Poster for Decision Before Dawn

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!

  • War
  • Action
  • Thriller

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.

Rating
6.8 / 10 (50 votes)
Release date
December 21, 1951
Runtime
1h 59m
Language
English
Director
Anatole Litvak
Status
Released
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Top cast

  • Richard BasehartLt. Dick Rennick
  • Gary MerrillCol. Devlin
  • Oskar WernerCpl. Karl Maurer - aka Happy
  • Hildegard KnefHilde
  • Dominique BlancharMonique
  • O.E. HasseCol. Oberst von Ecker
  • Wilfried SeyferthHeinz Scholtz, SS-Mann
  • Hans Christian BlechSgt. Rudolf Barth - aka Tiger
  • Helene ThimigFräulein Schneide
  • George TyneSgt. Griffin
  • Robert FreitagSgt. Paul Richter
  • Harold BenedictLt. Pete Gevers

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