cast and expansive battle sequences which really hit home, particularly at the incredible explosive climax. For most of the running time the viewer is in familiar territory with a typical gamut of plane attacks, scenes of the characters avoiding and outwitting the Nazis, and the machinations of traitors, with the added twist that most of the characters are German Jews fighting against the motherland.

The cast is very good in this one. It's fine to see Rock Hudson away from the romantic comedy genre he was so well known for while George Peppard gets to have fun with his German accent. Nigel Green is a hoot as the British colonel with the stiffest upper lip ever. The likes of Percy Herbert and Norman Rossington were standbys in this kind of production for what seemed like forever. The film boasts strong direction from Arthur Hiller and a story that keeps you intrigued right until the end, waiting to find out how it plays out. It's hard to criticise.

The explosive climax wins the day

[Wuchakk · 6/10 · 14 November 2017]

RELEASED IN 1967 and directed Arthur Hiller, "Tobruk" chronicles events during WWII in Northern Africa when a Canadian major (Rock Hudson) teams-up with British commandos & German Jews to hinder Rommel's Afrika Korps by destroying his major fuel depot in Tobruk, Libya. Nigel Green plays the British colonel while George Peppard appears as the Jewish captain with Guy Stockwell as his subordinate. Jack Watson and Percy Herbert are also on hand.

The movie scores high marks with the notable cast, grave ambiance and brutal action, but it's also hindered by hackneyed contrivances, like the eye-rolling trap door and traitor element. But any flaws are redeemed by a literally explosive climax. There's also some commendable human interest and tension in the ethnic prejudice department.

THE FILM RUNS 107 minutes and was shot in Arizona (Yuma, Tucson & Mojave Desert) and Imperial County, California. WRITER: Leo Gordon.

GRADE: B-

Good action war film, a group of German Jews team up with the British Desert rats and smash Rommles Fuel dump

[massbits · 7/10 · 19 January 2007]

An enjoyable action film see's George Peppard in one of his better roles as a German Jew (Bergman) who is now working along side a British commando unit led by Col Harper brilliantly played by Nigel Green, Helping them on their suicide mission to destroy Field Marshall Rommles fuel dump is an American Middle east expert Rock Hudson (Major Craig ). After freeing Mjor from an Italian destroyer the unit sets off from Algria to Tobruk crossing 800 miles of Nazi mine infested desert some nifty action set pieces and some great sarcasm the troop make it to Tobruk where they set about there mission of destruction, tight direction and good acting from Peppard and Green lift this otherwise standard war flick to a higher level, also nice to see Jack Watson as the RSM a role that no one plays better (played the same role in Wild geese)

Where Hannible Smith got his training for the A Team!

[mm-39 · 7/10 · 8 October 2002]

After an unpleasant birthday party for my future father in law, my girl friend and I went to my house to watch tv. On A&E they had this interesting WW 2 movie. I do not know how realistic it is, but it sure has an entertaining story. Undercover German Jews, British special forces, and a mole have too execute a black bag operation. Pretty cool, to watch George Peppard run around with a flame thrower. Not the usually sloppy acting for a 60's ww 2 movie. 7/10

Monotonous

[r96sk · 5/10 · 8 June 2020]

Incredibly monotonous, which is a surprise given it's a war film. Expected so much more.

Despite an intriguing concept, 'Tobruk' bored me from almost the very beginning. It gives you absolutely zero reason to care for the characters, aside from the obvious that is Allies v. Nazis; that's lazy, more depth is needed for Craig and the rest. I didn't connect to them one jot.

The aforementioned can be ignored if the acting and premise is a cut above, neither of which are unfortunately. Even minutes after watching, I'm struggling to remember any of the faces except for Rock Hudson (Craig) and Norman Rossington; who plays the somewhat amusing Alfie.

Premise-wise it has potential, though it never lifts off the ground. For the majority it's simply dull, even when the action eventually arrives at the conclusion I had very little interest left in me.

I do appreciate how the film looks and a couple of the shots, but even there there's issues. As most is set in the desert, it never feels like you're moving toward Tobruk; most scenes feel way too similar. The music is poor also, with a lot of empty silences throughout.

This probably should be getting a lower rating, but there's something nagging away at me suggesting anything lower than 5 would be unfair; perhaps the film just doesn't click with me?

War history enthusiasts may love this, but in my opinion it's an extremely underwhelming production.

