Decision Before Dawn
Directed by Anatole Litvak
Written by Peter Viertel from the novel “Call It Treason” by George Howe
1951/USA
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation/Bavaria Fild
First viewing/Amazon Instant
[box] Lt. Dick Rennick: [Intro narration] Of all the questions left unanswered by the last war, and probably any war, one comes back constantly to my mind. Why does a spy risk his life… for what possible reason? If the spy wins, he’s ignored. If he loses, he’s shot.[/box]
This “now-it-can-be-told” WWII war movie is a bit heavy on the propaganda. It’s not bad though.
Col. Devil (Gary Merrill) finally gets permission to recruit German POWs for voluntary espionage work behind enemy lines. New unit radioman Lt. Rick Devlin (Richard Basehart) is sceptical that Nazi soldiers can be trusted. Among the first Germans to be recruited are “Tiger” a cynical ex-con and “Happy” (Oskar Werner), an idealistic medic. Ironically, Devlin is assigned to accompany them as communicator.
The story primarily follows Happy’s adventures. He is saddened by the cynicism and lingering fascism among his people and conflicted about providing information that could endanger his doctor father in a bombing raid. Nevertheless, he changes Devlin’s mind about Germans. With Hildegard Knef as a kind of double agent lush.
I couldn’t get too excited about this movie but Werner is very good in his Hollywood debut and the action sequences are convincing. The movie makers aim of rehabilitating the image of Germans is not well concealed and there is a bit of speechifying as well. The movie was shot on location in Germany and shows the devastation still evident five years after the war was over.
Decision Before Dawn was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Film Editing.
Trailer
Robert Osborne TCM Intro
