Decision Before Dawn *** (1951, Richard Basehart, Gary Merrill, Oskar Werner, Hildegard Neff) – Classic Movie Review 11,739

Director Anatole Litvak’s 1951 20th Century Fox black and white war thriller film Decision Before Dawn was Oscar nominated for Best Picture. It stars Richard Basehart, Gary Merrill, Oskar Werner and Hildegard Neff.

The Americans recruit German prisoners of war as spies in World War Two, including idealistic doctor Corporal Karl Maurer, aka Happy (Werner), who joins US officer Lieutenant Dick Rennick (Basehart) in a mission.

The screenplay by Peter Viertel is based on the 1949 novel Call It Treason by George Howe, in which the US Army uses potentially unreliable German prisoners to gather intelligence as World War Two ends.

Decision Before Dawn is a fascinating look at wartime intelligence, boosted by a resonant performance by the young Werner, strong support from Hildegard Knef as young war widow turned prostitute Hilde, and startling filming on war-torn German locations. Klaus Kinski appears too in an early bit part as ‘Whining Soldier’.

Dorothy Spencer was Oscar nominated for Best Film Editing.

Battle scenes overseen by the occupying US Air Force were shot in Würzburg, Nürnberg, and Mannheim.

The cast are Oskar Werner as Corporal Karl Maurer (“Happy”), Richard Basehart as Lieutenant Dick Rennick, Hans Christian Blech as Sergeant Rudolf Barth (“Tiger”), Gary Merrill as Colonel Devlin, Hildegard Knef as Hilde, Wilfried Seyferth as Heinz Scholtz, Dominique Blanchar as Monique, O E Hasse as Oberst (Colonel) von Ecker, Helene Thimig as Paula Schneider, Wilfried Seyfert and Robert Freytag.

 © Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,739

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