Intelligent And Complex War Film

[Theo Robertson · 8/10 · 15 February 2008]

Often when I see a fondly remembered war film from my childhood I am bitterly disappointed by it as an adult . Not so with TOBRUCK which I recently saw again a few months ago . The explosive action scenes hold up very well today as long as you don't compare them to SAVING PRIVATE RYAN or BLACK HAWK DOWN but this is a film from 40 years ago . Imagine how effective they must have been on its original release . And aren't they fairly graphic ? So much so that I noticed some of the violence had been edited for its afternoon showing on Scottish Television

One thing I hadn't noticed as a child is how complex the narrative is or smart the dialogue is . There's a couple of subplots one of which is a traitor in the group and of a couple of Nazi sympathisers with documents who want to contact the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem in order to bring the Muslim world on to the side of Nazi Germany . Interstingly enough the Nazis were pro Muslim and had at least two Waffen SS divisions composed of Bosnian s and Albanians . In narrative terms the screenplay is not in any way crowded with these two subplots As for the dialogue it switches from comic relief as in:

" what you doing with your fingers in your ears ? "

" I can't stand the sight of blood "

"Close your eyes then "

" But I want to see what's going on "

through to the serious and philosophical:

" I've heard it said there's a bit of a Jew in all of us "

" Ja and there's a bit of the Nazi as well "

You could be very pedantic and state that the German tanks are in fact American tanks dating from the 1950s but every war film from this period suffers from this flaw and very few are as intelligent or complex as TOBRUCK

Tobruk - a Saturday Morning favorite and not bad

[reisen55 · 7/10 · 5 May 2015]

This has always been a fond memory for me, one those films that always turned up on TV when I was young and I was blown away by the literal ending of the film, which is very well edited. Battle scenes are hard to do and the construction here is well done.

YES the tanks are not period and even PRIVATE RYAN used the Yugoslav T-34 to Tiger Tank conversion, only FURY used the world's only real, running TIGER I Tank. Perhaps one of the best tank-battle scenes ever so I can easily forgive the M47 and M48 Patton tanks, they show up in almost every film. One of the problems with World War II films is that realistic stuff is hard to get --- until you have CGI when it can be made up.

Performances - real, gritty and somewhat to be expected. Peppard is excellent, Hudson his rock solid self and Nigel Green always good as a British stiff upper lip commander.

Plot - fairly obvious really, a long desert ride to meet a ton of Germans and blow stuff up with complications.

Special effects - for 1967 this was excellent! The final confrontation is spectacular, quite the largest explosive work in a film before or since.

So, while it is not the most thoughtful film, it is a ride through the desert to get to a fight, and not bad. Only THE DESERT RATS is superior in it's own way, far smaller and centered on Tobruk too. I recommend both and slip in THE DESERT FOX if you have time and an excellent evening indeed.

Just watch out for the explosions at the end.

Gives war movies a bad name

[HotToastyRag · 2/10 · 30 March 2020]

While a soldier covers his ears because he can't stand the sight of blood, his pal asks why he doesn't cover his eyes instead. He replies, "I want to see what's going on, don't I?" When a war movie is confusing, boring, devoid of any characters you sink your heart into, and relies more on comic relief than special effects, you know you're in trouble. Tobruk is one of the war movies that give the rest of the genre a bad name, and one of the reasons I thought I didn't like war movies for most of my life.

When Rock Hudson is rescued from a POW camp in North Africa, he thinks he's saved. When George Peppard is his rescuer, complete with a German accent, he thinks he's sunk. When George turns out to be a good guy and part of a special unit of German Jewish soldiers who have volunteered to help the British, he's slightly wary. Together, the British soldiers, the Germans who may or may not be bad guys, and Rock Hudson as a Canadian-because we've all heard his attempts at accents in previous movies-have to work together in the desert to complete some mission that takes an awfully long time to happen.

Basically, if you love war movies and can't believe a bad one has ever been made, you can rent this one to prove your hypothesis wrong. You can also rent it if you're having trouble sleeping, if you're interested in hearing a shameless copy of Miklos Rozsa's standard themes, or if you want to check out George Peppard's and Guy Stockwell's German accents.

exciting, well-made, and tackles some big issues

[macduff50 · 18 September 2005]

A lot of the comments above seem to be focused on whether or not the film-makers got the tanks and trucks right, yet at the same time, the writers admit they loved the movie. Me too; and I don't give a damn about the equipment, so long as it's reasonably close to the real thing.

Here's the point: a war film that tackles the big issues which the war itself was partly fought over is such a rare bird – and especially one that's combined with some good character writing and knockout action sequences – that one should embrace it. The movie gives us spectacle, yes, but it does so in a thoughtful way, a remarkable achievement when one considers that the typical war movie of the era was more like "Where Eagles Dare" than this one, ie, a farrago of nonsense designed to showcase ludicrous special effects sequences.

