As you may have read in the trivia section on IMDb for this film, none of the four leads are the actual nationality of the characters they are portraying. While three of them do very credible jobs, the leading man, Franchot Tone, sounds absolutely nothing like an Englishman. If they had said he was a Canadian (as many Canadians DID serve in North Africa),it could have worked a bit better. This isn't saying that Tone's acting was bad--he was very good. He just didn't have the proper accent or anything close to it.

The film is a reworking of the film HOTEL IMPERIAL--a film doomed because of massive problems with its female leads. This problems with HOTEL IMPERIAL are discussed at great length in the book "The Hollywood Hall of Shame: The Most Expensive Flops in Movie History". In light of this, it's very surprising that FIVE GRAVES TO CAIRO was such a great success--both at the box office and when seen today--since it holds up very well.

The film begins with the defeat of the Brits in a battle with the Germans in North Africa. Franchot Tone is separated from his army and wanders into a hotel in an oasis town. He is delirious with heat stroke and collapses on the floor. The manager, Akim Tamiroff, aids him and hides Tone when the Nazis enter the town. Later, after Tone has recovered, he passes himself off as an Alsatian native. The ruse works only too well, as the big boss-man (Erich von Stroheim as Field Marshall Rommel) meets with Tone and begins talking about Tone's job as a German spy! It seems that the dead man who Tone is impersonating was working for the Germans--and bit by bit, Rommel tells him about a very important secret that might assist the Germans to take all of North Africa. Tone has to decide--should he murder Rommel or learn about the plot and get back to the British? See the film to see how all this works out--and to see how a very pretty young Anne Baxter fits into all this.

Overall, the film is well acted, directed and has nice writing. Apart from Tone's being cast as an Englishman, there isn't much I'd change about the film as it manages both to be a good propaganda film AND a film that still is interesting today because it lacks many of the usual clichés you'd see in most WWII films made during the war. Exceptional.

It's June 1942. Tobruk had fallen and Rommel is pursuing the British back to Cairo. A crippled British tank is slowly rolling across the desert with most of the crew dead. Sole survivor Corporal John Bramble stumbled out of the tank and gets stranded in the middle of nowhere. He happens upon the Empress of Britain, an isolated seaside hotel owned by Farid. The only remaining staff is French maid Mouche. Bramble assumes the identity of the dead waiter Davos. When he is summoned by Field Marshal Rommel, it's revealed that Davos was a German spy and Bramble is forced to play the part. Rommel proudly declares that he has secret supply depots all the way to Cairo.

There is good potential with this premise. I expected more tension with the possibility of being backstabbed by Mouche or Farid. There is some good tension with the Germans. The secret is good although the map is a bit small for precise locations. The bigger issue is the ending. It's not exciting. It has no thrills. Bramble should not expect anything good had happened to Mouche. I would rework that ending.

This picture was a popular hit in the time, concerning about historical deeds, as well as intrigue, action and comedy. In June 1942 things looked black indeed for British Eight Army. It was beaten, scattered and in flight Tobruck had fallen and the rats of desert were besieged . The victorious General Rommel(Erich Von Stroheim) and his Africa Korps were pounding the British back and back toward Cairo and the Suez Canal. On July first 1942, Rommel and his Afica Korps reached El Alamein, as far east as they ever got. The film is set on an Arab Hotel called Hotel Imperial, where its proprietary Farid(Akim Tamiroff) accords to let a British soldier named Bramble(Franchot Tone) assume the identity of a deceased barman. There finds a French chambermaid named Moush(Anne Baxter) whose interest is in obtaining her brother out of a Nazi POW camp . Then, she asks to German lieutenant(Peter Van Eich) to win her brother's release. But the dead waiter results to have been a German spy , so Bramble tries to know where the Nazi supply depots have been stashed. Later Bramble is assigned one mission in Cairo, and on September seventh 1942, a new made Lieutenant bought a parasol at a little shop in Cairo. On October twenty fourth to the skirt of a bagpipe General Montgomery's Eight Army launched its counter offensive .

The film displays suspense, intrigue, action as well as lots of humor and wartime feats. Excellent performances, special mention Erich Von Stroheim as one of his prestigious roles as Nazi general and Fortunio Bonanova as an Italian singer official. Interesting script by Charles Brackett; Billy Wilder also collaborated on the screenplay and is based on the play 'Hotel Imperial' by Lajos Biro. In 1938, started the famed friendship between Charles Brackett and Austrian born Billy Wilder, following his initial hit there the former year with very funny 'The major and the minor' and prospered on such movies as 'Hold back the dawn, Ball of fire and Ninotchka', before they became a director-writer-producer tandem with Billy Wilder doing the film-making . The movie packs an evocative cinematography in black and white by magnificent cameraman John B. Seitz. Atmospheric musical and appropriate musical score by the master Miklos Rozsa. This highly successful motion picture is perfectly directed by the classic Billy Wilder. Rating : Better than average, well worth watching.