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Decision Before Dawn (1951)

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Average Rating: 7.8/10
Reviews Counted: 5
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 0

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Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 1
Fresh: 1 | Rotten: 0

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Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 256

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Movie Info

With the Third Reich disintegrating, several members of the German army are defecting to the Americans and offering their services as spies. US officer Gary Merrill trusts none of these last-minute "converts", but German prisoner Oskar Werner seems to be sincere. Werner insists that by helping the Americans, he is saving Germany from destruction. Merrill sends Werner behind enemy lines for counter-espionage with an American officer (Richard Basehart), who still isn't convinced that the German

Unrated, 1 hr. 59 min.

Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense, Classics

Directed By: Anatole Litvak

In Theaters: Dec 21, 1951 Wide

On DVD: May 23, 2006

Cast

Richard Basehart
Lt. Rennick
Gary Merrill
Col. Devlin
Oskar Werner
Happy
Hildegarde Neff
Hilde
O.E. Hasse
Oberst Von Ecker
Dominique Blanchar
Monique
Hans Christian Blech
Tiger
Wilfried Seyferth
S.S. Man Scholtz
Helene Thimig
Fraulein Schneider
George Tyne
Sgt. Griffin
Eva Marie Andres
Flak Girl
Arno Assmann
Ernst
Harold Benedict
Lieutenant Gevers
Ruth Brandt
Woman Driver
Erich Ebert
Freddy
Loni Heuser
Fritzi
Walter Janssen
Fiedl
Klaus Kinski
Whining Soldier
Liselotte Kirschbaum
Flak Girl
Walter Ladengast
Deserter
Adolph Lodel
Kurt
Karl Malden
Arnulf Schroeder
Old PW
Harald Wolff
Hartmann
Jochen Diestelmann
Peter L�hr
V. Schirmeck
Otto Friebel
Clerk
Werner Fuetterer
von Bulow
Erik Jelde
Robert Freitag
Paul
Helen Thimig
Hildegard Knef

Critic Reviews for Decision Before Dawn

All Critics (5) | Top Critics (1) | Fresh (5) | Rotten (0) | DVD (2)

Werner, who served in the Axis forces during the war, gives a magnetic performance.

January 31, 2012 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

| Comment

J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

An outstanding production in all aspects.

January 31, 2012 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide

| Comment

TV Guide's Movie Guide

It's most noted for being more sympathetic to peace loving German soldiers than are most American war films.

April 14, 2008 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews

| Comment

Dennis Schwartz

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Litvak's intriguing account of U.S. Intelligence operation during the last year of WWII was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, boasting a good performance from the young Oskar Werner as a sensitive and naive German soldier-traitor.

January 24, 2008 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

| Comment

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

The film manages to be suitably hard on the Nazi regime while providing one of the first sympathetic treatments of the German people.

May 2, 2006 Full Review Source: Goatdog's Movies

| Comment

Michael W. Phillips, Jr.

Goatdog's Movies Source: Goatdog's Movies

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Audience Reviews for Decision Before Dawn

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WWII drama about a group of German P.O.W.'s who were persuaded to spy for the allied war effort. Part docu-drama, part Hollywood propaganda. Entertaining but less than substantial.

February 5, 2009

Randy Tippy

Super Reviewer

A World War 2 spy movie that was nominated for Best Picture and forgotten immediately thereafter, and for mostly good reasons. In the name of full disclosure I'll admit that I was mostly distracted by other things when I was watching this. Similar to Rio Grande, I found that this had a very long build up and by the

July 5, 2008