Entscheidung vor Morgengrauen

Close to the end of WW2, the US military recruits Nazi defectors from the ranks of German POW's to return to Germany as spies. Klaus Kinski makes a brief appearance during the interview process, but his character is rejected. Who is accepted to participate in this mission is incomparable Oskar Werner as Corporal Karl Maurer who is given the code name Happy. It's an ironic name for such a serious actor. He's perfect for the part in this heavy film set largely in the destruction of bombed out cities. Such a setting makes it difficult for the Germans to actually capture him, as when they are on to his trail, the aerial Allied bombings begin again. There are lots of places to hide amidst the treacherous ruins of the near collapsing buildings.Yet the Germans try to maintain discipline to the very end, as a deserter is hanged and his body is left for all to see. The film uses the destruction in which it is set and reminds us of how things change when the peace time environment becomes lost amidst the destruction. Werner goes through several meetings with Germans, the best being the Colonel who orders the deserter to be hanged, and another with the tragic character played by Hildegard Knef, whom he meets in a bar. Amidst the desperation still lurks a couple of true Nazi believers, one played quite well by Wilfred Seyferth as Heinz Scholtz, a dangerous SS man who befriends the traitor Werner. The film is overwhelmingly stark and lacks any sense of humor whatsoever, but in my book that just adds to the overall effect, much like some of the Cold War era spy films, such as The Spy Who Came In From The Cold.

Those were the outcasts of WW2.German war prisoners who decided to rebel against their country.

Karl-aka "Happy" - agrees to become a spy in the "pay" of Americans at the end of WW2 in his country .A country in ruins.The "Third Reich " which should have lasted one thousand years was collapsing.Oskar Werner gives a restrained moving performance.If "underacting" has a meaning (not meant pejoratively) ,that's exactly what it is.He watches his country fall as if he does not belong there anymore.He meets people he used to know ,a girl (Knef) he could love (but he won't),but he knows from the start that wherever he goes,he is an outcast.His new "Friends" use him as a pawn in their game,and " his motherland will not cradle him anymore" .

Anatole Litvak,an European who used to work in France -where the first scenes take place- in the thirties (and later would in the fifties/sixties)knows what he is talking about.He joined the army during WW2;and "decision before dawn" was one of his finest achievements .

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Vent d' Est Robert Enrico 1993

Surprisingly good war film unknown to me before I saw it on American Movie Classics. Cast is excellent. Characters are well-drawn. The film is the best portrayal I have yet seen on celluloid of Germany in its stages of final collapse as the end of WWII nears. Some very impressive interiors are beautifully shot - the cathedral that serves as intelligence hq, and the castle or chateau that is the German command hq. Engrossing story of conflicted loyalties, and good action and suspense as well. I can only add my agreement with the positive comments already entered.

I have seen this film on cable several times. Some of the scenes that are supposed to be in Wurzburg are actually in Munich. The chase scene in the rubble towards the end of the film was near the old Bavarian "Rezidence" or Royal palace that the Wittelsbach family lived in near the old town area of Munich. I recognized the Kriegsmuseum building which is now the seat of the Bavarian state government. Other than that I really enjoyed the film. Having read countless stories about the demise of the once mighty Wehrmacht this film was, to me, accurate in its portrayal of soldiers beaten down and waiting for the inevitable end. Werner has been one of my favorite actors. His performances in "The Spy who came in from the Cold", "Fahrenheit 451" are very good.

Occasionally I rate a film high for personal and sentimental reasons. In this case I am compelled by objective facts to add in the light of greater perspective that I consider this one of the best war movies of all time.

In the first place, the acting is superb. The casting is flawless. The direction is taut, as is the editing. It is filmed in black and white, as it would have to be even today if someone wanted to try a remake. The locations and sets are authentic to a "T." The story itself follows faithfully the text of a book I read as a child (before I saw the film, in fact).

Moreover, I consider it an act of bravery on the part of the film's producers even to begin a project like this so soon after the end of World War II, when passions against the Germans were still running high and mere caricatures of that nation's common people remained the standard for the day (and for years to come).

Oskar Werner in the main role was a brilliant choice, and veterans Richard Basehart and Gary Merrill provide ample evidence that casting proceeded on a basis of resolute excellence and authenticity. I am still blown away by revisiting the "Romantic Road" in Germany and thinking how this movie defined and continued to define for me how recent and ancient history converged along that path.

I cannot praise it enough.