Decision Before Dawn (1951)
Decision Before Dawn starts off really slow, but if you like old war movies, stick with it. The last half hour is very exciting and intense. The basic premise takes place at the tail end of the war. The Americans in charge of a POW camp are given orders to use some of the motivated Germans as spies. Not everyone’s in favor of it, especially Richard Basehart, but Gary Merrill carries out his orders anyway.
There are two really memorable parts of this movie: the scenery and a new face to the American screen. Oskar Werner, a German actor who gained instant popularity that lasted until his death in 1976, made his debut in Decision Before Dawn as one of the POWs who happily switches over to the other side. Once the action picks up, after the first forty-five minutes or so, you won’t be able to take your eyes off Oskar or keep from worrying about him. As to the scenery, it was one of the rare Hollywood films made that showed the wreckage done to Germany during the war. Many European films showed the ruins, but since we won, Americans tended to gloss over it and focus on brighter let’s-visit-Europe flicks like Three Coins in the Fountain. When you see crumbled buildings and rubble in the streets from bombings in this movie, they’re real.
If you generally enjoy a good war picture and you have patience, you can try this one out. It will make an impression when it’s all over; you’ll just need to give it time to get there.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "ASA Movie Craze" for posting!
More Richard Basehart movies here!
There are two really memorable parts of this movie: the scenery and a new face to the American screen. Oskar Werner, a German actor who gained instant popularity that lasted until his death in 1976, made his debut in Decision Before Dawn as one of the POWs who happily switches over to the other side. Once the action picks up, after the first forty-five minutes or so, you won’t be able to take your eyes off Oskar or keep from worrying about him. As to the scenery, it was one of the rare Hollywood films made that showed the wreckage done to Germany during the war. Many European films showed the ruins, but since we won, Americans tended to gloss over it and focus on brighter let’s-visit-Europe flicks like Three Coins in the Fountain. When you see crumbled buildings and rubble in the streets from bombings in this movie, they’re real.
If you generally enjoy a good war picture and you have patience, you can try this one out. It will make an impression when it’s all over; you’ll just need to give it time to get there.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "ASA Movie Craze" for posting!
More Richard Basehart movies here!