The wartime espionage thriller FIVE GRAVES TO CAIRO, starring Franchot Tone and Anne Baxter, marks Billy Wilder's second directorial effort. John J. Bramble Tone), the sole survivor of a British tank crew, makes his way to a desolate desert town where he is given refuge by a hotel owner (Akim Tami off) and a French chambermaid (Baxter) who prepare to receive General Erwin Rommel (Erich Von Stroheim) and his German staff. Posing as the hotel's waiter, Bramble attempts o infiltrate Rommel's inner circle and report the general's plans to the Allies.