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Decision Before Dawn

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!

1951 · NR · 1h 59m

Directed by Anatole Litvak

6.8

TMDB audience score
50 votes, out of 10

Trailer Where to watch

Synopsis

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.

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Trailer

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Cast

  • Richard Basehart
    Lt. Dick Rennick

  • Gary Merrill
    Col. Devlin

  • Oskar Werner
    Cpl. Karl Maurer - aka Happy

  • Hildegard Knef
    Hilde

  • Dominique Blanchar
    Monique

  • O.E. Hasse
    Col. Oberst von Ecker

  • Wilfried Seyferth
    Heinz Scholtz, SS-Mann

  • Hans Christian Blech
    Sgt. Rudolf Barth - aka Tiger

  • Helene Thimig
    Fräulein Schneide

  • George Tyne
    Sgt. Griffin

  • Robert Freitag
    Sgt. Paul Richter

  • Harold Benedict
    Lt. Pete Gevers

  • Arno Assmann
    Ernst Brandenbacher (uncredited)

  • Heinrich Berg
    (uncredited)

  • Bert Brandt
    German NCO (uncredited)

  • Jochen Diestelmann
    (uncredited)

  • Ulrich Folkmar
    Prisoner (uncredited)

  • Otto Friebel
    Clerk (uncredited)