The Desert Rats
“They crawled their way across the blazing sands of Africa... to turn disaster into victory!”
In North Africa, German Field Marshal Rommel 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. 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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Cast
48 people
Richard Burton
Captain "Tammy" MacRoberts
Known for
Where Eagles Dare
Nineteen Eighty-Four
James Mason
Field Marshal Erwin von Rommel
Known for
Lolita
North by Northwest
Robert Newton
Tom Bartlett
Known for
Around the World in 80 Days
Oliver Twist
Robert Douglas
General
Known for
The Flame and the Arrow
The Fountainhead
Torin Thatcher
Col. Barney White
Known for
Witness for the Prosecution
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
Chips Rafferty
Sgt. "Blue" Smith
Known for
Wake in Fright
Mutiny on the Bounty
Charles Tingwell
Lt. Harry Carstairs
Known for
Murder Most Foul
Evil Angels
Charles Davis
Pete
Also in
5 Steps to Danger
Eddie Glum
Ben Wright
Mick
Known for
One Hundred and One Dalmatians
The Little Mermaid
Patrick Aherne
English Officer (uncredited)
Known for
The Court Jester
Rocketship X-M
John Alderson
Corporal (uncredited)
Known for
Evil Under the Sun
Candleshoe
Frank Baker
British Officer (uncredited)
Known for
A Chump at Oxford
Dressed to Kill
Robert Wise Director · Richard Murphy Writer Leigh Harline Composer
Worldwide gross $1.1M · Budget $1.3M · United States release May 20, 1953
Box office
Budget
$1,320,000
Worldwide gross
$1,100,000
Gross vs. budget
0.8×
Production
20th Century Fox
Production
20th Century Studios
Studio · Production
United States
Produced in
Languages
Original language
English
Spoken on screen
English · German
Release dates
United Kingdom · March 26, 1953
Theatrical
United States · May 20, 1953
Theatrical
Brazil
January 1, 2000 · Physical · Mercado Livre
Czechia
May 1, 1994 · Physical
France
October 1, 1954 · Theatrical
Germany
November 21, 1953 · Theatrical
Netherlands
April 2, 2008 · Physical · DVD
United Kingdom
January 23, 1991 · Physical
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Some details come from TheTVDB.