A beautiful Austrian refugee in England--who is also a Nazi agent--marries a scholarly English pacifist. He lives near a secret military base she needs to get information about so she can help in Hitler's planned invasion of England.
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Title: The Hour Before the Dawn (1944)
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Cast
| Cast overview: | |||
| Veronica Lake | ... | Dora Bruckmann | |
| Franchot Tone | ... | Jim Hetherton | |
| John Sutton | ... | Roger Hetherton | |
| Binnie Barnes | ... | May Heatherton | |
| Henry Stephenson | ... | Gen. Hetherton | |
| Philip Merivale | ... | Sir Leslie Buchanon | |
| Nils Asther | ... | Kurt van der Breughel | |
| Edmund Breon | ... | Freddy Merritt | |
| David Leland | ... | Tommy Hetherton | |
 |
Aminta Dyne | ... | Hertha Parkins |
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Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
Storyline
A beautiful Austrian refugee in England--who is also a Nazi agent--marries a scholarly English pacifist. He lives near a secret military base she needs to get information about so she can help in Hitler's planned invasion of England.
Taglines:
A WOMAN...A MAN...A SINISTER SECRET! (print ad - Lubbock Morning Avalanche - Lyric Theatre - Lubbock, Texas - November 22, 1944 - all caps) See more »Parents Guide:
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Gen. Hetherton: You're not serious.
Jim Hetherton: Of course I'm serious. You all know how I feel. It's nothing new. I hate war and I can have no part in it.
Sir Leslie Buchanon: We all hate war, Jim. It's just there are some things we hate even more. Things we can't go on living with.
[Looks at the radio]
Sir Leslie Buchanon: Things like, well, you heard just now.
Jim Hetherton: You all despise me, don't you?
Roger Hetherton: Don't talk rough. We don't despise you. We're just... just trying to understand, that's all.
Jim Hetherton: Of course, I'm sorry. you've always been ...
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(Roll Out the Barrel) (uncredited)
Music by Jaromir Vejvoda (1927)
Lyrics by Lew Brown and Wladimir A. Timm
Led by Binnie Barnes during an air raid
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Did You Know?
Trivia
One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since. Its initial television presentation took place in Omaha Tuesday 6 January 1959 on KETV (Channel 7), followed by Chicago Friday 16 January 1959 on WBBM (Channel 2); in Asheville it first aired 6 June 1959 on WLOS (Channel 13), in Grand Rapids aired 7 August 1959 on WOOD (Channel 8), in Seattle 2 September 1959 on KIRO (Channel 7), in Detroit 24 September 1959 on WJBK (Channel 2), in Milwaukee 2 October 1959 on WITI (Channel 6), in Phoenix 7 November 1959 on KVAR (Channel 12), in Johnstown 11 November 1959 on WJAC (Channel 6), in Philadelphia 4 December 1959 on WCAU (Channel 10), in Pittsburgh 5 December on KDKA (Channel 2), in New York City 29 April 1960 on WCBS (Channel 2), and in Los Angeles 14 September 1960 on KNXT (Channel 2). See more »Quotes
Jim Hetherton: Those who want to fight can. I won't.Gen. Hetherton: You're not serious.
Jim Hetherton: Of course I'm serious. You all know how I feel. It's nothing new. I hate war and I can have no part in it.
Sir Leslie Buchanon: We all hate war, Jim. It's just there are some things we hate even more. Things we can't go on living with.
[Looks at the radio]
Sir Leslie Buchanon: Things like, well, you heard just now.
Jim Hetherton: You all despise me, don't you?
Roger Hetherton: Don't talk rough. We don't despise you. We're just... just trying to understand, that's all.
Jim Hetherton: Of course, I'm sorry. you've always been ...
See more »
Soundtracks
Beer Barrel Polka(Roll Out the Barrel) (uncredited)
Music by Jaromir Vejvoda (1927)
Lyrics by Lew Brown and Wladimir A. Timm
Led by Binnie Barnes during an air raid
See more »
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Details
Country:
USARelease Date:
22 September 1944 (Portugal) See more »Also Known As:
A Hora Antes do Amanhecer See more »Filming Locations:
Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA See more »Company Credits
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Franchot Tone is a teacher from a landed country family in England. As the events in Europe unroll, from the Anschluss through the seizing of the Sudetenland, he remains a staunch and reasoned pacifist. He loves England, but will not kill. When Britain declares war, he seeks and obtains Conscientious Objector status, and goes to work on a nearby farm. What he does not know is that the woman he loves, Veronica Lake, is not just an Austrian refugee. She is a Nazi spy.
It's a competent wartime programmer from the solid director Frank Tuttle, filled with the British Colony actors: Binnie Barnes, Henry Stephenson, Phillip Merivale and others. There are some nice performances, especially Miss Barnes as a former entertainer who calms the children during an air raid by leading them in performing "Roll Out the Barrel" to a player piano. Miss Lake is also very good, playing her role very quietly. It's not a world-beater of a movie, but a very well-done effort.