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The Commandos Strike at Dawn

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Erik Toresen (Paul Muni) is a mild-mannered widower who lives in a tranquil village on the coast of Norway. When Nazis occupy the area, however, the peaceful existence of Toresen and his neighbors is upended. Unwilling to tolerate German brutality, Toresen assembles a resistance movement and later discovers a secret Nazi military base. He then travels to England to inform Allied forces about the German location, and accompanies a group of commandos in an assault on the Nazis.
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The Commandos Strike at Dawn

Critics Reviews

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TIME Magazine 10/25/2017
A Norway raid is carried out with letter-perfect realism. Yet for all its realism the raid is strangely unexciting. Go to Full Review Edgar Anstey The Spectator 03/14/2018
At the end of it all we find that military considerations are abandoned, lives sacrificed and the whole operation imperilled because the hero's daughter must at all costs be rescued. The film is quite content to allow this piece of romantic nonsense. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Mark J @RT20598549 09/06/2024 Absolutely superb traditional British war film, style and standards, wonderful See more bill t @Spuzz 01/07/2019 Firstly, that title is hideous. OK. Paul Muni stars as a Norwegian fisherman (!!) who tries to make a difference when the Nazis come in and take over his town. He sneaks into Britain, and hooks up with some English friends to plan a raid. The first half of this is surprisingly very tense and very well made, where the 2nd half is more of the war picture. Paul Muni is weirdly cast here, and Lillian Gish looks sour because she's delegated to a distant supporting part here. And oh yes, THAT TITLE. See more 02/07/2012 more WWII morale boosters See more 02/21/2008 Erik Toresen, a passive Norwegian widower creates a resistance group against the Nazis after they occupy his quiet little fishing village and impose their terrorism. Especially for 1942 and filming in Canada, etc., they did a pretty good job on this movie. I can't say how historically accurate it is, of course, but as far as a movie goes, pretty good. See more Read all reviews
The Commandos Strike at Dawn

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Cast & Crew

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John Farrow

Director

Paul Muni

Erik Toresen

Anna Lee

Judith Bowen

Lillian Gish

Mrs. Bergesen

Cedric Hardwicke

Admiral Bowen

Ray Collins

Johan Bergesen
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The Commandos Strike at Dawn

The Commandos Strike at Dawn (1942) The Commandos Strike at Dawn (1942) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Erik Toresen (Paul Muni) is a mild-mannered widower who lives in a tranquil village on the coast of Norway. When Nazis occupy the area, however, the peaceful existence of Toresen and his neighbors is upended. Unwilling to tolerate German brutality, Toresen assembles a resistance movement and later discovers a secret Nazi military base. He then travels to England to inform Allied forces about the German location, and accompanies a group of commandos in an assault on the Nazis.
Director
John Farrow
Producer
Lester Cowan
Screenwriter
C.S. Forester, Irwin Shaw
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Production Co
Columbia Pictures Corporation
Genre
War
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 30, 1942, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 15, 2010
Runtime
1h 40m