Decision Before Dawn

1951

Decision Before Dawn

Critics Consensus

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100%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 6

72%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 340

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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 expatriate means what he says. At several critical junctures, it seems as though Werner had been lying about his mission, but at the last moment he saves Basehart's life at the cost of his own...but was this act of bravery intentional? A thoughtful World War II drama, Decision Before Dawn was filmed on location in Europe. Watch for a young and sickly-looking Klaus Kinski as an overeager defector.
  • Rating:
    NR
  • Genre:
    Action & Adventure, Classics, Drama, Mystery & Suspense
  • Directed By:
    Anatole Litvak
  • Written By:
    Peter Viertel
  • In Theaters:
     wide
  • On Disc/Streaming:
  • Runtime:
  • Studio:
    20th Century Fox Film Corporation

Cast

Richard Basehart
as Lt. Rennick
Oskar Werner
as Happy
Gary Merrill
as Col. Devlin
Hildegarde Neff
as Hilde
Dominique Blanchar
as Monique
O.E. Hasse
as Oberst Von Ecker
Wilfried Seyferth
as SS Man Scholtz
Hans Christian Blech
as Tiger
Helene Thimig
as Fraulein Schneider
Robert Freytag
as Paul
George Tyne
as Sgt. Watkins
Adolph Lodel
as Kurt
Arno Assmann
as Ernst
Loni Heuser
as Fritzi
Walter Janssen
as Fiedl
Erich Ebert
as Freddy
Ruth Brandt
as Woman Driver
Liselotte Kirschbaum
as Flak Girl
Eva Marie Andres
as Flak Girl
Aguste Hansen-Kleinmichel
as Newspaper Woman
Peter Martin Urtel
as Soldier
Otto Friebel
as Clerk
Paul Schwed
as Wehrmacht Bus Bit
Karl Malden
Meta Weber
as Woman
Henriett Speidel
as Woman
Ingeborg Luther
as Woman
Almut Bachmann
as Street Car Conductor
Ruth Trumpp
as Woman Attendant
Harold Benedict
as Lieutenant Gevers
Egon Lippert
as Lieutenant
Gerhard Kittler
as Lieutenant
Robert Freitag
as Paul
Rainier Geldern
as Panzer NCO
Klaus Kinski
as Whining Soldier
von Schmidel
as Man
Arnulf Schroeder
as Old PW
Bert Brandt
as NCOS
Erik Jelde
as NCOS
Max Herbst
as NCOS
Klaus Krause
as NCOS
Alex Hohenlohe
as NCOS
Jasper Gertzen
as POW
Ulrich Volkmar
as POW
Hans Mohrhard
as POW
Kurt Marquardt
as POW
Jochen Diestelmann
as Rathskeller Bit
Luitpold Kummer
as Rathskeller Bit
Heinrich Berg
as Rathskeller Bit
Dieter Wilsing
as Rathskeller Bit
Elfe Gearhart
as Bar Maid
Rudolf Heimann
as Truck Driver `Leschke'
Werner Fuetterer
as von Bulow
Lieselotte Steinweg
as Wehrmacht Girl
Elizabeth Millberg
as Wehrmacht Girl
Ulla Best
as Wehrmacht Girl
Katja Jobs
as Wehrmacht Girl
Eva Maria Hoppe
as Wehrmacht Girl
Maria Landrock
as Wehrmacht Girl
Sonja Kosta
as Wehrmacht Girl
Ernst Hoechstaetter
as Office Reception Desk
Harald Wolff
as Hartmann
Wolfgang Kuhnemann
as Clerk in Schleissheim
Walter Ladengast
as Deserter
Gerhard Steinberg
as Sgt. Klinger
Peter Lühr
as V. Schirmeck
Maria Wimmer
as Woman in the Street
Ursula Voss
as Street Car Conductor
Clemens Wilmenrod
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Critic Reviews for Decision Before Dawn

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

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
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