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 | 119m | English
Popularity: 6 (history)
| Director: | Anatole Litvak |
|---|---|
| Writer: | George Howe, Peter Viertel |
| Staring: |
| 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. | |
| Release Date: | Dec 21, 1951 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Anatole Litvak |
| Writer: | George Howe, Peter Viertel |
| Genres: | Action, Thriller, War |
| Keywords | spy, world war ii, prisoner of war, waffen ss |
| Production Companies | 20th Century Fox, Bavaria Film |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Aug 03, 2025 Entered: Apr 13, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| 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) |
| Gert Fröbe | German Corporal - Nuremberg Control Point (uncredited) |
| Werner Fuetterer | von Bülow (uncredited) |
| Elfe Gerhart | Barmaid (uncredited) |
| Loni Heuser | Fritzi Kollwitz (uncredited) |
| Alexander Kraft-Hohenlohe | German NCO (uncredited) |
| Charles Jacquemar | Volkssturmmann (uncredited) |
| Walter Janssen | Fiedl (uncredited) |
| Erik Jelde | German NCO (uncredited) |
| Klaus Kinski | Whining Soldier (uncredited) |
| Gerhard Kittler | German Lieutenant (uncredited) |
| Til Kiwe | Adjutant (uncredited) |
| Klaus W. Krause | German NCO (uncredited) |
| Walter Ladengast | German Deserter (uncredited) |
| Maria Landrock | Wehrmacht Girl (uncredited) |
| Herbert Lehnert | (uncredited) |
| Adi Lödel | Kurt (uncredited) |
| Peter Lühr | von Schirmeck (uncredited) |
| Emil Matousek | (uncredited) |
| Wolf Petersen | (uncredited) |
| Charles Regnier | German Prisoner (uncredited) |
| Arnulf Schröder | Old Prisoner of War (uncredited) |
| Paul Schwed | Man on Wehrmacht Bus (uncredited) |
| Kai-Siegfried Seefeld | (uncredited) |
| Uli Steigberg | (uncredited) |
| Peter Martin Urtel | German Soldier (uncredited) |
| Rudolf Vogel | Volkssturmmann (uncredited) |
| Hans von Morhart | Prisoner of War (uncredited) |
| Jaspar von Oertzen | Prisoner of War (uncredited) |
| Maria Wimmer | Woman in the Street (uncredited) |
| Harald Wolff | Hartmann (uncredited) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Anatole Litvak | Director |
| Franz Waxman | Original Music Composer |
| Gerd Oswald | Second Unit |
| George Howe | Novel |
| Dorothy Spencer | Editor |
| Franz Planer | Director of Photography |
| Ludwig Reiber | Art Direction |
| Leonid Raab | Conductor |
| Alfred Bruzlin | Sound |
| Harry M. Leonard | Sound |
| Peter Viertel | Screenplay |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Anatole Litvak | Producer |
| Frank McCarthy | Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 4 |
| 2024 | 5 | 8 | 14 | 3 |
| 2024 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 3 |
| 2024 | 7 | 9 | 23 | 4 |
| 2024 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 3 |
| 2024 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 3 |
| 2024 | 10 | 7 | 16 | 3 |
| 2024 | 11 | 6 | 15 | 3 |
| 2024 | 12 | 6 | 11 | 3 |
| 2025 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 3 |
| 2025 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
| 2025 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
Trending Position