Five Graves To Cairo

June 1942. A lone soldier survives the German rout of the British forces outside Tobruk. Dazed with sunstroke, Corporal John J. Bramble makes his way to the only tenement he can find in the desert: the Hotel Empress of Britain. Taken in by the Egyptian owner and dour French maid, Bramble is astounded to find the hotel is set to become the base for the German High Command en route to the Suez Canal. Adopting the identity of the hotel's waiter, he is taken into the confidence of none other than the Desert Fox himself, Field Marshall Erwin Rommell. Rommell touts his infallible strategy to take the rest of Egypt: a mysterious plan codenamed Five Grave to Cairo. Can Corporal Bramble discover the details in time to stop the entire German army in its tracks?

Billy Wilder's enigmatic take on the propaganda film—made almost concurrently to events on the battlefield—is dominated by legendary actor/director Erich von Stroheim's magnetic star turn as the notorious German Field Marshall.

Critic Reviews:

• " It has a little something for all tastes, provided you don't give a darn. " – Bosley Crowther

• " Director Billy Wilder handles the varied story elements, countless suspenseful moments and vivid portrayals in excellent fashion. " – Variety Staff

• " An impressive wartime espionage thriller. " – Geoff Andrew