Decision Before Dawn (1951) - film review

December 1944.  As World War II enters its final phase, the allied forces are concentrating their attention on Nazi Germany.  To hasten victory, German prisoners-of-war are sent back into their country as spies to gather invaluable intelligence. One such man is Karl Maurer, a young medic who, disillusioned with Nazism, is prepared to betray his country to ensure it has a better future...

Anatole Litvak returned to Hollywood having served with distinction in the United States Army during World War II to resume his successful film making career.  The experience of armed combat is reflected in his subsequent war films, of which this is perhaps the best example.  Decision Before Dawn is an unusual war film because it is remarkably unbiased (it portrays American and German soldiers in similar terms) and deals with an unusual subject, the morality of espionage.

The film is most memorable for its stunning exterior sequences which were set in real European locations that still showed the scars of war.  This, combined with Litvak’s trademark chiaroscuro photography, vividly conveys the misery and destructive nature of war, more so than many war films of this era. The film also benefits from some solid performances from a respectable cast, which includes a young Oskar Werner, who would later become famous for his role in François Truffaut’s Jules et Jim (1962).

© James Travers 2007

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