Decision Before Dawn (1951)

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    DECISION BEFORE DAWN


    DIRECTED AND PRODUCED BY ANATOLE LITVAK
    20th. CENTURY FOX



    Information From IMDb


    Plot Summary
    WWII is entering its last phase: Germany is in ruins, but does not yield. The US army lacks crucial knowledge about the German units operating on the opposite side of the Rhine, and decides to send two German prisoners to gather information. The scheme is risky: the Gestapo retains a terribly efficient network to identify and capture spies and deserters. Moreover, it is not clear that "Tiger", who does not mind any dirty work as long as the price is right, and war-weary "Happy", who might be easily betrayed by his feelings, are dependable agents. After Tiger and another American agent are successfully infiltrated, Happy is parachuted in Bavaria. His duty: find out the whereabouts of a powerful German armored unit moving towards the western front.
    Written by Eduardo Casais


    Cast
    Richard Basehart ... Lt. Dick Rennick
    Gary Merrill ... Col. Devlin
    Oskar Werner ... Cpl. Karl Maurer aka Happy
    Hildegard Knef ... Hilde (as Hildegarde Neff)
    Dominique Blanchar ... Monique
    O.E. Hasse ... Col. Von Ecker
    Wilfried Seyferth ... Heinz Scholtz - SS Man (as Wilfried Seyfert)
    Hans Christian Blech ... Sgt. Rudolf Barth aka Tiger
    Helen Thimig ... Fräulein Paula Schneider (as Helene Thimig)
    Robert Freitag ... Sgt. Paul Richter (as Robert Freytag)
    George Tyne ... Sgt. Griffin
    C.A. Amos ... U.S. Army Air Force First Lieutenant
    Harold Benedict ... U.S. Army Air Force staff-sergeant
    H.W. Briggs ... U.S. Army sergeant
    D.G. Devine ... U.S. Army Air Force corporal
    L.E. Dixon ... U.S. Army major
    B.L. Hendrickson ... U.S. Army top sergeant
    D. Kogel ... U.S. Army private
    S.I. Rice ... U.S. Army Pfc.
    F. Slaman ... U.S. Army Pfc.
    J.E. Stratton ... U.S. Army sergeant
    Eva Marie Andres ... Flak girl (uncredited)
    Arno Assmann ... Ernst Brandenbacher (uncredited)
    Almut Bachmann ... Streetcar conductor (uncredited)
    Kemp Batchelor ... Martin (uncredited)
    Heinrich Berg ... Bit part (uncredited)
    Ulla Best ... Wehrmacht girl (uncredited)
    Bert Brandt ... German NCO (uncredited)
    Ruth Brandt ... Woman driver (uncredited)
    Don Devine ... GI driver (uncredited)
    Jochen Diestelmann ... Bit part (uncredited)
    Erich Ebert ... Freddy (uncredited)
    Ulrich Folkmar ... Prisoner (uncredited)
    Otto Friebel ... Clerk (uncredited)
    Gert Fröbe ... German corporal - Nuremberg control point (uncredited)
    Werner Fuetterer ... von Bülow (uncredited)
    Rainer Geldern ... Panzer NCO (uncredited)
    Elfe Gerhart ... Barmaid (uncredited)
    Auguste Hansen-Kleinmichel ... Newspaper woman (uncredited)
    Rudolf Heimann ... Leschke - truck driver (uncredited)
    Max Herbst ... German NCO (uncredited)
    Loni Heuser ... Fritzi Kollwitz (uncredited)
    Ernst Höchstätter ... Office receptionist (uncredited)
    Alex Hohenlohe ... German NCO (uncredited)
    Eva Maria Hoppe ... Wehrmacht girl (uncredited)
    Walter Janssen ... Fiedl (uncredited)
    Erik Jelde ... German NCO (uncredited)
    Katja Jobs ... Wehrmacht girl (uncredited)
    Klaus Kinski ... Whining soldier (uncredited)
    Liselotte Kirschbaum ... Flak girl (uncredited)
    Gerhard Kittler ... German lieutenant (uncredited)
    Til Kiwe ... Adjutant (uncredited)
    Sonja Kosta ... Wehrmacht girl (uncredited)
    Klaus W. Krause ... German NCO (uncredited)
    Wolfgang Kuhnemann ... Clerk in Schleissheim (uncredited)
    Luitpold Kummer ... Bit part (uncredited)
    Walter Ladengast ... German deserter (uncredited)
    Maria Landrock ... Wehrmacht girl (uncredited)
    Egon Lippert ... German lieutenant (uncredited)
    Adi Lödel ... Kurt (uncredited)
    Peter Lühr ... von Schirmeck (uncredited)
    Ingeborg Luther ... Woman (uncredited)
    Kurt Marquardt ... Prisoner (uncredited)
    Elisabeth Millberg ... Wehrmacht girl (uncredited)
    Charles Régnier ... German prisoner (uncredited)
    Von Schmidel ... Man (uncredited)
    Arnulf Schröder ... Old Prisoner of War (uncredited)
    Paul Schwed ... Man on wehrmacht bus (uncredited)
    Henriette Speidel ... Woman (uncredited)
    Gerhard Steinberg ... Sgt. Klinger (uncredited)
    Liselotte Steinweg ... Wehrmacht girl (uncredited)
    Ruth Trumpp ... Woman attendant (uncredited)
    Peter Martin Urtel ... German Soldier (uncredited)
    Hans von Morhart ... Prisoner (uncredited)
    Jaspar von Oertzen ... Prisoner (uncredited)
    Meta Weber ... Woman (uncredited)
    Clemens Wilmenrod ... German NCO (uncredited)
    Dieter Wilsing ... Bit part (uncredited)
    Maria Wimmer ... Woman in the street (uncredited)
    Harald Wolff ... Hartmann (uncredited)



