With Rommel (James Mason) bearing down heavily on the beleaguered allied garrison of Tobruk, it falls to "Capt. MacRoberts" (Richard Burton) to try and galvanise some war weary ANZAC troops for one last defence against the wily Desert Fox. He's not exactly puritanical, but he doesn's suffer disobedience and that sets him, initially, against his new troop when he over-reacts to behaviour from their "Lt. Carstairs" (Charles Tingwell). As luck would have it, though, the regimental dipso - "Bartlett" (Robert Newton) just happens to have been the captain's schoolmaster and still commands enough respect with his former pupil to help him see past his red mist, and assist with the increasingly onerous responsibilities heaped upon him and his men as the Nazis get ever closer. I think Mason only does two scenes so doesn't feature much, but the rapport between Burton and the always engaging Newton manages to successfully marry the heroic with the rational, the human with the humane. The constant barrages of artillery fire that pound the very soul from these men is well illustrated with the occasional use of actuality to complement some real desert photography and a solid supporting cast with Torin Thatcher, Chips Rafferty and Robert Douglas helping to present us with an entirely plausible appreciation of just how tough and relentless that North African campaign was.
