Decision Before Dawn - 1951

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.

119min
1951
NR
Released
Trakio rating0.0/10
IMDB rating7.2/10

Cast

Richard Basehart profile pictureRichard BasehartLt. Dick Rennick
Gary Merrill profile pictureGary MerrillCol. Devlin
Oskar Werner profile pictureOskar WernerCpl. Karl Maurer - aka Happy
O.E. Hasse profile pictureO.E. HasseCol. Oberst von Ecker
Wilfried Seyferth profile pictureWilfried SeyferthHeinz Scholtz, SS-Mann
Hans Christian Blech profile pictureHans Christian BlechSgt. Rudolf Barth - aka Tiger
Helene Thimig profile pictureHelene ThimigFräulein Schneide
George Tyne profile pictureGeorge TyneSgt. Griffin
Robert Freitag profile pictureRobert FreitagSgt. Paul Richter
Arno Assmann profile pictureArno AssmannErnst Brandenbacher (uncredited)
Gert Fröbe profile pictureGert FröbeGerman Corporal - Nuremberg Control Point (uncredited)
Werner Fuetterer profile pictureWerner Fuetterervon Bülow (uncredited)
Elfe Gerhart profile pictureElfe GerhartBarmaid (uncredited)
Loni Heuser profile pictureLoni HeuserFritzi Kollwitz (uncredited)
Walter Janssen profile pictureWalter JanssenFiedl (uncredited)
Klaus Kinski profile pictureKlaus KinskiWhining Soldier (uncredited)
Til Kiwe profile pictureTil KiweAdjutant (uncredited)
Walter Ladengast profile pictureWalter LadengastGerman Deserter (uncredited)
Maria Landrock profile pictureMaria LandrockWehrmacht Girl (uncredited)
Charles Regnier profile pictureCharles RegnierGerman Prisoner (uncredited)
Uli Steigberg profile pictureUli Steigberg(uncredited)
Peter Martin Urtel profile picturePeter Martin UrtelGerman Soldier (uncredited)
Rudolf Vogel profile pictureRudolf VogelVolkssturmmann (uncredited)
Jaspar von Oertzen profile pictureJaspar von OertzenPrisoner of War (uncredited)
Harald Wolff profile pictureHarald WolffHartmann (uncredited)

About Decision Before Dawn

Decision Before Dawn Overview

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.

Age Rating: NR
Runtime: 119min

Extra details

Original Title: Decision Before Dawn
Original Language: English
Directed By: Anatole Litvak
Production Companies
Bavaria Film20th Century Fox