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Betrayal and Bravery: The Rhine Mission
War,Thriller,Action United States of America,Germany
Decision Before Dawn is a 1951 black and white war drama directed by Anatole Litvak, and stars Richard Basehart as "Happy," Gary Merrill as "Tiger," and Oskar Werner as the German-speaking American lieutenant Berger. The film is based on the 1949 book "Call It Treason" by George Howe and tells the story of two US soldiers who are tasked with infiltrating Nazi Germany to gather information about enemy troop movements.
The first half of the movie follows the mission of Tiger and the other American agent, who are disguised as German deserters and sent into a prisoner of war camp. They are tasked with gathering information about the German troops on the other side of the Rhine. After successfully infiltrating the camp, Tiger and the other agent are able to gather important intelligence, but the mission takes a deadly turn when the Gestapo begins to suspect their true identities.
In the second half of the movie, Happy is parachuted into Bavaria to gather information about a powerful German armored unit that is moving towards the Western front. Happy is a war-weary soldier who has lost faith in the war effort and is struggling with PTSD. He is reluctant to complete his mission and has trouble trusting his German-speaking American contact, Lieutenant Berger.
As Happy delves deeper into his mission, he becomes more and more conflicted. He is torn between his duty to his country and his feelings of sympathy for the German people, who are suffering in the final days of the war. Happy finds himself forming a close bond with a young German woman named Hilde (played by Hildegard Knef), who is also struggling to survive in war-torn Germany.
As the German armored unit approaches, Happy must make a difficult decision about what to do with the information he has gathered. In the end, he chooses to sacrifice his own safety to warn Allied forces about the approaching German troops. The movie ends with Happy being airlifted out of Germany, but it is unclear what will happen to Hilde and the other German civilians who have been caught up in the war.
The first half of the movie follows the mission of Tiger and the other American agent, who are disguised as German deserters and sent into a prisoner of war camp. They are tasked with gathering information about the German troops on the other side of the Rhine. After successfully infiltrating the camp, Tiger and the other agent are able to gather important intelligence, but the mission takes a deadly turn when the Gestapo begins to suspect their true identities.
In the second half of the movie, Happy is parachuted into Bavaria to gather information about a powerful German armored unit that is moving towards the Western front. Happy is a war-weary soldier who has lost faith in the war effort and is struggling with PTSD. He is reluctant to complete his mission and has trouble trusting his German-speaking American contact, Lieutenant Berger.
As Happy delves deeper into his mission, he becomes more and more conflicted. He is torn between his duty to his country and his feelings of sympathy for the German people, who are suffering in the final days of the war. Happy finds himself forming a close bond with a young German woman named Hilde (played by Hildegard Knef), who is also struggling to survive in war-torn Germany.
As the German armored unit approaches, Happy must make a difficult decision about what to do with the information he has gathered. In the end, he chooses to sacrifice his own safety to warn Allied forces about the approaching German troops. The movie ends with Happy being airlifted out of Germany, but it is unclear what will happen to Hilde and the other German civilians who have been caught up in the war.