Decision Before Dawn (1951)
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!
119 min
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.
- Release date
- December 21, 1951
- Country of origin
- United States
Trailer
Cast
- Richard Basehart as Lt. Dick Rennick
- Gary Merrill as Col. Devlin
- Oskar Werner as Cpl. Karl Maurer - aka Happy
- Hildegard Knef as Hilde
- Dominique Blanchar as Monique
- O.E. Hasse as Col. Oberst von Ecker
- Wilfried Seyferth as Heinz Scholtz - SS Man
- Hans Christian Blech as Sgt. Rudolf Barth - aka Tiger
- Helene Thimig as Fräulein Paula Schneider
- Robert Freitag as Sgt. Paul Richter
Crew
- Anatole Litvak · Director
- Peter Viertel · Writer
- George Howe · Writer
- Anatole Litvak · Producer
- Frank McCarthy · Producer
- Franz Waxman · Composer
- Franz Planer · Cinematographer
- Dorothy Spencer · Editor