Five Graves To Cairo (1943)

Here is a classic addition to many spy movie lists.  It is good, I think there are some better movies that are less well known but it is still pretty good.  I really liked the change of theater to Africa and having Rommel as the ” big bad nazi”, it was a refreshing change of pace.

I really liked Anne Baxter, Akim Tamiroff and the Italian general best.  Franchot was a decent leading man but I liked the supporting cast a bit better.  The plot makes for a fun spy thriller and the film-making was good.  Maybe that was what made it stand out so much?  In a cinematic era of increasingly banal films, this one felt like a pretty decent effort.

I liked it and am happy to recommend it.  It has spies, a laundry code and map steganography.  Plus it’s in Egypt!

–Kryptosfan

p.s.  Did anyone else expect a murder mystery style movie about 5 people who died on the way to Cairo?  Me neither!

p.p.s.  DId the location of the graves remind anyone else of how you find Swallow Falls in the Atlantic?

p.p.p.s.  Did her death seem like pointless sentimentalist propaganda bullshit?