Decision Before Dawn (1951)
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100% of critics liked it
(5 reviews) -
63% of users liked it
(278 ratings)
With the Third Reich disintegrating, several members of the German army are defecting to the Americans and offering their services as spies. US officer Gary Merrill trusts none of these last-minute "converts", but German prisoner Oskar Werner seems to be sincere. Werner insists that by… More With the Third Reich disintegrating, several members of the German army are defecting to the Americans and offering their services as spies. US officer Gary Merrill trusts none of these last-minute "converts", but German prisoner Oskar Werner seems to be sincere. Werner insists that by helping the Americans, he is saving Germany from destruction. Merrill sends Werner behind enemy lines for counter-espionage with an American officer (Richard Basehart), who still isn't convinced that the German expatriate means what he says. At several critical junctures, it seems as though Werner had been lying about his mission, but at the last moment he saves Basehart's life at the cost of his own...but was this act of bravery intentional? A thoughtful World War II drama, Decision Before Dawn was filmed on location in Europe. Watch for a young and sickly-looking Klaus Kinski as an overeager defector. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Anatole Litvak
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Dec 21, 1951 Wide
- On DVD
- May 23, 2006
Critic Reviews
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J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
Werner, who served in the Axis forces during the war, gives a magnetic performance.
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, TV Guide's Movie Guide
An outstanding production in all aspects.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
It's most noted for being more sympathetic to peace loving German soldiers than are most American war films.
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Litvak's intriguing account of U.S. Intelligence operation during the last year of WWII was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, boasting a good performance from the young Oskar Werner as a sensitive and naive German soldier-traitor.
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Michael W. Phillips, Jr., Goatdog's Movies
The film manages to be suitably hard on the Nazi regime while providing one of the first sympathetic treatments of the German people.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
Featured Audience Ratings
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Cast
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Richard Basehart
as Lt. Rennick
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Gary Merrill
as Col. Devlin
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Oskar Werner
as Happy
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Hildegarde Neff
as Hilde
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O.E. Hasse
as Oberst Von Ecker
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Dominique Blanchar
as Monique
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Hans Christian Blech
as Tiger
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Wilfried Seyferth
as S.S. Man Scholtz
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Helene Thimig
as Fraulein Schneider
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George Tyne
as Sgt. Griffin
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Eva Marie Andres
as Flak Girl
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Arno Assmann
as Ernst
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Harold Benedict
as Lieutenant Gevers
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Ruth Brandt
as Woman Driver
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Erich Ebert
as Freddy
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Loni Heuser
as Fritzi
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Walter Janssen
as Fiedl
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Klaus Kinski
as Whining Soldier
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Liselotte Kirschbaum
as Flak Girl
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Walter Ladengast
as Deserter
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Adolph Lodel
as Kurt
- Karl Malden
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Arnulf Schroeder
as Old PW
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Harald Wolff
as Hartmann
- Jochen Diestelmann
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Peter Lühr
as V. Schirmeck
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Otto Friebel
as Clerk
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Werner Fuetterer
as von Bulow
- Erik Jelde
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Robert Freitag
as Paul
- Helen Thimig
- Hildegard Knef
