

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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6.3/10
105 votes
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- Status
- Released
- Budget
- —
- Box office
- —
- Language
- German
- world war ii
- desert
- libyan desert
- rommel
- tobruk
Top billed cast













Behind the camera
Where to watch
All optionsAvailability for United States. Provided by JustWatch through the TMDB API.
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Release dates
United StatesUS
- TheatricalNR20 May 1953
United KingdomGB
- TheatricalU26 Mar 1953
- PhysicalU23 Jan 1991
BrazilBR
- Physical14Mercado Livre1 Jan 2000
CzechiaCZ
- Physical1 May 1994
FranceFR
- Theatrical1 Oct 1954
GermanyDE
- Theatrical1221 Nov 1953
NetherlandsNL
- Physical16DVD2 Apr 2008
Frequently asked questions
The Desert Rats was released on 26 March 1953.
Audience reviews
3- J7/10
John Chard
4/16/2014
Come out of your holes you desert rats! The Desert Rats is directed by Robert Wise and written by Richard Murphy. It stars Richard Burton, Robert Newton, Robert Douglas, Torin Thatcher, Chips Rafferty and James Mason. Music is by Leigh Harline and cinematography by Lucien Ballard. The follow up to The Desert Fox (it's not a sequel) from two years earlier, was in essence an attempt to readdress the balance after…
- C7/10
CinemaSerf
8/3/2024
With Rommel (James Mason) bearing down heavily on the beleaguered allied garrison of Tobruk, it falls to "Capt. MacRoberts" (Richard Burton) to try and galvanise some war weary ANZAC troops for one last defence against the wily Desert Fox. He's not exactly puritanical, but he doesn's suffer disobedience and that sets him, initially, against his new troop when he over-reacts to behaviour from their "Lt. Carstairs" (Ch…
- H8/10
Henry | The Reel Verdict
1/2/2025
Movie Review: The Desert Rats (1953) The Desert Rats (1953), directed by Robert Wise, is a war film that brings to life the courage and perseverance of soldiers during the defense of Tobruk in World War II. While the film offers a Hollywood take on this significant chapter of history, it balances its historical inaccuracies with strong performances, especially from Richard Burton and James Mason, making it an engagin…
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