Decision Before Dawn
Decision Before Dawn

Movie·1951·1h 59m

Decision Before Dawn

A woman's kiss . . . A lighted cigarette - Each had Its meaning! An exciting and realistic story of war . . . of German Prisoners Sent Back Behind Their Own Lines as Agents of the Allies!

Country

United States of America

Language

German

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// overview

The Story

WWII is entering its last phase: Germany is in ruins, but does not yield. The US army lacks crucial knowledge about the German units operating on the opposite side of the Rhine, and decides to send two German prisoners to gather information. The scheme is risky: the Gestapo retains a terribly efficient network to identify and capture spies and deserters. Moreover, it is not clear that "Tiger", who does not mind any dirty work as long as the price is right, and war-weary "Happy", who might be easily betrayed by his feelings, are dependable agents. After Tiger and another American agent are successfully infiltrated, Happy is parachuted in Bavaria. His duty: find out the whereabouts of a powerful German armored unit moving towards the western front.

Written By

Peter Viertel

Producer

Anatole Litvak, Frank McCarthy

Cinematography

Franz Planer

Music

Franz Waxman

Editor

Dorothy Spencer

Themes

spyworld war iiprisoner of warwaffen ss

Production House

20th Century Fox
Bavaria Film

Audience Score

68%

49 votes

Skip11%
Timepass25%
Go for it38%
Perfection26%

Where to watch

Region: US

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// cast

Cast

Richard Basehart

Richard Basehart

Lt. Dick Rennick

Gary Merrill

Gary Merrill

Col. Devlin

Oskar Werner

Oskar Werner

Cpl. Karl Maurer - aka Happy

Hildegard Knef

Hildegard Knef

Hilde

Dominique Blanchar

Dominique Blanchar

Monique

O.E. Hasse

O.E. Hasse

Col. Oberst von Ecker

Wilfried Seyferth

Wilfried Seyferth

Heinz Scholtz, SS-Mann

Hans Christian Blech

Hans Christian Blech

Sgt. Rudolf Barth - aka Tiger

Helene Thimig

Helene Thimig

Fräulein Schneide

George Tyne

George Tyne

Sgt. Griffin

Robert Freitag

Robert Freitag

Sgt. Paul Richter

Harold Benedict

Lt. Pete Gevers

Arno Assmann

Arno Assmann

Ernst Brandenbacher (uncredited)

Heinrich Berg

(uncredited)

Bert Brandt

German NCO (uncredited)

Jochen Diestelmann

Jochen Diestelmann

(uncredited)

Ulrich Folkmar

Prisoner (uncredited)

Otto Friebel

Clerk (uncredited)

// crew

Crew

Anatole Litvak

Anatole Litvak

Director, Producer

Dorothy Spencer

Dorothy Spencer

Editor

Frank McCarthy

Producer

Peter Viertel

Peter Viertel

Screenplay

Franz Planer

Director of Photography

Franz Waxman

Franz Waxman

Original Music Composer

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