Decision Before Dawn

1951, Drama/War, 1h 59m

6 Reviews 250+ Ratings

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Decision Before Dawn Photos

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Movie Info

During World War II, an American intelligence unit led by Col. Devlin (Gary Merrill) is recruiting German prisoners of war to infiltrate enemy lines and gather vital information. Lt. Rennick (Richard Basehart) heads a unit of Germans that includes the mistrustful "Tiger" (Hans Christian Blech) and the wide-eyed "Happy" (Oskar Werner). When word arrives that a German general is about to negotiate the surrender of his corps, Devlin sends Rennick and his volunteers on a dangerous mission.

Genre:

Drama, War, Mystery & thriller
Original Language:

English
Director:

Anatole Litvak
Producer:

Anatole Litvak, Frank McCarthy
Release Date (Theaters):

Dec 21, 1951 original
Release Date (Streaming):

May 23, 2006
Runtime:

1h 59m
Distributor:

20th Century Fox

Cast & Crew

Richard Basehart
Lt. Dick Rennick

Gary Merrill
Col. Devlin

Oskar Werner
Cpl. Karl Maurer

Hildegard Knef
Hilde

Dominique Blanchar
Monique

O.E. Hasse
Col. Von Ecker

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Critic Reviews for Decision Before Dawn

All Critics (6) | Top Critics (2) | Fresh (6)

Full Review… Bob Thomas Associated Press

Full Review… J. R. Jones Chicago Reader

Full Review… Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Full Review… Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com

Full Review… Michael W. Phillips, Jr. Goatdog's Movies

View All Critic Reviews (6)

Audience Reviews for Decision Before Dawn

Jul 25, 2013

I would thought that the appetite for these types of films would have waned once the war ended but here we have another mainly propaganda type film that is mildly entertaining if not deep. Perhaps this was to rally the troops to get ready for Korea.

John B Super Reviewer
Feb 05, 2009

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.

Randy T Super Reviewer
Jul 05, 2008

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 time they got to their actual mission I had sort of lost interest and started screwing around on my laptop while watching it.

MJS M Super Reviewer