    Writing credits
    (in alphabetical order)
    George Howe novel "Call It Treason"
    Jack Rollens uncredited
    Peter Viertel writer


    Produced by
    Anatole Litvak .... producer
    Frank McCarthy .... producer


    Trivia
    * The producers and director Litvak chose to film the movie in post war Germany because of perfect background settings - destroyed buildings - and the availability of great numbers of German original WW2 equipment such as tanks and costumes, weapons etc.


    Goofs
    * Miscellaneous: Before Karl (AKA Happy) parachutes back into Germany, the US crewman in the aircraft says that he is glad "every time that a string of hundred pounders leave that bomb rack". The aircraft that they are in is a C47, a cargo plane, and did not have bomb racks.


    * Factual errors: Karl is mistakenly called a corporal. The Luftwaffe uniform that he wears both in the US POW cage and while back in Germany has the rank insignia of an "Obergefreiter", specifically three winged emblems on the collar patches, plain shoulder straps and two chevrons on his left sleeve. Also when the list is checked for his name at the bridge the rank is written down as 'Gfr' (gefreiter) The ranks of Gefreiter, Obergefreiter and Stabsgefreiter (all which were partially identified by chevrons on the sleeve) were not NCOs and had no command authority over other soldiers. They were simply grades of seniority and would be more equivalent to Private First Class (PFC) in the US military. The German rank that is the closest equivalent to Corporal is Unteroffizer. Also, Karl is wearing the medical badge on his right sleeve; Luftwaffe enlisted medical personnel wore the badge on the left sleeve, while Wehrmacht (army) wore it on the right.


    * Continuity: Early in the movie, Lt. Rennick and his driver, Sgt. Griffin, are driving in an open jeep to Rennick's new headquarters at the convent. It is clearly winter with snow on the ground and leafless trees. Yet, when they drive up to their headquarters gate, it now looks like early summer, with trees with full leaves and no snow on the ground. Then, it's back to winter again with heavy snow when Happy parachutes back into Germany.

