Richard Burton plays a Scottish Army officer put in charge of a disparate band of ANZAC troops on the perimeter of Tobruk with the German Army doing their best to dislodge them.Richard Burton plays a Scottish Army officer put in charge of a disparate band of ANZAC troops on the perimeter of Tobruk with the German Army doing their best to dislodge them.Richard Burton plays a Scottish Army officer put in charge of a disparate band of ANZAC troops on the perimeter of Tobruk with the German Army doing their best to dislodge them.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 win & 1 nomination total
- Lt. Harry Carstairs
- (as Charles Tingwell)
- English Officer
- (uncredited)
- Corporal
- (uncredited)
- British Officer
- (uncredited)
- Sergeant
- (uncredited)
- German Lieutenant
- (uncredited)
- German Gunner
- (uncredited)
- German Radio Man
- (uncredited)
- German Orderly
- (uncredited)
- Colonel
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe film was banned in Egypt, as the British were still occupying the Suez Canal and the Sudan.
- GoofsDuring the raid on the German camp there is a sign on a building reading "Hauptquartiers". Although the English word "Headquarters" might suggest a plural s, in German there doesn't exist such a form. The correct word would be "Hauptquartier" and the plural "Hauptquartiere"
- Quotes
Tom Bartlett: You don't know much about real fear, Tammy. Maybe it comes with age or the bottle. You don't know what it is to be a coward... really a coward. To know it, yet to hope one day something will happen to prove that you're not, yet half the time not really believing that either.
- Crazy creditsOpening credits prologue: 1941 LIBYAN DESERT NORTH AFRICA
- ConnectionsEdited into All This and World War II (1976)
- SoundtracksWaltzing Matilda
(1895) (uncredited)
Original music by Christina Macpherson (1895)
(Based on the Scottish tune "Craigielee", music by James Barr, with words by Robert Tannahill)
Revised music by Marie Cowan (1903)
Lyrics by A.B. 'Banjo' Paterson (1895)
Played during the opening credits and often in the score
Title (Brazil): "Ratos do Deserto" ("Desert Rats")
- claudio_carvalho
- Feb 18, 2005
- How long is The Desert Rats?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $1,320,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 28 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1