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{{short description|1953 film by Robert Wise}}
{{Infobox film
| name = The Desert Rats
| image = The_Desert_Rats_poster.jpg
| caption = [[Film poster|Theatrical release poster]]
| director = [[Robert Wise]]
| producer = [[Robert L. Jacks]]
| writer = [[Richard Murphy (screenwriter)|Richard Murphy]]
| starring = [[Richard Burton]]<br/>[[James Mason]]<br/>[[Robert Newton]]
| narrator = [[Michael Rennie]]
| music = [[Leigh Harline]]
| cinematography = [[Lucien Ballard]]
| editing = [[Barbara McLean]]
| distributor = [[20th Century Fox]]
| released = {{Film date|df=y|1953|05|20|USA}}
| runtime = 88 min.
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget = $1,320,000<ref>Solomon, Aubrey. ''Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History'' (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. {{ISBN|978-0-8108-4244-1}}. p. 248</ref>
| gross = $1.1 million (US rentals)<ref>{{cite news|title=The Top Box Office Hits of 1953|work=Variety|date=January 13, 1954}}</ref>
}}

'''''The Desert Rats''''' is a 1953 American [[black-and-white]] [[war film]] from [[20th Century Fox]], produced by Robert L. Jacks, directed by [[Robert Wise]], that stars [[Richard Burton]], [[James Mason]], and [[Robert Newton]]. The film's storyline concerns the [[Siege of Tobruk]] in North Africa during World War II.

==Plot==
During mid-April 1941 in North Africa, German field marshal [[Erwin Rommel]] ([[James Mason]]) and his [[Afrika Korps]] have driven the [[British Army]] back toward [[Egypt]] and the vital [[Suez Canal]]. Standing in Rommel's way is [[Tobruk]], a constant threat to his supply lines. The [[9th Australian Division]] are charged with holding the port for two months, at which time they are to be relieved.

The defending Allied general ([[Robert Douglas (actor)|Robert Douglas]]) chooses British Captain "Tammy" MacRoberts ([[Richard Burton]]), an experienced field officer, to take command of newly arrived, untried Australian troops. The no-nonsense MacRoberts, disliked by the undisciplined Australians, is surprised to see in their ranks his former schoolmaster, Tom Bartlett ([[Robert Newton]]), an alcoholic dismissed from education for drunkenness. MacRoberts offers to transfer him to a safer billet, but Bartlett turns him down. The troops are sent directly into the front lines, where they dig in and prepare for Rommel's assault. The Allied general masses his artillery where he guesses the Germans will strike. His gamble pays off. Under cover of a [[Dust storm|sandstorm]], Rommel's tanks and infantry attack exactly where the general predicted and head directly at MacRoberts' men, but the Germans are beaten back. As a result, MacRoberts is elevated to battalion command and made lieutenant colonel.

It is later decided to send out small [[commando]] raids every night, exacting a toll on Nazi positions. But during a successful raid on a Nazi ammunition dump, MacRoberts is wounded and captured. While being treated by a German doctor, he encounters Rommel, who has been shot by a strafing [[Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfire]]. Although he is respectful, MacRoberts points out to the field marshal that Tobruk is a thorn in his side. Rommel, amused by his brashness, orders he be treated well. Later, MacRoberts escapes and makes his way back to Allied lines. The siege of Tobruk carries on for months. As a result, MacRoberts fears his men are becoming weary and will need to be relieved. After constant attacks and shelling by the Germans, MacRoberts believes they can take no more. Surprisingly, the self-admitted coward, Bartlett, begs him to hang on. To MacRoberts' surprise, the rest of his men refuse to abandon their position. Eventually, the Australians hear [[bagpipes]] announcing the arrival of a relief column. After a hard-fought 242 days, the Allies have relieved Tobruk.

==Cast==
{{col div}}
* [[Richard Burton]] as Captain "Tammy" MacRoberts
* [[James Mason]] as Field Marshal [[Erwin Rommel]]
* [[Robert Newton]] as Tom Bartlett
* [[Robert Douglas (actor)|Robert Douglas]] as the General
* [[Torin Thatcher]] as Colonel Barney White
* [[Chips Rafferty]] as Sergeant "Blue" Smith
* [[Bud Tingwell|Charles "Bud" Tingwell]] as Lieutenant Harry Carstairs (as Charles Tingwell)
* [[Charles Davis (actor)|Charles Davis]] as Pete
* [[Ben Wright (actor)|Ben Wright]] as Mick
* [[Michael Pate]] as Captain Currie (uncredited)
* [[John Alderson (actor)|John Alderson]] as Australian Corporal (uncredited)
{{col div end}}

==History==
The film is based on the [[Australian 9th Division]], who were charged with the defence of Tobruk under the command of General [[Leslie Morshead]]. Hoping to survive against overwhelming odds for two months, the garrison held off the best of Rommel's Afrika Korps for over eight months. Morshead was a distinguished Australian citizen-soldier, but is depicted in the film as the anonymous "General" and played by English actor Robert Douglas.