"Tobruk" may not be the literal truth, but it shows people committed to and fighting for beliefs and ideas, and fully prepared to sacrifice their lives if necessary to achieve that greater good. Stirring stuff, and the editing in the final tank sequence is nothing short of amazing.

Has Some Spectacular Moustaches!!

[damianphelps · 6/10 · 13 August 2021]

I enjoyed this one a lot. Great sets, cool story and pretty solid battle scenes.

A bit more running time o allow for more character depth would have taken this to the next level.

Hudson is fine but doesn't really contribute much to the film beyond being Rock Hudson.

Tobruk or Raid on Rommel

[defiant1-4 · 6/10 · 5 December 2006]

I just want to know why there is a another movie just like this one, with different actors. It is called Raid on Rommel and was made in 1971. Several of the same scenes are used in both movies. The story line is the same, just the actors are different. Any one out there have any ideas? I would never have noticed but for some reason one night both movies were showed back to back on a local late night movie. There were a lot of things not historically correct with both, but they were both entertaining and I enjoyed them both. The main character in this one is Rock Hudson, were Richard Burton is the main character in the other one. This has just been something that has always bothered me since watching both movies that night.

It's suicide. It's orders!

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 4 December 2013]

Tobruk, just over 100 minutes of machismo and bravado, and of course a little history re-writing. Directed by Arthur Hiler and written by Leo Gordon, who also appears in pic, plot essentially finds an assemblage of British and German-Jewish commandos battling each others beliefs as they battle all and sundry en-route to try and destroy Erwin Rommel's fuel supply. Problems mount up, people do die, and there's a traitor in the midst to keep the mystery spicy.

It's in many ways a classically old fashioned war movie yarn, the clichés not bothersome at all. Production wise the value is mixed, with irritating back lot and back screen projection work off set by Russell Harlan's Technicolor/Techniscope photography around the Almería vistas in Spain. The action scenes are what deliver the best rewards, well except maybe the performance of the wonderfully ebullient Nigel Green and George Peppard's emotionally challenged German-Jew, who both outshine leading man Rock Hudson. In fact some of the action scenes were used again in Richard Burton starrer Raid On Rommel four years later.

Characters and inner conflicts are not fully formed, but the suspense and colourful guts of it all ensures the piece is always good value for the war movie observers. 7/10

Better than expected

[Ambak · 7/10 · 25 July 2013]

Never having seen this before, I recorded it on a recent Film4 broadcast, eliminating the adverts before watching. A good widescreen presentation, and not a bad movie. I had always thought that this was a low budget movie as it was filmed in cheap and cheerful Techniscope (not usually used by the major studios, but with which Universal flirted in the late sixties). On a big cinema screen Techniscope could look pretty awful, but even on a big TV the image quality is not bad. Although not in the same league as the "big" war films, Tobruk is not at all bad, with decent performances from most and good location shooting by Russell Harlan. Easily the worst aspect is Norman Rossington's overplayed comic relief, which seems to have wandered in from a different movie.

TooBrusque

[GianfrancoSpada · 6/10 · 23 October 2023]

A moderately sized production for a movie that barely passes as acceptable. The screenplay is quite weak, at times, even boring. A cast of big names is misused and entirely wasted. Embarking on a historically set war film without having the appropriate technical resources is a costly mistake. In fact, in terms of vehicles and weapons, the film is a complete mess - tanks that came after the events narrated, fake and poorly disguised vehicles, essentially a collection of historical inaccuracies that are a real eyesore for genre enthusiasts.

And the worst part is that it doesn't even adhere to historical facts; here, the mission ends in success when in reality, it was quite the opposite. The film is entirely unbalanced in its use of available resources, with an excessive number of explosions, which, although well-executed, stand out compared to the rest of the props used.

The dialogue is scarce and of poor quality, the performances are unconvincing, contributing to a convoluted and disjointed narrative that is often tedious.

A small part of a big picture.

[robertguttman · 7/10 · 19 July 2022]

"Tobruk" is a big-budget action adventure movie depicting what was actually a small part of a very much larger story. There actually was a raid on Tobruk during September 1942 in which a British unit of German-speaking Jewish refugees took part, known euphemistically as the "SIG" (Special Interrogation Unit). However, the real "Operation Agreement" was a much larger and more elaborate operation, of which the events depicted in this film were only a small part.

A film about the real raid on Tobruk would be of great interest because it was a text-book instance of how NOT to stage such an operation. The real "Operation Agreement" was an unmitigated disaster in which the British lost more than 800 killed and over 500 captured, in exchange for a mere handful of German and Italian casualties. However, none of that was the fault of the men depicted in the film "Tobruk", who carried out their part of the business.

