The desert rats

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Movie
German title The desert rats
Original title The Desert Rats
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1953
length 88 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Robert Wise
script Richard Murphy
production Robert L. Jacks
music Leigh Harline
camera Lucien Ballard
cut Barbara McLean
occupation

The desert rats (original title: The Desert Rats ) is an American film from 1953 . The stars of the film were Richard Burton and Robert Newton .

action

April 1941: During the Second World War , the German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and the German Africa Corps forced the British Army to retreat to Egypt . Only the Tobruk fortress stands between Rommel and the Suez Canal . Tobruk is a constant threat to the Germans' supply lines and, in Rommel's opinion, must fall.

The Tobruk fortress has only a small Australian battalion and Rommel believes it will be an easy victory. The head of the defense command is Captain MacRoberts. He discovers a former teacher in the ranks of the Australians: Tom Bartlett, an alcoholic. Bartlett was fired in England for his alcohol addiction, went to Australia and joined the army in a drunkenness. MacRoberts offers Bartlett safe quarters, but Bartlett refuses.

One day a huge sandstorm sweeps across the region around Tobruk. The Germans use this natural condition to attack the British fortress. British Captain Currie is wounded in the attack. Lieutenant Carstairs Harry leaves his post to help Currie. Captain MacRoberts is so angry that he wants Harry to be brought to court-martial for insubordination , but Bartlett is able to stop him. Overall, this first attack by the Germans on Tobruk was unsuccessful, and Erwin Rommel's command had to withdraw after a long hard fight.

MacRoberts, originally an Australian general , was initially promoted to major after the German attack had been repulsed , and later even temporarily promoted to lieutenant colonel. The Australians decide to send a patrol to the enemy camp every night to check that everything is okay.

At some point, MacRoberts is reported that a German attack is imminent. MacRoberts discovers an Italian truck with which he and his team drive to the German camp. The Germans are surprised, the attack is a success. However, Lieutenant Carstairs Harry is killed and MacRoberts captured. While MacRoberts is being treated for his injuries, he meets Rommel. MacRoberts makes it clear to Rommel that he will never win the Suez Canal for himself. Rommel is confused by the young lieutenant's insolence and does not mess with MacRoberts.

The German soldiers are later attacked by British fighter planes. MacRoberts and Sergeant "Blue" Smith flee for fear of a counterattack. After a long way through the desert, they reach Freundesgebiet. The Australians have now been in Tobruk for eight months.

In November, the British surprisingly attacked Rommel and his German troops as they were planning the next attempt to capture Tobruk. By the end of 1941, Erwin Rommel and his troops withdrew far outside of Tobruk. This ended the German occupation of the Tobruk region. After almost a year, calm returned to the region and the Suez Canal continued to belong to the British.

Others

James Mason had previously played Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in Rommel, der Wüstenfuchs ( The Desert Fox , 1951).

Reviews

"Crunchy war action in pseudo-documentary style"

- Cinema editorial team : Cinema.de

"Looks like a documentary, but the impression of the construction predominates."

- 6000 films. Handbook V of the Catholic Film Critics, 1963

Awards

The desert rats was nominated in 1954 for an Oscar in the category " Best Original Screenplay ", but could not prevail against The sinking of the Titanic . The previous year, James Mason won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actor .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The desert rats. In: Cinema . Archived from the original on September 18, 2011 ; accessed on August 19, 2018 . For a more recent edition, but without the quoted text, see Die Wüstenratten. In: Cinema . Retrieved August 19, 2018 .
  2. ↑ 6000 films. Critical notes from the cinema years 1945 to 1958 . Handbook V of the Catholic film criticism, 3rd edition, Verlag Haus Altenberg, Düsseldorf 1963, p. 495