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The Desert Rats

  • 19531953
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 28m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
5K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
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.
Play trailer2:38
1 Video
19 Photos
  • Action
  • Adventure
  • Drama
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.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.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.
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
5K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Robert Wise
  • Writer
    • Richard Murphy
  • Stars
    • Richard Burton
    • James Mason
    • Robert Newton
Top credits
  • Director
    • Robert Wise
  • Writer
    • Richard Murphy
  • Stars
    • Richard Burton
    • James Mason
    • Robert Newton
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 39User reviews
    • 9Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 1 win & 1 nomination total

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:38
    Trailer

    Photos19

    The Desert Rats (1953)
    The Desert Rats (1953)
    The Desert Rats (1953)
    Michael Pate in The Desert Rats (1953)
    Michael Pate in The Desert Rats (1953)
    The Desert Rats (1953)
    The Desert Rats (1953)
    Richard Burton and Robert Newton in The Desert Rats (1953)
    The Desert Rats (1953)
    Richard Burton, James Mason, and Robert Newton in The Desert Rats (1953)
    The Desert Rats (1953)
    The Desert Rats (1953)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Richard Burton
    Richard Burton
    • Capt. 'Tammy' MacRobertsas Capt. 'Tammy' MacRoberts
    James Mason
    James Mason
    • Field Marshal Erwin Rommelas Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
    Robert Newton
    Robert Newton
    • Tom Bartlettas Tom Bartlett
    Robert Douglas
    Robert Douglas
    • Generalas General
    Torin Thatcher
    Torin Thatcher
    • Col. Barney Whiteas Col. Barney White
    Chips Rafferty
    Chips Rafferty
    • Sgt. 'Blue' Smithas Sgt. 'Blue' Smith
    Charles 'Bud' Tingwell
    Charles 'Bud' Tingwell
    • Lt. Harry Carstairsas Lt. Harry Carstairs
    • (as Charles Tingwell)
    Charles Davis
    • Peteas Pete
    Ben Wright
    Ben Wright
    • Mickas Mick
    Patrick Aherne
    • English Officeras English Officer
    • (uncredited)
    John Alderson
    • Corporalas Corporal
    • (uncredited)
    Frank Baker
    Frank Baker
    • British Officeras British Officer
    • (uncredited)
    John Blackburn
    • Sergeantas Sergeant
    • (uncredited)
    Robert Boon
    • German Lieutenantas German Lieutenant
    • (uncredited)
    Frederic Brunn
    • German Gunneras German Gunner
    • (uncredited)
    Arthur Brunner
    • German Radio Manas German Radio Man
    • (uncredited)
    Paul Busch
    Paul Busch
    • German Orderlyas German Orderly
    • (uncredited)
    Paul Cavanagh
    Paul Cavanagh
    • Colonelas Colonel
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Robert Wise
    • Writer
      • Richard Murphy
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The film was banned in Egypt, as the British were still occupying the Suez Canal and the Sudan.
    • Goofs
      During the raid on the German camp there is a sign on a building reading "Hauptquartiers". Although the English word "Headquarters" might suggest a plural s, in German there doesn't exist such a form. The correct word would be "Hauptquartier" and the plural "Hauptquartiere"
    • Quotes

      Tom Bartlett: You don't know much about real fear, Tammy. Maybe it comes with age or the bottle. You don't know what it is to be a coward... really a coward. To know it, yet to hope one day something will happen to prove that you're not, yet half the time not really believing that either.

    • Crazy credits
      Opening credits prologue: 1941 LIBYAN DESERT NORTH AFRICA
    • Connections
      Edited into All This and World War II (1976)
    • Soundtracks
      Waltzing Matilda
      (1895) (uncredited)

      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 reviews39

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    Bad Times for the Anzacs in Tobruk
    Before Australia and New Zealand were threatened with attack on the home front, they sent as they did in the First World War, an expeditionary force to help Great Britain protect the Suez Canal, the lifeline of the British Empire. Aussies and Kiwis made a great deal of the army that General Wavell was commanding from Cairo.

    They have always had a reputation as an informal people and it's with a bit of surprise that spit and polish Scots officer Richard Burton is put in charge of a batallion in a forward area of the defense perimeter surrounding Tobruk. The men and Burton don't take to each other too readily, but gradually the troops grow to respect Burton as a courageous fighting man.

    Burton as it happens gets a bit of assistance from an unexpected quarter. His old schoolmaster Robert Newton had immigrated to Australia and enlisted in their army at the start of World War II. When not focusing on the battle sequences, The Desert Rats is about the relationship between Burton and Newton. All the rules about army discipline and separation of officers and enlisted men go by the boards here. Burton who's been under a strain like everyone else under siege at Tobruk gets a safety valve in Newton. An old friend from the past, a father figure if you will, gives Burton someone he can confide his innermost thoughts and fears to.

    Sad to say the alcoholic Mr. Newton gives a refrained and dignified performance as a middle aged alcoholic schoolmaster. A role he could understand all too well from real life. He complements Burton's performance every step of the way in this film.

    Look for some good performances from Australian actors Charles Tingwell and Chips Rafferty. Though this is a film about the Allied forces at Tobruk in 1941 and no Americans were officially fighting, this is an American production. So these two guys made their American cinema debuts. Tingwell never made another American film, but Rafferty came back a few times and his presence makes every film he's in just a bit better.

    You might recognize Michael Rennie's voice doing the offscreen narration for The Desert Rats. The Desert Rats is a timeless wartime classic about the strain of command at every level of the Armed Services.
    helpful•46
    6
    • bkoganbing
    • Feb 11, 2006

    FAQ1

    • Chicago Openeing Happened When?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 20, 1953 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • German
    • Also known as
      • Die Wüstenratten
    • Filming locations
      • Mojave Desert, Arizona, USA
    • Production company
      • Twentieth Century Fox
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $1,320,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 28 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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