For relief, the australian soldiers get to go sightseeing in down town tobruk or whats left of it. One of very few australian features made during world war ii, the rats of tobruk memorializes a great triumph of the nations troops of defending a libyan port from axis forces three years earlier. The victorian state branch decided to form a pipe band as a living memorial to the soldiers who died at tobruk and to keep alive the proud name the rats of tobruk. Fully restored and presented in a brand new transfer, the rats of tobruk is a rousing tribute to the many brave the soldiers who served their nation. This was an adf pr video extolling the values of the australian defence forces. The rats of tobruk is a 1944 australian film directed by charles chauvel. See the full list of the rats of tobruk cast and crew including actors, directors, producers and more. There were also major oil fields in the middle east that were vital to fuel their tanks, planes and motorised transport. Beleaguered and battle weary the friends fight on, proving. The film takes significant liberties with the real events, yet it is an exciting and thrilling war feature with several terrific performances from its cast. To prepare for that, rommel wasnt receiving the supplies and material he needed. Skip to main content this banner text can have markup. Original us theatrical trailer for the fighting rats of tobruk a classic australian world war ii film.
Mar 18, 2011 the defenders of tobruk did not surrender, they did not retreat. The troops were later the subject of the film the rats of. The battles played out are not very clear and leaves the viewer guessing what really happened. The 1941 siege of tobruk, birth of the rats of tobruk. Tobruk was an allied defensive operation in an attempt to maintain a foothold on the north african coast. Curators notes the rats of tobruk 1944 on aso australia. The rats of tobruk simple english wikipedia, the free. May 27, 2017 watch the fighting rats of tobruk full free lynn m. Also they lived in very dirty conditions and were always dirty and muddy like a rat. When dennis davis was fighting on the battlefield of tobruk, he received a letter from home which he says left him broken.
German radio started calling the australians poor desert rats of tobruk, which they took immense pride in, calling themselves the rats of tobruk. The rats of tobruk the fighting rats of tobruk 2015. Rats of tobruk home tribute is a tribute to the rats of tobruk, who fought in tobruk, during the siege of tobruk, of 241 days from april 10 to december 1941. Erwin rommel, in a letter to his wife, lucie, wrote, today may well see the end of the battle of tobruk. The movie stars rock hudson, george peppard and nigel green. Aug 18, 2016 also featuring george wallace and joe valli, chauvels bold tale of war gives life to the many heroic tales of mateship during wwii. The only libyan territory still in british hands was the cyrenaican port of tobruk. Richard burton did a fine hollywood based film, desert rats, about the same siege at tobruk and chips rafferty had a featured role in that.
Watch rats of tobruk online vimeo on demand on vimeo. Together they serve in north africa, fighting against the forces of rommel in what has now become one of australias greatest wartime legendsthe rats of tobruk. Fighting rats of tobruk 1951 soldiers chips rafferty, grant taylor, peter finch of the australian and new zealand army corps hold off the nazis for months. The goal is to hold tobruk for at least two months. The film was written by leo gordon who also acted in the film and released through universal pictures. The allies marching and singing were off to see the wizard was neat as was the german announcer naming the allies the fighting rats of tobruk, which was deemed a badge of honor by the allies. In the context of wartime, the rats of tobruk is certainly meant as a tribute to the exploits and courage of the australian fighting forces, but it falls somewhat short of being a recruiting film. The rats of tobruk film the rats of tobruk is a 1944 australian film directed by charles chauvel. Three australian friends end up fighting nazis in north africa in a clumsily executed action tale. No quotes approved yet for fighting rats of tobruk. Dec 26, 2018 action packed war epic about a group of british commandos who find themselves trapped behind enemy lines after the german afrika korps smash through the allied defenses in north africa. Combined german and italian troops had sealed off all land approaches to tobruk on april 11. Corny, but its a fair enough way to open a movie made during wartime. Extra features the big picture featurette on charles chauvel, his wife elsa, the films and their importance in australian film history 74 mins trailer.
The battle of tobruk, in which a small british force composing primarily of australians, nicknamed the rats of tobruk, held tobruk while surviving waves of axis forces, is the most significant to australia. Tells the story of three menbluey, a tough two fisted drover taylor, milo, a laconic dingo trapper rafferty, and pete, an intellectual english new chum finch. In usa, the american version titled the fighting rats of tobruk cut some of these giving the film a better flow. The famous story of the rats of tobruk and the ships that supplied them in ww2, as told by the rats themselves. The fighting rats of tobruk 1951 action, war, drama. Their determination, bravery, and humour, combined with the aggressive tactics of their commanders, became a source of inspiration during some of the wars darkest days. Their story is based on the siege of the libyan city of tobruk. In so doing, they achieved lasting fame as the rats of tobruk.
Adolf hitler had prepared for war by socially engineering his followers into the perfect fighting machines. The film follows three drover friends who enlist in the australian army together during world war ii. A lot of the fighting is done at night and it is very difficult to see what is going on because the film has gotten darker over the years. The rats of tobruk controlling north africa would give the allied forces a base from which to attack occupied europe, across the mediterranean. Tobruk is a 1967 world war ii adventure film directed by arthur hiller and written by leo gordon. They were called the rats of tobruk as there attitude and the way the australians fought made them live like rats and they scurried around the war collecting food and weapons stealthily which made them seem like rats.
Fighting rats of tobruk movie quotes rotten tomatoes. Tobruk 1967 internet movie firearms database guns in. Together they serve in north africa, fighting against the forces of rommel in what has now become one of australias greatest wartime legends the rats of tobruk. The fighting rats of tobruk 1944 the fighting rats of. Tobruk is a 1967 american technicolor drama war film directed by arthur hiller and starring rock hudson and george peppard. The rats of tobruk was the name given to the soldiers who held the libyan port of tobruk against the afrika corps, during the siege of tobruk in world war ii. I believe if you want to see just how far directors have progressed from the early days of film making to what we expect today, then this film is worth. Very good and entertaining war picture, tobruk is a classic of the genre, but by no means is this an accurate retelling of the famous tobruk battle. Grant taylor, peter finch, chips rafferty, pauline garrick, mary gay, george wallace. Most of the fighting scenes were in the dark which did not translate well on my dvd version as the scenes looked totally black. The old warships that helped the rats of tobruk with supplies and evacuation of the wounded were insulted by radio berlin, being called a pile of scrap iron. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. The fighting rats of tobruk desert victory, dvd, war, 089218777195. Information supplied by the family of robert scarr and the.
The rats who returned to melbourne formed as association which has branches in every state as well as in the united kingdom. The film focuses on a joint britishsig special interrogation group raid on the fuel dumps at german controlled port city of tobruk. It was planned that 70th division would break out from. Of course the production values were much superior, still the rats of tobruk shows a lot of care about the australian fighting man and his contribution in world war ii from the folks they were defending. The fighting rats of tobruk 1944 opens on a pastoral scene lowing herds roaming over the gently rolling hills of australia, whips cracking, and on the background soundtrack a male chorus singing an outback song. Identifying with authority, they obeyed rather than thought. Lego wwii north africa siege of tobruk brick fiesta 2018 duration. An abridged version was released in the united states in 1951 as the fighting rats of tobruk. The fighting rats of tobruk is more of a narrated documentry, poorly acted and shot in darkness. The fighting rats of tobruk trailer 1944 video detective. The defenders of tobruk and their besiegers were at a stalemate. As the same troops had been shipped to new guinea to fight the japanese almost immediately after their withdrawal from tobruk, chauvel included a final sequence filmed in canungra gorge, southeast queensland.
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