==Production==
===Development===
The film was a quasi-sequel to ''[[The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel]]'' (1951), which had been successful critically and commercially, particularly in England. It was, reportedly, partly made to portray a less likeable General Rommel, after criticism that film had been too friendly to the Germans. Rommel is again played by [[James Mason]], but this time he usually speaks in German and is not sympathetic. The title ''The Desert Rats'' was selected to refer to the earlier title ''The Desert Fox''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50512272 |title='Rats' – by Hollywood. |newspaper=[[The Courier-Mail]] |location=Brisbane |date=15 July 1952 |accessdate=25 March 2012 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Mason wore Rommel's real scarf in the film, which had been given to him by the general's widow.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23245936 |title='Brigadoon' as a 3-D film?. |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)|The Argus]] |location=Melbourne |date=22 May 1953 |accessdate=25 March 2012 |page=16 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

In October 1951 Fox announced that [[Robert L. Jacks]] would produce and [[Sam Fuller]], who saw active duty in World War II and who had just made ''Fixed Bayonets'' for Fox, would direct. The film was based on a book, ''The Siege of Tobruk'' by Gregory Rogers, and filming was to start in January 1952.<ref>{{cite news|title=Drama: 'Desert Rats' Follows 'Desert Fox;' Unusual 'Napoleon' Film Slated|author=Schallert, Edwin|work=Los Angeles Times|date=Oct 23, 1951|page=B7}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=KRAMER, FOREMAN: Producer and Script Writer Part Company After Dispute on Congressional Inquiry|work=New York Times|date=Oct 23, 1951|page=35}}</ref> Zanuck said research revealed a few Americans were involved in the siege but none appeared in the final film.<ref>{{cite news|title=Drama: 'Madam' With Merman Due for Summer Start; Lindfors Role Sighted|author=Schallert, Edwin|work=Los Angeles Times|date=Nov 3, 1951|page=11}}</ref>

Filming was delayed and Fuller dropped out to work on other films. In July 1952 Fox announced that filming would take place in September and the three leads would be played by [[Michael Rennie]], [[Robert Newton]] and [[James Robertson Justice]]. (Rennie and Newton had just made ''Les Misérables'' together).<ref>{{cite news|title=Drama: Crosby-Astaire Film to Gladden Winter; Trio Named for 'Desert Rats'|author=Schallert, Edwin|work= Los Angeles Times|date=7 July 1952|page=B9}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18273198 |title=Fox Plans Tobruk Film. |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=15 July 1952 |accessdate=25 March 2012 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

The script was written by an American, Richard Murphy, who was familiar with Australian servicemen from his time being a liaison officer with the Ninth Division in [[New Guinea]], after its withdrawal from the Middle East in 1942.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article40466214 |title=Tobruk Rats in big battle film |newspaper=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]] |date=18 February 1953 |accessdate=25 March 2012 |page=24 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

Filming was pushed back further. In October Fox replaced Rennie with Richard Burton, who had just appeared in ''[[My Cousin Rachel (film)|My Cousin Rachel]]'' for the studio and signed a contract with Fox to make one film a year for ten years.<ref>{{cite news|title=FOUR FILM ACTORS FIND LIFE IS ROSY: Contracts With Major Studios Signed by Burton, Bancroft, Corey and Robertson|author=THOMAS M. PRYOR|work=New York Times|date=Oct 7, 1952|page=26}}</ref> (Instead, as he had done in ''The Desert Fox'' several years earlier, Rennie delivered an uncredited voiceover.) The same month Robert Wise was assigned to direct.<ref>{{cite news|title=STUDIO BRIEFS |work=Los Angeles Times|date=Oct 16, 1952|page=B10}}</ref>

Several genuine Australian actors were cast, including [[Chips Rafferty]], [[Charles Tingwell]], [[Michael Pate]] and John O'Malley. Tingwell and Rafferty had just made ''[[Kangaroo (1952 film)|Kangaroo]]'' (1952) for Fox in Australia and were flown to Hollywood.

[[Richard Boone]], who had just made ''Kangaroo'' with Rafferty and Tingwell, was announced for an important role.<ref>{{cite news|title=JOHN FORD TO HELP IRISH MOVIE GROUP: Director to Spend 3 Months in Ireland Next Summer on Plans for Native Firm|author=THOMAS M. PRYOR|work=New York Times|date=Oct 4, 1952|page=14}}</ref> He ended up not appearing in the film. In November, Robert Newton's casting was confirmed, as was that of James Mason, who would reprise his role as Rommel.<ref>{{cite news|title=BETTE DAVIS IS SET FOR FRIEDLOB FILM: Actress Will Make 2d Picture for Producer Next Summer -- Eunson, Albert Authors|author=THOMAS M. PRYOR|work=New York Times|date=Nov 8, 1952|page=9}}</ref>

Filming started December 1952. Australian journalist [[Alan Moorehead]] was used as a consultant and the technical adviser was an Englishman now in the [[Canadian Army]], Lieutenant George Aclund, who took part in the defence of Tobruk.<ref name="SMH"/>

The battle sequences were shot near Borrego Springs, a Californian desert town. Some background scenes were taken from the documentary ''[[Desert Victory]]'' (1943).

