Hold Back the Dawn

Charles Boyer Director: Mitchell Leisen Mitchell Leisen

Overview

Hold Back the Dawn begins with a shabby immigrant (Charles Boyer) wandering onto a Paramount sound stage and telling his life story to director Mitchell Leisen (who actually directed this film). In flashback, we see that Boyer was once a conscienceless gigolo, desperate to flee Nazi-occupied Europe. He makes it to Mexico, where he pretends to fall in love with shy schoolteacher Olivia de Havilland. It is his plan to marry her, thus be able to enter the United States; then he intends to dump her and pursue the woman he really loves. Boyer's regeneration, and the price he pays for his previous callousness, brings Hold Back the Dawn to its tearful conclusion.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/16/2019
UPC:	0760137254386
Original Release:	1941
Source:	Arrow Video
Region Code:	A
Time:	1:56:00
Sales rank:	8,716

Special Features

New audio commentary by film scholar Adrian Martin Love Knows No Borders, a newly filmmed video appreciation by film critic Geoff Andrew The John Player Lecture: Olivia de Havilland, a career spanning onstage audio interview with Olivia de Havilland recorded at the National Film Theatre in 1971 Rare hour-long radio adaptation of Hold Back the Dawn from 1941 starring Charles Boyer, Paulette Goddard and Susan Haywood Gallery of original stills and promotional images

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Charles Boyer	Georges Iscovescu
Olivia de Havilland	Emmy Brown
Paulette Goddard	Anita Dixon
Victor Francen	Prof. Van Den Luecken
Walter Abel	Inspector Hammock
Curt Bois	Anatole Bonbois
Rosemary de Camp	Berta Kurz
Nestor Paiva	Flores
Eric Feldary	Joseph Kurz
Micheline Cheirel	Christine Van Den Luecken
Madeleine Le Beau	Annie
Billy Lee	Tony
Sonny Boy Williams	Sam
Edward Fielding	American Consul
Gertrude Astor	Young Woman at Climax Bar
Donald Douglas	Joe
Chester Clute	Man
Jesus Topete	Second mechanic
Tony Roux	Third mechanic
Francisco Maran	Mexican doctor
Carlos Villarias	Mexican judge
Arthur Loft	Mr. Elvestad
John Holland	Mr. MacAdams
June Pickrell	Mrs. Brown
Buddy Messinger	Elevator Boy
George Anderson	Emmy's doctor
Soledad Jiminez	Old Peon's Wife
Eva Puig	Lupita
Mikhail Rasumny	Mechanic
Charles Arnt	Mr. MacAdams
Mitchell Leisen	Mr. Saxon
Leon Belasco	Mr. Spitzer
Brian Donlevy	Movie actor
Veronica Lake	Movie actress
Ray Mala	Husky Young Mexican Bridegroom
Ella Neal	Bride
Richard Webb	Movie actor
June Wilkins	Vivienne Worthington

Technical Credits

Charles Brackett

Billy Wilder

Mitchell Leisen	Director
Jimmy Berg	Songwriter
Charles Brackett	Screenwriter
Hans Dreier	Art Director
Doane Harrison	Editor
Edith Head	Costumes/Costume Designer
Arthur Hornblow	Producer
Fred Jacobson	Songwriter
Frank Loesser	Songwriter
Fred Speilman	Songwriter
Leo Tover	Cinematographer
Robert Usher	Art Director
Billy Wilder	Screenwriter
Victor Young	Score Composer

Editorial Reviews

The late Billy Wilder was often quoted as saying that the reason why he became a director was to prevent the scripts he was writing from being butchered. The film most often cited as the straw that broke the camel's back for him is Hold Back The Dawn, co-written by Wilder and his longtime partner Charles Brackett and directed by the veteran Mitchell Leisen. A bit of a tearjerker, the film captures the essence of the refugee experience in America, or the experience of refugees trying to reach America. Charles Boyer plays Georges, who has been stopped in Mexico by U.S. Immigration and who hopes to get into the country by marrying a U.S. citizen. He targets Emmy Brown, played by the great Olivia de Havilland, and naturally, over the course of putting his plan into action, develops genuine affection for her. Since Wilder was an immigrant himself, one can't help but wonder just how much of Georges struggles are personifying those that the writer experienced himself. Although Wilder's long-standing bone of contention was that Leisen was too carefree in letting the actors, particularly Boyer, alter lines in his precious script, objectively Leisen does a decent job of keeping the powerful emotions from slipping into outright melodrama. While the film does touch nerves, the emotions are genuine even though they are ostensibly conjured by an act of deceit and opportunism. Made as it was on the eve of America's entry into the Second World War, Hold Back The Dawn is an effective look at those whose appreciation of America is not taken for granted as their birthright.

All Movie Guide - Dan Friedman