Hold Back the Dawn (1941)

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

Director:

Mitchell Leisen

Writers:

Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder

Stars:

Charles Boyer, Olivia de Havilland, Paulette Goddard

Nominated for 6 Oscars. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Romanian gigolo Georges Iscovescu is trying to get into the United States to become a citizen, it the land of opportunity even in his line of work. Because of the visa requirement, he instead travels to Tijuana, Mexico to cross into the States via the land border, not realizing that this situation has its own obstacles, namely the quota system per country, Romanians who have up to an eight year wait. In joining the queue in Tijuana, he ends up at the Hotel Esperanza which houses many of those in his similar situation, some of those others who have their own story in trying to become American citizens. In running into an old colleague he met in Europe, the former Polish-Australian Anita Dixon now divorced US citizen Mrs. Shaughnessy - she a female version of him - he decides to do what she did to become a US citizen: get married to an American, Mr. Shaughnessy who she quickly divorced after getting her citizenship. After a few missteps in finding an American to marry, Georges sets his ...

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Plot Keywords:

deception | hollywood california | female teacher | pre world war two | cynicism | 

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Taglines:

The glorious rapture of a woman's first love for a man of many loves! (print ad - Lubbock Morning Avalanche - Midway Theatre - Lubbock, Texas - June 14, 1944)

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

"The Screen Guild Theater" broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on February 8, 1943 with Charles Boyer reprising his film role.

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Goofs

Boyer pulls over to read a sign on a pole over the road. However the writing is on the north side of the sign , he stops south of it and could not need it- The writing on the north of the sign is on the wrong side of the highway as its above the highway 101 north lanes, and would not be visible from the opposite, southbound lanes.

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Quotes

Georges Iscovescu: You see how wild a dream can be? But, you are wise and sane and cool.
[Kiss]
Georges Iscovescu: You needn't be afraid, Miss Brown.

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Alternate Versions

Released prints for the Latin American markets included on-screen credits for technical advisors Padre Canseco, Ernesto A. Romero and assistant director Francisco Alonso.

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Connections

Featured in Stars of the Silver Screen: Olivia de Havilland (2016)

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Soundtracks

La Marseillaise
(1792) (uncredited)
Music by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle
Played by the band during the celebration near the end

User Reviews

Send these ,the homeless,tempest-tost to me/I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

How can you be French and not love this film? First the lead is French;and in a small supporting part,there is Victor Francen,one of Julien Duvivier's ("La Fin Du Jour ",1939) and Abel Gance's ("J'accuse" 1918 and 1937) favorite actors.Plus "La Marseillaise " in the final sequences.Plus Olivia De Havilland who has been living in Paris for years.Except for Bertrand Tavernier,most of FRench critics do not speak highly of Mitchell Leisen's overlooked gem.

This is the kind of superior melodrama I love.Olivia De Havilland is one of the greatest actresses of all time,one of those who never think twice when it comes to playing demeaning parts.She is so moving,so tender and so endearing that beauty Paulette Goddard almost leaves me indifferent.And I wonder why Boyer...

The very structure of the film is highly original,being a long flashback,the hero telling his story (perhaps too much voice over) to a director to earn money (but we will know why in the last minutes )because he thinks all his trials can make a great film!Truth can be stranger than fiction cause he is in a film himself! The subject of the movie is still topical today when you see so many people leaving their country for the wealthy ones (not only America:in France ,Russians and others are actually fighting to get French citizenship).For that matter,one of the peaks is when Victor Francen declaims Emma Lazarus's poem which is graven on a tablet within the pedestal on which the Statue of Liberty stands.There are subplots and Mitchell Leisen's talent manages to make them as interesting as the three leads .You may remember the lady who wants his baby to be an American and the way she makes her dream come true,maybe more than Boyer/Havilland's honeymoon.

A honeymoon that takes them to an old Mexican village where they go to mass,with a candle in their hand.A scene that recalls Murnau's "daybreak" .

Emmy (De Havilland) is a woman who has never known love.She really wants to hold back the dawn ,to make her dream longer than the night.She gave all she had and she 's so altruistic she even returns good for evil.When she realizes that she's through with her pursuit of happiness,she simply puts her glasses.

I had seen Leisen's film when I was still a child.I saw it last night.With the same pleasure.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish Latin French German

Release Date:

26 September 1941 (USA)

Also Known As:

Memo to a Movie Director

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min 125 min (copyright length)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1