    Filming Locations
    Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
    Munich, Bavaria, Germany
    Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Bavaria, Germany
    Würzburg, Bavaria, Germany

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

    Edited 4 times, last by ethanedwards ().

    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 the American Army using potentially unreliable German prisoners of war
    to gather intelligence in the closing days of World War II.
    The film was adapted by Jack Rollens (uncredited) and Peter Viertel
    from the novel Call It Treason by George Howe.


    It was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Film Editing and Best Picture.



    User Review

    Quote

    What memories this must have dredged up
    9 December 2004 | by Mike (fmadams) (Hutto, TX)
    Having served in the US Army-Europe in Germany it was easy to see that this work was an accurate depiction of the world as Germans saw it in those years. Going to the IMDb database confirmed that it was filmed in Wurzberg, a city I visited many times. One can not help but wonder what memories and nightmares came back to life for the German people in this movie, or the ones who viewed it, or even witnessed the movie being made. The film is so very realistic in script, acting, and setting that some must have almost thought WWII was alive again. For those that lived through WWII in that country it must have seemed as if those days were repeating themselves. Every detail of this movie is accurate as far as I could tell. It does not employ overused stereotypes, no action heroes, no earth shaking grand and glorious finale, it simply depicts a period of time in all its' tragedy and irony in a most realistic manner. This work deserves more praise and exposure than it has received. A must see for every WWII researcher and historian.

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

    Edited 3 times, last by ethanedwards ().

    I purchased this movie on Carl's request last year when it was released.

    If anyone is a fan of WW2 films they will enjoy this one. It also has something for people who enjoy espionage/spy movies as well. Very well acted and well written film that keeps you guessing till the end. I liked Richard Basehearts acting in this film but Oskar Werner is who is the most captivation in this movie. I highly recommend this movie if you are a war film fan and atleast see if you can rent it if you are not sure.

    Life is hard, its even harder when your stupid!!
    -John Wayne

    Hi Keith, Todd and all. Sorry I had not had time to post much here with the operation and moving house and all but, here goes my review for: Decision Before Dawn.

    Decision Before Dawn starts out where an American Signals Officer by the name of Rennick ( played by my most favorite actor apart from Duke: Richard Basehart) afte being wounded during the Normandy landings-his Infantry carrerr is cut short and he is transferred to an Intelligence unit.

    On the way to his new post, his Jeep drive gets lost and they soon run across a knocked out German Halftrack (which BTW, is the REAL deal) and they see movement which turns out to be two German soldiers one whom will be known by the code name: "Happy."

    These two Prisoners are taken to a camp where after making a defeatist comment, the 2nd man is killed witnessed by "Happy." Happy in turn, decides to volunteer to work for the AMericans as he is disgusted with the Nazi mentality. Happy undergoes special traiing and soon is headed on a mission which also includes Lt. Rennick and another former German soldier/allied operative known as "Tiger."

    Happy is dropped near a own in Bavaria, and his mission is to find out where the 11th Panzer Korps is located. Along the way, he meets with various characters-one whom knew him from civilian life and whom almost blows his cover.

    Along the way, he also meets up with SS Special Courier (Wilfrid Seyffarth) and travels with him not knowing that he is also a Gestapo Agent. They travel to another city where they take a room at a "Soldatenheim" (Soldiers Home) or the German version of a USO shelter.

    While at this Soldatenheim, one of the entertainers (Hildegard Knef) ""knows"" that Happy is not legit and that she sympathizes with him and later tells him that the Gestaop is watching him. Both then hop a ride on a transport truck where (Knef) points out that the soldier wearing the eyeglasses, is also a Gestapo agent and who was told (by the SS Special Courier) to watch Corporal Maurer-who is supposed to be named Steiner.

