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Decision Before Dawn

1951 · 119 min

A grim, patient war thriller that keeps you tense and quietly moved by the moral weight of its choices.

Tagline
A woman's kiss . . . A lighted cigarette - Each had Its meaning! An exciting and realistic story of war . . . of German Prisoners Sent Back Behind Their Own Lines as Agents of the Allies!
Overview
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.
In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • tensestrength 3 of 3
  • darkstrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • war
  • betrayal
  • loyalty
  • morality
  • survival
Places
  • countryside
  • big city
  • military
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • true story
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language mild
  • Violence strong
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action6
Horror3
Humour2
Realism8
Romance2
Tension8
Darkness7
Complexity7
Emotional weight8

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
war, action, thriller
Directed by
Anatole Litvak
Written by
Peter Viertel
Starring
Richard Basehart, Gary Merrill, Oskar Werner, Hildegard Knef, Dominique Blanchar, O.E. Hasse, Wilfried Seyferth, Hans Christian Blech
Music
Franz Waxman
Cinematography
Franz Planer
Runtime
119 min
Country
United States of America, Germany
Languages
German, English

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