A follow-up to THE DESERT FOX, THE DESERT RATS concentrates on the Australian side of the first film's events. Capt. MacRoberts (Richard Burton) is a tough British officer who takes over command of the 9th Australian Division at Tobruk in 1941, at a desert fortress surrounded and hard
pressed by the
Afrika Korps, led by Field Marshall Rommel (James Mason, in a reprise of his role in THE DESERT FOX). MacRoberts looks down on his men, viewing them as inferior to the British regulars. Attempting to change that view is Bartlett (Robert Newton), MacRoberts's former college
professor, a lowly volunteer and a raving alcoholic. Burton is his usual forceful self, but...
Released:
1953
Rated:
NR
Length:
88 mins