Five Graves to Cairo

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steve d I thought it was a lot of fun. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Really good ! Great cast included Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/30/22 Full Review matthew d Peril during World War II like you've never seen before. Director Billy Wilder's WWII espionage thriller Five Graves to Cairo (1943) is one of his greatest films. His use of shadowy hallways, striking dynamics between the British and Germans, and intricately mysterious clues to what the Fives Graves to Cairo are is all fascinating spy stuff. Seeing a film that takes place during World War II while the war was still being engaged is eerie as you see where certain troops advanced and others fell in real time. I love Billy Wilder's dark and moody direction as the film also balances this serious story with tons of comedy and a sense of adventure. I honestly prefer when Wilder directs dramas like Witness for the Prosecution, Sunset Boulevard, Double Indemnity, and Five Graves to Cairo as opposed to his endless onslaught of comedies. Five Graves to Cairo is the embodiment of film noir direction and a classic war movie. Franchot Tone is pretty cool and cunning as the British tank trooper Bramble, who pretends to be the old waiter Paul Davos. Tone is a reassuring presence of confidence, arrogance, and intellect as the often sly hero Bramble. Anne Baxter is absolutely glowing with radiant beauty as the poor French maid Mouche. You feel her indignant rage at the British for abandoning troops at Dunkirk, while feeling devastating at her futile pleas to the German officers for her brother's freedom from a concentration camp. Anne Baxter is one of my favorite actresses of all time, so it's neat to see her so young and vibrant with a fierce will, effortless grace, adorable French accent, and steadfast intelligence. Akim Tamiroff is hilarious as the Egyptian hotel owner Farid. You'll laugh at all of his exaggerated mannerisms and feeding the Germans' egos for his survival. Erich von Stroheim is absolutely terrifying with his booming German voice and imposing gravitas as Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. Peter van Eyck is so disgusting as the forceful and manipulative liar Lieutenant Schwegler. Fortunio Bonanova is pretty funny as the ever complaining and jolly singing Italian General Sebastiano. Writers Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett clearly influenced Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds with their unique and clever ruse to trick Germans. You get many parallels to Tarantino's beloved war epic here. Five Graves to Cairo features a complex and fun series of people hiding out in Egypt to avoid German capture. I do appreciate how the film centers about the fact that this picture is a testament to those who died sacrificing themselves to defeat the Nazi German scourge upon humanity. It's interesting to see a British, French, Egyptian, Italian, and German perspective in Five Graves to Cairo. Editor Doane Harrison's sharp cuts keep Five Graves to Cairo moving right along at a steady pace for 96 brief minutes. I love all the cuts from lighter comedic moments to deathly serious war strategy and espionage intrigue. Cinematographer John F. Seitz' black and white shots use shadows like textures for a haunting mood inside this dreary hotel. I love the striking wide shots everywhere with this aura of light around faces during Seitz' close-up shots. Anne Baxter's face reveal is a wondrous moment in cinema. Hans Dreier and Ernst Fegté's art direction wields shadows and darkness against harsh Sunlight for a uniquely breathtaking aesthetic throughout Five Graves to Cairo. Bertram C. Granger's set decoration looks realistic for this dingy and run down Egyptian hotel. Composer Miklós Rózsa finds a stunning main theme that repeats his gorgeous music for Five Graves to Cairo. I was pleasantly surprised at how memorable this score remains. Edith Head's dresses are lovely on Anne Baxter, while her uniforms all match the German military outfits of the era. Wally Westmore's make-up always looks perfect in these old films. In conclusion, I highly recommend Five Graves to Cairo for an enthralling and tense series of spy work and war drama. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Una de las primeras peliculas del maestro Billy Wilder. Se nota su gran talento. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/15/23 Full Review s r Suspenseful ww2 drama based in North Africa. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Terrifically fun second film written and directed by Billy Wilder. Wilder quickly established himself as a versatile writer/director by following up his successful comedy "The Major and the Minor" with a tight, suspenseful WWII thriller about a lone allied soldier who discovers five secret caches of German supplies scattered across the county to conquer Egypt. Erich von Stroheim plays Field Marshal Rommel and is a terrific villain for the film. For a director who has several undisputed film classics, this one is not in his top tier of films, but Wilder's bar is significantly higher than most filmmakers and this film certainly an above average wartime thriller. Well worth watching! Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Five Graves to Cairo

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