Decision Before Dawn (1951)

recommended

An absolute waste of money

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

People remember Oskar Werner for his role in Fahrenheit 451, but this was his best role in one of the best WWII films in history. The sets are spectacular and would be impossible to recreate today. Richard Basehart, typically a ham, was excellent. There were some really great WWII films, like The Train, The Two Headed Spy, Bridge on the River Kwai and Stalag 17. This one was nominated for Best Picture 1951, and truly deserved it! Toward the end of the war, Nazi Germany was struggling with a collapsed economy, broken infrastructure and a deeply damaged and demoralized population. Both sides used underhanded and conniving methods to win the war, and this true story shows just how far they were willing to go. This is a very well made movie, which was an effort to make in 1951, and would be impossible to make today.

I have seen 147239423 war films, so it takes a very unusual one to merit an 8. Heck, I almost gave this one a 9--it's that good and that unique.The film is set in the latter portion of WWII. A group of German prisoners are recruited to become spies for the Americans. They want the men to sneak back into Germany and pinpoint targets for them. However, most of the Germans are still very loyal to Hitler and the only ones willing are selfish jerks. An exception is a young man played by Oskar Werner. Unlike his countrymen, he really sees the war as an evil thing and agrees to go back into his homeland on an espionage mission. Can he discover what the Allies want AND make it out alive? I liked this film--even though Werner's performance was a bit too muted. In other words, he was generally very quiet and somewhat expressionless--an acting style he carried into other film such as "Fahrenheit 451" and "Jules and Jim". But, as I said, I still liked the film. Perhaps the biggest reason was that it was actually filmed in Germany and I was surprised that I recognized so many locales (I've visited the country a couple times). Würzburg in the movie really WAS Würzburg! And, one portion was clearly filmed in Rothenburg. Additionally, the story was unique and quite tense. Well worth your time--though it is odd how in old films the Germans almost always seem to speak English!! I wish they'd just used German with subtitles.

Don't know how anyone misses this or rates it less than a 7 even if you hate war,old, or even 'guy' films, whatever. Check the writer (OSS experience as German émigré, AND brilliant screenwriter), director, and uh, oh yeah..Best Picture nomination? Drama as realism, almost documentary. Filmed entirely in Europe in 1950/1. No postcards like this.Casting is strong and lack of facetime from big stars makes it all the more real. Cinematography effective, sets courtesy of 8th Air Force and Nazi disaster. True story with enough facts to make it hard to criticize, although a little hard to swallow the very end. Simple dialogue, washed out souls, the ugly and sad situation of German nation as war wound down is very painful, even if backdrop to underlying Allied victory story.Special shot -- 12minutes in catch 10 seconds of baby-(crazy-)faced Klaus Kinski as rejected 'traitor' POW. He was 24 and just starting in films, shortly after skipping out of hospital, from his first bout with "schizophrenia"

Nice war movie from the old Hollywood school. Pretty modern style of filming, if movie wasn't black and white the one could say that it was from the last decades. Just a fast talking acting style of one or two actors that is typical for the beginning of the Sound film era in Hollywood makes you aware on how this movie really old is. Clever camera, fast and engaging rhythm, tense as a thriller at the times. Pretty convincing acting, very good casting and fantastic war recreation for that time, city in ruins and AA guns look like real. Film is ruined by German characters speaking English language with German accents, making the good actors look like clowns and the whole film like some History Channel show. Also, definition of the main character in the film is somehow lost until the end itself since there is no interaction between separate stories of the characters during the whole film, we are losing two of three main heroes for the whole hour. Worth to mention that movie is pushing strong American propaganda stereotype established by its father Franc Capra: There is no "Prelude to war" hear, but the reason "Why we fought" and black and white distinguishing of good and bad made by the winners. Or should I say one of the winners, since this film as many others made in that era ignores by all means the others (especially Soviet Union - country which really military defeated Nazi Germany) on the very careful and clever way. 7 out of 10, recommended.