☆ ☆ ☆
The
Rats of Tobruk (1944) – C. Chauvel
This version of the Australian WWII war
picture is nearly 30 minutes longer than the version currently circulating in
the US. This might explain some of the
bad reviews it has received on the internet, although it’s true that it doesn’t
really distinguish itself in the field of combat. Yet, it is (and was) something to see (stereotyped)
Australian characters on the big screen.
Grant Taylor is Bluey, the rough womaniser (who secretly yearns for his
one true love); Chips Rafferty is Milo, the lanky Ocker with the broad Strine
accent; and Peter Finch is the Brit journalist who narrates the picture and
delivers some stirring patriotic speeches (including from the Bard’s Henry
V). The plot is largely anecdotal,
focused on Australian troops who held off Rommel in the North African city of
Tobruk (Libya). The battle sequences are
intercut with comic relief and scenes reminding us that Bluey is pining for his
love back home.
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