I cinque segreti del deserto

I'm lucky to live very close to a wonderful video store which has an incredible stock of VHS films. I read a description of the film here at the data base and put it on my list. It blew me away from the very first moment. Sadly , I've been unable to show it to many people since it seems to exist on DVD only in a PAL version although it has made its way to Divx recently . I can only compare it to Casablanca and The Desert Fox in terms of plot and the quality of the writing and acting. It was a pleasure to watch this actor Tone who was a complete novelty for me walk the tightrope that this story truly is. His history seems to suggest he lived life as he wanted to without much regard for fame .For once I'm glad not to see Cary Grant in a film (I never thought I would say that!).

This 1943 World War II film is Billy Wilder's second directorial effort and it's a pretty good outing. According to a recent biography of Wilder, Cary Grant was offered the lead and turned it down, saying he didn't feel like going on location in the desert near Yuma, Arizona in August. The part then fell to Franchot Tone who gave a good account of himself as did Anne Baxter and Akim Tamiroff.

The film though really revolves around Von Stroheim and his portrayal of Erwin Rommel. In 1943 all that was known of Rommel was his military prowess in the desert. After the war we learned about his part in the plot to assassinate Hitler and the real story of his death. That's all covered in The Desert Fox and in James Mason's outstanding portrayal there.

What we get here is a portrayal of a cold, merciless, military machine Hun and no one did that better than Erich Von Stroheim. You watch this as did so many in the theaters in 1943 after the North African campaign was over and he became the man you love to hate.

Because of what later came out about Rommel this film became immediately dated. Yet it's still a curiosity and worth a look.

Billy Wilder was one of the best directors of his era, so it's no surprise that, in spite of a certain amount of wartime propaganda, 'Five Graves to Cairo' has a fizzy plot, a strain of black humour and a lightness of touch that sets it apart from the majority of films made at this time. It's also interesting as a film made while the war was still going on: far from demonising the enemy, it provides a generous portrait of Rommel, an unpleasant but human German army and a comedy Italian general for light relief. The plot also features a cynical Frenchwoman and a slightly racist realisation of an Egyptian: in some ways it's surprising to see how little this almost-fresh picture differs from those made later (if anything, since we discovered Auschwitz, it's been harder to make a film that shows that humanises the Nazis). 'Five Graves to Cairo' isn't Citizen Kane, and of course today this sort of thing would be done with much more violence, sex, and swearing: but that's a kind of recommendation in itself.

Can Billy Wilder do no wrong? Except for the last few minutes, which are strictly WWII propaganda, this film is the goods. Franchot Tone's tone is at once sardonic and dutiful, a combination that brings out the irony of the situation he finds himself in when he stumbles into a bombed out hotel in the middle of the desert. It is the height of the war in North Africa, the British have retreated into Egypt, the German/Italian army is on the move, and there is intrigue in the air. There are other excellent performances by Anne Baxter and Akim Tamiroff and a scene reminiscent of "La Grande illusion," where Field Marshal Rommel, played with swagger and arrogance by Erich von Stroheim, entertains several British POW officers. Wilder handles the material deftly, his timing never falters, as the mystery and the tension build. As for those last few minutes, well, this film came out at the height of the war, so I'll forgive the propaganda excesses.

As a teen, during WW II, I saw nearly every war film released. This one is in the top 5. The fact that most of the story was in one locale allowed the various characters to expand. The plot twists were fascinating and the "5 graves" idea was quite believable. I was particularly swept away by Ann Baxter and Peter van Eyck. From that point on I followed her career up to her death. I would have given anything to look like Peter an Eyck. Too bad they nearly always made him the heavy in his movies. I think he had a lot of sex appeal and would have made a terrific love interest in certain films.