https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Desert_MiceDesert Mice - Revision history2026-07-31T03:18:11ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Desert_Mice&diff=364700&oldid=prevBot at 17:57, 3 September 20222022-09-03T17:57:01Z<p></p>
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{{Infobox film<br />
| name = Desert Mice<br />
| image_size = <br />
| image =Desert Mice FilmPoster.jpeg<br />
| caption = <br />
| director = [[Michael Relph]]<br />
| screenplay = David Climie<br />
| producer = [[Basil Dearden]]<br />
| narrator = <br />
| starring = {{ubl|[[Alfred Marks]]|[[Sid James]]|[[Dora Bryan]]}}<br />
| music = [[Philip Green (composer)|Philip Green]]<br />
| cinematography = [[Ken Hodges (cinematographer)|Ken Hodges]]<br />
| editing = [[Reginald Beck]]<br />
| distributor = [[The Rank Organisation|J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors]] (UK)<br />
| released = {{Film date|df=y|1959|12||UK}}<br />
| runtime = 85 minutes<br />
| country = United Kingdom<br />
| language = English<br />
| budget = <br />
| gross = <br />
}}<br />
'''''Desert Mice''''' is a 1959 British [[comedy film]] featuring [[Alfred Marks]], [[Sid James]], [[Dora Bryan]], [[Irene Handl]], [[John Le Mesurier]] and [[Liz Fraser]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a8b0bb8|title=Desert Mice (1960)|website=BFI}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/film/desert_mice/|title=Desert Mice - Film|first=British Comedy|last=Guide|website=British Comedy Guide}}</ref> A group of [[ENSA]] entertainers with the British army in the North Africa desert during the Second World War thwart a Nazi plan.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/desert-mice-v89182|title=Desert Mice (1959) - Michael Ralph, Michael Relph - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related|website=AllMovie}}</ref> The title is a play on the [[Desert Rats]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/film/9rh4/desert-mice/|title=Desert Mice – review - cast and crew, movie star rating and where to watch film on TV and online|website=Radio Times}}</ref><br />
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==Plot==<br />
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An [[ENSA]] group tours around North Africa entertaining British troops. One night, Bert hears the tune (with no words) for "[[Lily Marlene]]". He sets about writing a variety of lyrics to the tune. Attached to an intelligence unit they realise that when singing their words to the well-known tune some in the audience are singing in German, exposing them as spies.<br />
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==Cast==<br />
* [[Alfred Marks]] as Major Poskett <br />
* [[Sid James]] as Bert Bennett <br />
* [[Dora Bryan]] as Gay Bennett <br />
* [[Dick Bentley]] as Gavin O'Toole <br />
* [[Joan Benham]] as Una O'Toole<br />
* [[Reginald Beckwith]] as Fred <br />
* [[Irene Handl]] as Miss Patch <br />
* Kenneth Fortescue as Peter <br />
* [[Patricia Bredin]] as Susan <br />
* [[Liz Fraser]] as Edie <br />
* [[Marius Goring]] as German Major <br />
* [[Anthony Bushell]] as Plunkett<br />
* [[George Rose (actor)|George Rose]] as Popados<br />
* [[Alan Tilvern]] as German Captain<br />
* [[John Le Mesurier]] as Staff Colonel<br />
* [[M. E. Clifton James]] as Field Marshal Montgomery<br />
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There is one big gaffe in the film, when in one of the lorry journeys you see a photo of [[Dave Mackay]], of Spurs, stuck on the lorry canopy; clearly it dates from the 1959 period of the film, and not WW2, as 1959 was when Mackay began playing for Spurs Football team.<br />
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==Critical reception==<br />
''[[TV Guide]]'' called it a "Light little comedy."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/desert-mice/review/112724|title=Desert Mice - TV Guide|website=TVGuide.com}}</ref> and [[Sky Cinema]] "A good-hearted, sporadically enjoyable tribute to ENSA," whilst noting "an enjoyable roster of familiar British character actors, headed by Sidney James, Dora Bryan, Reginald Beckwith, Irene Handl and Dick Bentley, all seen at near their best. Director Michael Relph's serious-minded talents are not entirely suited to this featherweight farce, although he does deliver some agreeably funny moments."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sky.com/tv/movie/desert-mice-1959|title=Desert Mice|website=Find and Watch}}</ref><br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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==External links==<br />
*{{IMDb title|0052728}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:1959 films]]<br />
[[Category:North African campaign films]]<br />
[[Category:Military humor in film]]<br />
[[Category:British comedy films]]<br />
[[Category:1959 comedy films]]<br />
[[Category:British black-and-white films]]<br />
[[Category:Films set in deserts]]<br />
[[Category:Films shot at British National Studios]]<br />
[[Category:1950s English-language films]]<br />
[[Category:1950s British films]]<br />
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