The Desert Rats
1953, War, 1h 28m
5 Reviews 1,000+ RatingsYou might also like
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Movie Info
In North Africa, German Field Marshal Rommel (James Mason) and his troops have successfully fended off British forces, and now intend to take Tobruk, an important port city. A ramshackle group of Australian reinforcements sent to combat the Germans is put under the command of British Captain MacRoberts (Richard Burton). The unruly Aussies immediately clash with MacRoberts, a gruff, strict disciplinarian, however this unorthodox team must band together to protect Tobruk from the German forces.
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Genre: War
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Original Language: English
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Director: Robert Wise
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Producer: Robert L. Jacks
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Writer: Richard Murphy
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Release Date (Theaters): original
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Release Date (Streaming):
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Runtime:
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Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Cast & Crew
Critic Reviews for The Desert Rats
Audience Reviews for The Desert Rats
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Sequel to <i>The Desert Fox</i>, based on the true-life exploits of Australian infantrymen in the North African campaign of WWII. James Mason is again Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, this time matching wits with Richard Burton during the legendary siege of Tobruk. A solid combat-action film typical of the genre throughout the 1950s and early 1960s.
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A semi-sequel to The Desert Fox, The Desert Rats sees James Mason reprise his role as Field Marshal Rommel who meets his match in the form of British field officer Richard Burton during the siege of Tobruk. Mason and Burton are two of the greats of British acting and it's well worth seeing this film just to see them together, although the scene in which they meet is all too brief. In fact I'd like to have seen a lot more of Rommel who although is not as revered as in the previous film (for this one, he is the enemy after all) but is still shown as a figure to be respected. As a whole it's a rather old fashioned tale of boy's own derring-do rather than a gritty anti-war story, and if taken as such is very enjoyable. The old story of a grudging company of men learning to respect their new commander is hardly an original one but it's an exciting tale of wartime bravery shot in atmospheric black and white.
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interesting and not too long war film by the director of "the house on telegraph hill" starring richard burton and james mason. it seemed realistic and burton put in a good performance
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Excellent Richard Burton war movie.
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