Five Graves to Cairo (1943)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Lajos Biró (play) and
Charles Brackett (screenplay)

Release Date:

4 May 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | War

Tagline:

Did a Woman Start the Rout of Rommel?

Plot:

The fate of Cairo is in the hands of a British corporal undercover in Rommel's headquarters.

Plot Keywords:

Desert | Map | WWII | Reference To Winston Churchill | Tank

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars.

Cast

Franchot Tone	...	Cpl. John J. Bramble / Davos
Anne Baxter	...	Mouche
Akim Tamiroff	...	Farid
Erich von Stroheim	...	Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
Peter van Eyck	...	Lt. Schwegler (as Peter Van Eyck)
Fortunio Bonanova	...	Gen. Sebastiano

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | USA:Approved (certificate #9090) | Australia:PG | Finland:S | Sweden:15

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Bramble walks/runs into the town his shadow is behind him, then in front, then again behind him.

Quotes:

[Sebastiano, an Italian general, has just learned that he has been assigned to a hotel room with no running water by the condescending German officers]
Gen. Sebastiano: Another kick in the face! They let us die, but they don't let us wash! Well, what did we expect? As we say in Milano, "When you lie down with dogs, you wake up with fleas!"
Cpl. John J. Bramble: That's right, sir.
[Sebastiano looks at Bramble, nervously]
Gen. Sebastiano: [cautioning him] You haven't heard anything...
Cpl. John J. Bramble: Of course not, sir. From so far away, how can I hear what they say in Milano?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Shadows of Suspense (2006) (V)

Billy Wilder shows them Nazies

Franchot Tone plays a British tank commander, corporal John Bramble who survives Erwin Rommel's (Erich von Stroheim) Afrika Korps in the North African desert.He walks into a small desert hotel.There he meets the hotel owner Farid (Akim Tamiroff) and Mouche (Anne Baxter).Bramble takes the identity of the former hotel worker and now deceased Davos after the Germans take over the hotel.Billy Wilder's wartime thriller Five Graves to Cairo (1943) is a really fine movie.This movie has many intense moments.I could mention the fighting scene between two men in a dark room with only the flashlight bringing some light.Franchot Tone is perfect in the lead.He does at least as good job as Wilder's first choice Cary Grant would have done.Anne Baxter was a woman blessed both with good looks and talent.Akim Tamiroff as the nervous Farid is great.Erich von Stroheim, the great director and the great actor does a real good performance as Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.Billy Wilder was a fantastic director.They're showing his movies on Sundays here in Finland right now.This one is a real good movie from his production.All you Wilder fans out there- don't miss it.