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Decision Before Dawn poster

Decision Before Dawn

Film1951119 min6.8/10 on TMDB

Directed by Anatole Litvak

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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!

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.Read moreLess

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.

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.

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Cast & crew

Richard BasehartRichard BasehartLt. Dick Rennick
Gary MerrillGary MerrillCol. Devlin
Oskar WernerOskar WernerCpl. Karl Maurer - aka Happy
O.E. HasseO.E. HasseCol. Oberst von Ecker
Wilfried SeyferthWilfried SeyferthHeinz Scholtz, SS-Mann
Hans Christian BlechHans Christian BlechSgt. Rudolf Barth - aka Tiger
Helene ThimigHelene ThimigFräulein Schneide
George TyneGeorge TyneSgt. Griffin
Robert FreitagRobert FreitagSgt. Paul Richter
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Screenplay
Peter Viertel
Original Music Composer
Franz Waxman
Director of Photography
Franz Planer