Film · Action, Thriller, War
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!
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.
- Director
- Anatole Litvak
- Writers
- George Howe, Peter Viertel
- Country
- Germany, United States
- Language
- English
- Release date
- December 21, 1951
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
Arno AssmannErnst Brandenbacher (uncredited)- Heinrich Berg(uncredited)
- Bert BrandtGerman NCO (uncredited)
Jochen Diestelmann(uncredited)- Ulrich FolkmarPrisoner (uncredited)
- Otto FriebelClerk (uncredited)
Gert FröbeGerman Corporal - Nuremberg Control Point (uncredited)
Werner Fuetterervon Bülow (uncredited)
