The crew of a nuclear bomber attack the Soviet Union while the President of the United States tries desperately to regain control of his military after his helicopter crashes during a ...
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Title: By Dawn's Early Light (TV Movie 1990)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Powers Boothe | ... | Cassidy | |
| Rebecca De Mornay | ... | Moreau (as Rebecca DeMornay) | |
| James Earl Jones | ... | Alice | |
| Martin Landau | ... | President | |
| Darren McGavin | ... | Condor | |
| Rip Torn | ... | Colonel Fargo | |
| Jeffrey DeMunn | ... | Harpoon | |
| Peter MacNicol | ... | Sedgwick | |
| Glenn Withrow | ... | Tyler | |
| Ronald William Lawrence | ... | Hooker | |
| Kieran Mulroney | ... | Radnor | |
| Nicolas Coster | ... | General Renning - 'Icarus' | |
| Ken Jenkins | ... | Looking Glass Colonel - 'Sam' | |
 |
Randal Patrick | ... | O'Toole |
| Daniel Benzali | ... | Bascombe | |
Edit
Plot Summary
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Add Synopsis
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Storyline
The crew of a nuclear bomber attack the Soviet Union while the President of the United States tries desperately to regain control of his military after his helicopter crashes during a limited nuclear exchange in this film with a scenario similar to Fail-Safe (1964) and Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964). Originally a made for cable movie, it concentrates on the relationship between a veteran pilot and his female co-pilot and the president's attempt to wrest control away from a war-mongering successor. Written by Keith Loh <loh@sfu.ca>
Plot Keywords:
woman wearing a mask | political superpower | soviet union | pilot | military |Taglines:
Four People. Three Minutes. Two Choices. One Chance For Survival.Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USARelease Date:
24 April 1990 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
The Grand Tour See more »Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
DolbyColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1
Edit
Written by Debbie Hupp, Johnny MacRae and Bob Morrison
Performed by Conway Twitty
Courtesy Warner Bros. Records Inc.
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products, Music City Music Inc.
(administered by EMI April Music Inc) and Southern Days Music (administered by CMI)
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
The computer in NORAD is made up from components of an actual IBM AN/FSQ-7 Combat Direction Central, built in 1954 to protect the US from Soviet bomber attack. Components of decommissioned systems were sold for scrap and bought by film and television production companies that wanted futuristic-looking computers, despite the fact they were built in the 1950s. Components used in this film were previously used in The Time Tunnel (1966), The Towering Inferno (1974) and WarGames (1983), among many others, and later used in Fail Safe (2000). See more »Goofs
The exterior of the Looking Glass airplane is narrow body but the interior is clearly wide body. See more »Soundtracks
DON'T CALL HIM A COWBOYWritten by Debbie Hupp, Johnny MacRae and Bob Morrison
Performed by Conway Twitty
Courtesy Warner Bros. Records Inc.
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products, Music City Music Inc.
(administered by EMI April Music Inc) and Southern Days Music (administered by CMI)
See more »
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There have been many global nuclear war stories, and this is not the best, but I've always loved this film.
It's a combination of cast and perspective. Whereas most films have a single strong storyline, and maybe a couple of smaller sub plots, this film bypasses that usual structure, preferring instead to use 3 or 4 main plotlines, all moving forward, all converging on the same point. Good non-traditional approach managed by a great non-traditional director, Jack Shoulder (The Hidden).
And for a film that did not go to theatres, this one has a strong cast: Powers Booth teams with Rebecca DeMornay to fly the nuclear bomber. James Earl Jones and Jeffrey DeMunn battle Darren McGavin and Rip Torn as they try to overthrow our world during the ensuing panic. And Martin Landau as the Prez trying to keep it all together.
Nice story, good pace, strong finish. I like it.