The failure of "Operation Agreement" lay entirely with the people at the top who did the planning. It was a clear demonstration of what happens when a highly complex and many-faceted operation is planned and assembled too quickly, without sufficient preparation, and with too many additional elements added on at the last moment. The whole thing involved too many disparate elements which were thrown together too rapidly, and which had to perform their various actions in different places on schedule and in exact coordination with one another, in order for the whole operation to achieve success. Furthermore, it presupposed that the Germans and Italians would be caught napping, which did not happen.

Some elements, principally the Long Range Desert Group and SAS, performed their allotted missions successfully. However, the main amphibious assault on Tobruk, itself, which involved the coordination of land, sea and air assets, was a disaster.

"Tobruk" makes a pretty good action-adventure film so far as it goes. However, it omits the much bigger, and really much more interesting, picture.

Rommel Versus Rock Hudson.

[rmax304823 · 5/10 · 29 May 2012]

Not a bad war film as these things go. Decent production values, nice attention to wardrobe, effective location shooting, and a couple of professional performances add up to a watchable movie along the lines of "The Guns of Navaron." A group of British Commandos and Jewish Special Servic Forces kidnap a Canadian officer, Hudson, to guide them through the desert in an attempt to destroy Rommel's fuel depot at Tobruk.

The mission succeeds of course and an impending disaster by British forces is aborted. Most of the men die but a handful, including Hudson, manage to escape.

It's not really worth going on about. The direction is by Arthur Hiller and is professionally competent. The story was written by Leo Gordon, who has given himself a small role as one of the raiders. Nigel Green as the Commando Colonel gives his usual compellingly hammy performance. The plot is a bit complicated. As in "The Guns of Navaron" and "Where Eagles Dare," there is a traitor in the group. If you can't pick him out after a few lines, you get no better than a D Plus in this course.

George Peppard, born in Detroit, plays Bergman, the German Jew who speaks flawless German. The chief weakness in his performance is that he does not speak flawless German. My own command of German has deteriorated over the years into a kind of influence over it, but when Peppard gives an order like "Vorwarts!" (I had to leave out an umlaut) and it comes out as "Forvards!", even I have to wince.

The climax is explosive and brutal, as it must be in a film like this.

" You went through an awful lot of trouble to get me here . . .Why ?

[thinker1691 · 9/10 · 22 March 2009]

The year is 1942 and Germany's famed 'Desert Fox' is winning the war in North Africa. His vaunted 'Afrika Korps' is nearly unstoppable and is only a short distance from all out victory. In this movie "Tobruk" comes the story of a last desperate attempt to stop Rommel at the port city of the same name. A small detachment of specialist troops called the SIG, join British commandos who will attempt to travel 800 miles through the vast, rugged and hostile Sahara desert and attack Rommel's secret oil reserves. In order to accomplish this nearly impossible mission, the British kidnapped a highly experienced but reluctant Canadian officer, Maj. Donald Craig (Rock Hudson) so that Nigel Green as Col. Harker and George Peppard as Capt. Kurt Bergman, can convince him it must be done. Other Hollywood greats like Guy Stockwell, Jack Watson as Sgt. Maj. Jack Tyne and Leo Gordon as Sgt. Krug are what make's this film completely memorable. Interestingly enough, the story itself was written by Leo Gordon and was so well conceived, it was used to enhance a nearly duplicate film called "Raid on Rommel" four years later. As for this movie, it is so packed with inner conflicts between characters that often, it's hard to tell who they are at war with. Nevertheless, the background world conflict is sufficient to view with admiration the soldiers who willingly gave so much for what they believed. A superior action-oriented film and one which has become a Classic in its own right. Highly recommended. ****

Nothing here.

[bombersflyup · 2/10 · 23 November 2019]

Tobruk should be a good film, but it just isn't.

The characters are uninteresting, some awful and it all just seems too easy and silly. Never felt immersed at all.

Not a true story, but still good.

[inspt71-1 · 26 April 2004]

*possible spoilers*

I thought this was a good action movie even though it is no where near historically accurate. This is just a movie you can't think about and worry about where it is true or not. It's a movie for enjoyment and if you like World War II action movies, I strongly urge you to check this out when ever you can. George Peppard is very good as well as Rock Hudson and the rest of the cast. I thought this movie had good action scenes. Especially the one where the British got two German tank divisions to shoot at each other in order to pass between them. I though the use of the RAF P-40 Warhawk was good even though I didn't like it when the British shot it down even though it was shooting at them first. The Visual Effects are good for the time and are some of the best I've ever scene. Check this movie out. It might be silly but it's worth your time.