The Desert Rats (1953)
Richard Burton leads the cast as the commander of an Australian tank unit during the battle of Tobruk. A sequel of sorts to The Desert Fox (1951) or should that be prequel as it takes place before those events. James Mason returns as Field Marshal Rommel and steals the film with the few scenes he's in.
The Desert Rats is a stodgier affair than the first film and quite dull with it. Director Robert Wise manages to make only the scenes where a captured and injured Burton sits down in discussion with Mason's Rommel in his tent feel anything like a classic.
A missed opportunity
|