Decision Before Dawn
| Decision Before Dawn | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Anatole Litvak |
| Produced by | Anatole Litvak Frank McCarthy |
| Screenplay by | Peter Viertel |
| Based on |
Call It Treason 1939 novel by George Howe |
| Starring |
Richard Basehart Gary Merrill Oskar Werner Hildegard Knef |
| Narrated by | Richard Basehart |
| Music by | Franz Waxman |
| Cinematography | Franz Planer |
| Edited by | Dorothy Spencer |
| Distributed by | Twentieth Century-Fox |
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Release date
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Running time
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119 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1.55 million (US rentals) |
Decision Before Dawn is a 1951 American war film directed by Anatole Litvak, starring Richard Basehart, Oskar Werner, and Hans Christian Blech. It tells the story of the American Army using potentially unreliable German prisoners of war to gather intelligence in the closing days of World War II. The film was adapted by Jack Rollens (uncredited) and Peter Viertel from the novel Call It Treason by George Howe.
It was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Film Editing and Best Picture.
The cities of Wurzburg, Nuremberg, and Mannheim where some of the picture was shot, were warned via newspaper and radio announcements when battle scenes, some of which were overseen by the U.S. Air Force, were to be filmed.
By late 1944, it is obvious that the Germans will lose the war. American Colonel Devlin (Gary Merrill) leads a military intelligence unit that recruits German prisoners of war to spy on their former comrades. "Tiger" (Hans Christian Blech), a cynical older thief and ex-circus worker, is willing to work for the winning side. On the other hand, "Happy" (Oskar Werner) is a young idealist who volunteers to spy after his friend is killed by fanatical fellow prisoners for voicing doubts about the war's outcome. Monique (Dominique Blanchar) trains Happy and the others in espionage techniques; she takes a liking to the young man, despite her hatred for Germans.
One day, Devlin receives word that a German general is willing to negotiate the surrender of his entire corps. Naturally, this is given top priority; because of the importance of the mission, an American officer has to go along. Devlin selects Lieutenant Rennick (Richard Basehart), a newcomer who distrusts the German turncoats. Tiger is chosen because he is the only one who knows the area, but he is under suspicion after returning from his last mission without his teammate. Happy is assigned the related task of locating the 11th Panzer Corps, which might oppose the wholesale defection. They parachute out of the same plane into Germany, then split up.
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Wikipedia