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Decision Before Dawn

1951 · Movie · NR · 119 min · ★ 6.8 · 95% critics

WarActionThriller

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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Details
Years
1951
Release date
1951-12-21
Language
English
Rated
NR
Runtime
119 min
Critic score
95/100
TMDB rating
6.8/10 (49 votes)
Box office
$1,550,000

Themes

  • spy
  • world war ii
  • prisoner of war
  • waffen ss

Awards & recognition

  • National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
  • Academy AwardBest Film Editing · 1952 · nominated
  • Academy AwardBest Picture · 1952 · nominated

Cast & crew

Directed by Anatole Litvak