Five Graves to Cairo
US (1943): Spy/Suspence/War
The Sahara heats up as Allied spies try to outwit "Desert Fox" Rommel (Erich von Stroheim) in this Paramount political thriller ably helmed by Billy Wilder. Franchot Tone takes refuge in an oasis hotel run by Akim Tamiroff just after the Afrika Korps rumbles through. He assumes a dead hotel waiter's identity, who also happens to have been a spy for Rommel. The intelligent Wilder-Brackett screenplay (adapted from the play by Lajos Biró) keeps things bouncing along with intense suspense and a dash of humor. The set for Fives Graves to Cairo, a replica of the Egyptian village of Sidi, was built near Indio, California, on the Salton Sea. Workers dug adobe from nearby hills and hauled it to the site, where 40,000 bricks were constructed. (amctv.com)
3 nominations
· Interior Decoration (Black and White) 1943: Hans Dreier & Ernst Fegte - Art Direction, Bertram Granger - Set Decoration
· Cinematography (Black and White) 1943: John F. Seitz
· Film Editing 1943: Doane Harrison