Five Graves to Cairo (1943)

The Worst Film Ever

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Good concept, poorly executed.

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Great WW2 film from Billy Wilder, a reworking of the silent film Hotel Imperial. The plot has British officer Franchot Tone, the sole survivor of a battle with the Nazis in which all of the men in his tank crew were killed, wandering into a hotel in the North African desert. He's delirious and rambling but the hotel owner (Akim Tamiroff) and a French maid (Anne Baxter) take care of him. Soon the Nazis arrive, led by Erwin Rommel (a commanding performance from Erich von Stroheim), and Tone takes the place of a German spy working at the hotel who was killed the night before. It's not typical Wilder perhaps but it is interesting with a lot to recommend about it. The great cast, mature script, and touches of dark humor go a long way to help it rise above the average wartime actioner. I actually like many of those movies so no offense is meant towards them. This is definitely worth a look, even if you don't typically enjoy war movies.

It's WW2 and British corporal Franchot Tone (Bramble) is unconscious inside a runaway tank somewhere in the Sahara. He stumbles across a bombed hotel where he is met by the owner Akim Tamiroff (Farid) and the chambermaid Anne Baxter (Mouche). Minutes later, German troops arrive under the leadership of Peter van Eyck (Lt. Schwegler) who takes over the hotel to accommodate his troops and a special guest yet to arrive – none other than the main man Erich von Stroheim (Field Marshal Rommel). Tone is in trouble at this point – what to do? Anne Baxter doesn't particularly like him and threatens to betray him to the new guests. He has to do something bold.I enjoyed this film. It has a different setting to most war films and it doesn't involve any battles apart from the flag-waving nonsense at the end, which, unfortunately, knocks a point off this film as it goes on for too long. The actors do well, especially von Stroheim and Baxter, although her name in this film isn't very complimentary! Both these actors give their characters a depth that brings them to life. The comedy characters of Tamiroff and Italian General Fortunio Bonanova are OK for what they need to do although Tamiroff can be slightly annoying and Fortunio Bonanova is as unrealistic as his name. It doesn't matter too much as we get a film that keeps the viewer watching with tense scenes and an interesting storyline that ends on an emotional note.

I remember seeing this movie as a kid on Channel 9 in NYC as part of their Million Dollar Movie series. They always showed the same movie various times for one week. I thought it was great when I was a kid, 9 or 10, and have loved seeing it a few times over the years. My old friend sent me a email saying he saw this great movie and did I ever see it. I felt like the cat that swallowed the canary. Tone is one of our great actors but many don't know his name. Some time after seeing this movie I saw him on the Ben Casey MD TV Show. I knew it was him although he looked different. My wife said her mother loved Tone but my wife had never seen his photo. It's good to have IMDb !

The films of writer, producer director Billy Wilder are regarded as some of the finest works of cinematic art in the history of motion pictures. Wilder, who with a handful of film pioneers such as John Ford, Howard Hawks, Anthony Mann, John Houston and Henry Hathaway et al forged and created a unique style in the production of films that today are looked upon as enduring, inspired and unsurpassed classics. In the case of Wilder such dramatic and sublime fare as "Double Indemnity" (1944), "Ace In the Hole" (1951) and Hollywood's greatest film about itself "Sunset Boulevard" (1950). Plus his comedies like "The Apartment" (1960) and "Some Like It Hot" (1959) - regarded by many to be the funniest film ever made - can never, let's face it, be equalled. There is a timelessness and ageless quality about them that reaches out to anyone who watches them regardless of their generation. Contemporory film maker Cameron Crowe observed "Wilder's work is a treasure trove of flesh and blood individuals, all wonderfully alive".It is hard to believe that one of Wilder's earliest Hollywood efforts FIVE GRAVES TO CAIRO was made in 1943. It seems to be a much later film in look, approach and concept. Yet this quite intriguing spy drama was the result of the day's headlines being utilized by Wilder for the movie's scenario. Based on Lajos Biro's play "Hotel Imperial" it was superbly written by Charles Brackett and Wilder and sharply photographed in monochrome by John Seitz. It was produced by Brackett for Paramount Pictures and was masterfully directed by Wilder. Franchot Tone is British tank Corporal John Bramble who stumbles into a Sahara oasis hotel after crawling through the desert during the North African campaign in 1942. The Germans also arrive at virtually the same time headed by none other than the infamous German Field Marshall Erwin Rommel (Erich Von Stroheim). Rommel and his command take up residence in the hotel run by nervous local Arab Farid (Akim Tamiroff) and an attractive Alsatian maid Mouche (Anne Baxter). To conceal his identity Bramble pretends to be the hotel waiter and as such tries to find out from the formidable quest exactly where on the map the German arms dumps are located. With help from Farid and the maid and gaining Rommel's confidence he eventually acquires the information but not before Mouche sacrifices herself so that Bramble can leave and get back to the British lines.Performances are uniformly excellent! Tone gives an engaging portrayal of a reluctant spy. Anne Baxter has rarely been better than here in the role of the ill-fated Mouche and the amusing Akim Tamiroff as the ever fearful and stammering Farid is as appealing as ever. But the picture belongs to Von Stroheim! His striking performance just steals the show. Although the actor didn't resemble Rommel in the slightest his embodiment of the character is exactly what you would imagine the great German battlefield strategist should have, perhaps, looked like. Rommel himself died in 1944. It is interesting to ponder if he ever saw the picture and what his thoughts on Von Stroheim's flamboyant portrayal of himself might have been.Complimenting the picture throughout is the terrific score by Miklos Rozsa. Rozsa was one of Wilder's favourite composers and wrote the music for some of the director's best films like "Double Indemnity" (1944), "Lost Weekend" (1945) and "The Private Lives Of Sherlock Holmes" (1970). For FIVE GRAVES TO CAIRO he wrote a spirited and heroic march to point up the British forces movements and a reflective and ravishing character theme for the maid Mouche which is given lovely renditions on solo violin.FIVE GRAVES TO CAIRO is a superb and suspenseful spy thriller set in an atmospheric war background. And thanks to the great Billy Wilder it's a great movie that simply refuses to age in its appeal.Classic moment from FIVE GRAVES TO CAIRO:Rommel, sitting up in bed as Mouche (Anne Baxter) enters with his breakfast, "I don't like women in the morning" he declares and when she pours his coffee and with a gesture of the back of his hand he instructs her to "take two steps back please".