
Hold Back the Dawn
1941 · Movie · NR · 116 min · ★ 6.7 · 90% critics
Romanian-French gigolo Georges Iscovescu wishes to enter the USA. Stopped in Mexico by the quota system, he decides to marry an American, then desert her and join his old partner Anita, who's done likewise. But after sweeping teacher Emmy Brown off her feet, he finds her so sweet that love and jealousy endanger his plans.
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Details
- Years
- 1941
- Release date
- 1941-09-26
- Language
- English
- Rated
- NR
- Runtime
- 116 min
- Critic score
- 90/100
- TMDB rating
- 6.7/10 (50 votes)
Themes
- jealousy
- mexico
- immigration
- border
- telephone
- gigolo
- tobacco
- teacher
- love
- american
- green card
- told in flashback
Awards & recognition
- Academy Award — Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay · 1942 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Picture · 1942 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Actress · 1942 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Art Direction, Black and White · 1942 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Cinematography, Black-and-White · 1942 · nominated
Show all 6 awards →
- Academy Award — Best Original Dramatic Score · 1942 · nominated
Cast & crew

Charles Boyer
as Georges Iscovescu

Olivia de Havilland
as Emmy Brown

Paulette Goddard
as Anita Shaughnessy

Victor Francen
as Van Den Luecken

Walter Abel
as Inspector Hammock

Curt Bois
as Bonbois

Rosemary DeCamp
as Berta Kurz

Eric Feldary
as Josef Kurz

Nestor Paiva
as Flores
- EP
Eva Puig
as Lupita
Directed by Mitchell Leisen