==Inaccuracies==
The title of the film is a misnomer: The "Desert Rats" were actually the [[7th Armoured Division (United Kingdom)|British 7th Armoured Division]], the name coming from their [[jerboa]] shoulder flash. The Australian 9th Division besieged at Tobruk were denigrated as being "caught like rats in a trap" by German [[propaganda]], the Australians calling themselves "[[the Rats of Tobruk]]" with pride as a result.

Also, Erwin Rommel is described as a field marshal at the time of the siege when he was actually a lieutenant-general; he would become a field marshal in June 1942, after the fall of Tobruk.

Chips Rafferty and Charles Tingwell had both served in the army, and said they tried to correct inaccuracies in the script, but were only partly successful. "The script was full of Cockney idiom", said Rafferty. "I was invited to look over it a week before shooting began, and managed to get some of it changed into Australian slang."<ref name="SMH"/> "There's one scene in which the sergeant – myself – refuses to obey the colonel's order, while two lieutenants stand idly by", added Rafferty. "That will raise some Ninth Division eyebrows."<ref name="SMH"/>

A key plot point involved the Australian general deliberately letting German tanks through the defences. "To my knowledge there was no such plan to let the Germans in through the outer defences", said Tingwell. "But whenever difficulties of that sort were mentioned the Hollywood experts claimed to be working on a script based on the actual battle plans of the campaign."<ref name="SMH"/>

Other criticisms made of the film include the fact no British officer was ever placed in command of an Australian battalion in Tobruk, and there was no raid on the ammunition dump as depicted, although there was one on the [[Twin Pimples raid|Twin Pimples]], held by Italy, and there is no depiction of the British, Polish or Indian troops who were there.

Prior to the film being screened, Chips Rafferty admitted it was likely the film would be criticised by ex-servicemen. "To tell the truth, I think there's going to be a bit of a howl", he said.<ref name="SMH">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18514579 |title=Hollywood's Tobruk Will Startle A.I.F. |newspaper=[[The Sunday Herald (Sydney)|The Sunday Herald]] |location=Sydney |date=1 March 1953 |accessdate=25 March 2012 |page=16 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> This prediction proved to be correct. Lieutenant-General Sir [[Leslie Morshead]] said that, "The story is wholly foreign to the Tobruk I knew, and to its force which comprised almost as many gallant, purposeful British troops as those of the Ninth Division, all of whom I had the honour to command."<ref name="SMH"/>

==Reception==
The film received generally good reviews from British critics, although they complained the British contribution to the campaign had been minimised.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/18368077 |title=London Critics Praise 'The Desert Rats'. |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=27 April 1953 |accessdate=25 March 2012 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Australian critics were also positive despite the historical inaccuracies.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27199022 |title=TOBRUK RATS. |newspaper=[[The Mercury (Hobart)|The Mercury]] |location=Hobart, Tasmania |date=10 April 1954 |accessdate=25 March 2012 |page=18 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48130538 |title=NEW FILMS |newspaper=[[The Advertiser (Adelaide)|The Advertiser]] |location=Adelaide |date=22 May 1954 |accessdate=25 March 2012 |page=7 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

The film was banned in Egypt.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50586819 |title=PASSED 'THE DESERT FOX,' BUT |newspaper=[[The Courier-Mail]] |location=Brisbane |date=15 January 1954 |accessdate=25 March 2012 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

During production, 20th Century Fox offered [[Charles Tingwell]], who had also appeared in Fox's ''[[Kangaroo (1952 film)|Kangaroo]]'', a seven-year contract, but he turned it down because he wanted to keep working in Australia.<ref>[https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/australian-biography-charles-bud-tingwell Charles Tingwell interview] at Australian Biography, National Film and Sound Archive</ref>

==See also==
* ''[[The Rats of Tobruk (1944 film)|The Rats of Tobruk]]'' (1944 film)
* [[Western Desert Campaign]]
* [[North African Campaign]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{AFI film}}
* {{IMDb title}}
* {{AllMovie title}}
* {{TCMDb title}}
*[https://archive.org/details/variety190-1953-05/page/n81/mode/1up?q=%22chips+rafferty%22 Review of film] at Variety
{{Robert Wise}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Desert Rats, The}}
[[Category:1953 films]]
[[Category:1953 war films]]
[[Category:American war films]]
[[Category:American black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Erwin Rommel]]
[[Category:North African campaign films]]
[[Category:World War II films based on actual events]]
[[Category:Films set in Libya]]
[[Category:Films shot in California]]
[[Category:20th Century Fox films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Robert Wise]]
[[Category:Films scored by Leigh Harline]]
[[Category:Siege films]]
[[Category:1950s English-language films]]
[[Category:1950s American films]]

The Desert Rats (film) - Revision history

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