    They near a bridge that leads to Heidelberg and all have to leave the vehicle as the bridges in the area all have been destroyed. This is when the man w/ the glasses actually meets (Steiner) and while they are walking together, several American fighter planes appear and bome and strafe the German column. During this time, the man w/ the eyeglasses, decides to try to kill (Steiner) but who is instead killed by Steiner. Steiner then goes over and finds a sheet of paper that is printed weekly that has the names of soldiers who can no longer be trusted for some reason and are to be arrested and questioned. Steiner also finds the dead mans Gestapo Warrent Disc and throws it away. He also takes the sheet of names and keeps it.

    Later he makes his way over another bomb-damaged bridge, and sees that there is an Wehrmacht Checkpoint ahead checking I.D's and also notices that one of the men has the new sheet with his name on it. He decides to throw away his Soldbuch (I.D./Pay Book) which was fake and also had (Steiners) false info on it. However, as he gets to the front of the line, the SS men start questioniing (Steiner) at who he is, and he tells them he is Corporal Maurer-but they find that he is wearing (Steiners) Dog Tags and tell him to step over to be with a group o soldiers to be questioned.

    Maurer does so and then uses this as a chance to make an escape. As he does so, several Feldgendarmerie--the German version of the Military Police) aka "Chained Dogs," go after him. He makes his way through the rubble of bombed out buildinigs and makes huis way to what used to be an Opera House-and sucessfully hides from the German Military Police. BTW, all of those Military Policemen are carrying my all-time most favorite weapon ever made-which is a Sturmgewehr 44 or also known as an MP-43.

    During the cover of darkness, (Maurer-ex-Steiner) makes his way to Nekkerstrasse18-which is located in the highly bombed out City of Mannheim. All the rubble, uniforms, vehicles etc and extras you see who played soldiers from both sides-are the real deal. Maurer finds his way to the building and gets brought in by "Tiger" who takes him to Lt. Rennick. Rennick questions him and is told (to Tigers chagrin) where the location of the 11th Panzer Korps is. While there, they get visited by a German Officer-who was supposed to have info about his unit possibly surrendering but it's all for naught.

    After the officer leaves, Rennick decides to leave as well and has the men come w/ him. Tiger takes them to a relative apartment where a young teenager who is in the Hitler Youth-is home. The boy questions why they are not at the front figlting like his father was, but is told to go into another room. This boy does so, then spies on Rennick, Tiger and Happy and hears them speaking English. The boy is noticed by them running away, and he is let go by Rennick and the boy runs to some soldiers to report these men.

    The soldiers start searching for these men who have since hidden. This is a classic Film Noir scene where Richard Basehart (Lt. Rennick) is hiding in the shadows of a damaged wall, and the boy comes in and notices Rennick hiding-rennick then partly moves his face out of the shadows which then "Puts-a-face" to a man the boy knows will be killed if captured. The boy cries after he realizes what has happened and tells the soldiers that he was mistaken about anyone trying to escape.

    Rennick and his detachment have no choice now, than to try to make it back to allied lines. They start off and soon have to evade many German Soldiers while trying to get to the river to swim across. They succeed in evading the soldiers and "Tiger" has his 2nd thoughts about returning with them and runs away only to be shot down by Rennick. Happy and Rennick make it part way across the wide river to an island but Happt develops a cramp and becomes a hinderance.

    Rennick goes on as Happy is spotted and turns himself in. Rennick finally reaches the opposite shore where he is challenged by some G.I's and shot at. In the end, at his debriefing, he finds out from his CO that though his mission was successful, the info is by then-invalid. Rennick (thinking) decides that "Happy" should be remembered because he gave up his life in order to help out the Allies.

    My opinion about this movie basically is that it's the best war movie I have ever seen. All of the actors did a great job in performing. You cannot get any more real, than this movie. Everything you see, blown up buildings, down to the buttons on a mans tunic-is the real deal.

    Es Ist Verboten Mit Gefangenen In Einzelhaft Zu Sprechen..

    Edited once, last by The Ringo Kid ().