Five Graves to Cairo
For the first shot of Erich von Stroheim as Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in this film, director Billy Wilder shot him in a close-up from the back of his neck as an establishing shot. Wilder said, "Standing with his stiff fat neck in the foreground he could express more than almost any actor with his face.",When John Bramble is introduced to the Germans as Paul Davos, a calendar is behind him on the wall. It is a 1942 calendar but shows Saturday, July 4th in red as a holiday...which of course is not a holiday in Egypt.,Lt. Schwegler: [checking his guidebook entry about the hotel] You have a native cook by the name of Berek.
Farid: [nervous] Terek, sir. Terek. Yes, sir. But he ran away this morning. With the British to Alexandria.
Lt. Schwegler: [checking the guidebook] You have a wife.
Farid: Oh, yes, sir. Yes. But *she* run away. Yes, sir.
Lt. Schwegler: With the British to Alexandria?
Farid: No, sir. With a Greek to Casablanca.,Featured in TCM Guest Programmer: Bill Hader (2010),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.,