Decision Before Dawn

Sales Rank: 66777
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Product Desc: Amazon.com
Rooting for a German soldier was a daring choice for a movie made in 1951, but Decision Before Dawn justifies the risk; this is a crackling good war movie. In late 1944, the Allies are pushing through Europe but need intelligence behind German lines. Two Americans (Richard Basehart, Gary Merrill) recruit German POWs and enlist them to spy on their former Fatherland. We follow the adventures of one such agent, arrestingly played by the young Oskar Werner, who parachutes into Bavaria and gathers information. (Oddly, the film abandons Basehart and another recruit, marvelously played by Hans Christian Blech, who have also gone under cover.) The well-deployed suspense is accompanied by a constant examination of what it means to be German, and what loyalty to one's country really entails--dutiful devotion or skeptical rebellion? This question doesn't go deep (there's a sense that the movie is a make-nice effort toward a new economic ally), but the film is on solid ground whenever the clockwork suspense takes over. Hildegarde Knef (here billed under her Hollywood spelling, Neff) turns up as a conflicted fraulein. Director Anatole Litvak, shooting on location, gets some amazing shots of bombed-out buildings and ruined towns; in that sense, the film is almost like a documentary record of the postwar landscape. Decision Before Dawn was nominated for the best picture Oscar, but became a lesser-known film in the decades that followed. It deserves a higher profile. --Robert Horton

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Amazon.com
Rooting for a German soldier was a daring choice for a movie made in 1951, but Decision Before Dawn justifies the risk; this is a crackling good war movie. In late 1944, the Allies are pushing through Europe but need intelligence behind German lines. Two Americans (Richard Basehart, Gary Merrill) recruit German POWs and enlist them to spy on their former Fatherland. We follow the adventures of one such agent, arrestingly played by the young Oskar Werner, who parachutes into Bavaria and gathers information. (Oddly, the film abandons Basehart and another recruit, marvelously played by Hans Christian Blech, who have also gone under cover.) The well-deployed suspense is accompanied by a constant examination of what it means to be German, and what loyalty to one's country really entails--dutiful devotion or skeptical rebellion? This question doesn't go deep (there's a sense that the movie is a make-nice effort toward a new economic ally), but the film is on solid ground whenever the clockwork suspense takes over. Hildegarde Knef (here billed under her Hollywood spelling, Neff) turns up as a conflicted fraulein. Director Anatole Litvak, shooting on location, gets some amazing shots of bombed-out buildings and ruined towns; in that sense, the film is almost like a documentary record of the postwar landscape. Decision Before Dawn was nominated for the best picture Oscar, but became a lesser-known film in the decades that followed. It deserves a higher profile. --Robert Horton

Amazon.com: Decision Before Dawn: Richard Basehart, Gary Merrill ... Rooting for a German soldier was a daring choice for a movie made in 1951, but Decision Before Dawn justifies the risk; this is a crackling good war movie. In late ... Decision Before Dawn - Rotten Tomatoes - Movies Movie Trailers ... Review: With the Third Reich disintegrating, several members of the German army are defecting to the Americans and offering their services as spies. US... Decision Before Dawn (1951) - Online Movie Wiki - ShareTV Decision Before Dawn Wiki and Online Community (Movie, First Released Dec 21st, 1951). Keep track when Decision Before Dawn is released in theaters, DVD and Blu-ray. 1951 Decision before dawn - YouTube Pelcula 1951: Decisin al amanecer (Ingls, subttulos en espaol). Nominada al Oscar como Mejor pelcula de 1951. Dirigida por Anatole Litvak ... Decision Before Dawn (1951) - IMDb Director: Anatole Litvak. Actors: Richard Basehart: Lt. Dick Rennick Gary Merrill: Col. Devlin Oskar Werner: Cpl. Karl Maurer aka Happy Hildegard Knef: Hilde ... Decision Before Dawn Netflix Decision Before Dawn - Set during World War II's waning days, this taut thriller stars Oskar Werner as Cpl. Karl Maurer, a turncoat German prisoner of war sent on a ... Decision Before Dawn Trailer and Cast - Yahoo! Movies A very realistic WWII action film, DECISION BEFORE DAWN was shot in 1951 on location in a war-ravaged Germany, using actual former POWs in many of the roles. Decision Before Dawn - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Decision Before Dawn is a 1951 American war film directed by Anatole Litvak, starring Richard Basehart, Oskar Werner, and Hans Christian Blech. It tells the story of ... Decision Before Dawn (1951) - Overview - TCM.com Overview of Decision Before Dawn, 1951, directed by Anatole Litvak, with Richard Basehart, Gary Merrill, Oskar Werner, at Turner Classic Movies Decision Before Dawn Moviefone - Movies Movie Times Tickets ... Starring Richard Basehart, Gary Merrill, Oskar Werner ... With the Third Reich disintegrating, several members of the German army are defecting to the Americans and ...