Hold Back the Dawn (1941)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Mitchell Leisen

Writers:

Ketti Frings (story)
Charles Brackett (written by) ...

Release Date:

26 September 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Stopped in Mexico by U.S. Immigration, Georges Iscovescu hopes to get into the country by marrying a citizen.

Plot Keywords:

Mexico | Love | American | Gigolo | Jealousy

Awards:

Nominated for 6 Oscars.

Cast

Charles Boyer	...	Georges Iscovescu
Olivia de Havilland	...	Emmy Brown
Paulette Goddard	...	Anita Dixon
Victor Francen	...	Van Den Luecken
Walter Abel	...	Inspector Hammock
Curt Bois	...	Bonbois
Rosemary DeCamp	...	Berta Kurz
Eric Feldary	...	Josef Kurz
Nestor Paiva	...	Fred Flores
Eva Puig	...	Lupita
Micheline Cheirel	...	Christine
Madeleine Lebeau	...	Anni
Billy Lee	...	Tony
Mikhail Rasumny	...	Mechanic
Charles Arnt	...	Mr. John MacAdams

Also Known As:

Memo to a Movie Director (USA) (original script title)
The Golden Door (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

116 min | USA:125 min (copyright length)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (PCA #7139) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center - 1200 N. State Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The hotel in Tijuana where the immigrants wait anxiously for U.S. visas is the Hotel Esperanza. Esperanza is Spanish for "hope."

Quotes:

Anita Dixon: All those years with all the others, I've shut my eyes and thought of you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Cinemania (2002)

Soundtrack:

My Boy My Boy

Bit of a tearjerker

A fabulous film with an all star cast of Charles Boyer, Olivia De Havilland and Paulette Goddard. Boyer plays a man who is trying to get US citizenship, the only way by which turns out to be, marrying De Havilland's character. There is a sweet scene between the two when they set off on honeymoon and they play beautifully together throughout. Paulette Goddard is wonderful as the scheming other half and it's nice to see at the end that she gets what she's after!! Clever start to the film too - look out for Veronica Lake making a movie - and a lovely ending that really couldn't get any better.