Directed by:
Mitchell LeisenCinematography:
Leo ToverComposer:
Victor YoungCast:
Charles Boyer, Olivia de Havilland, Paulette Goddard, Victor Francen, Walter Abel, Curt Bois, Eric Feldary, Nestor Paiva, Micheline Cheirel, Madeleine Lebeau (more)Plots(1)
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. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Charles Boyer
France
Best movies:
Gaslight (1944)
How to Steal a Million (1966)
Barefoot in the Park (1967)
Olivia de Havilland
Japan
Best movies:
Gone with the Wind (1939)
The Heiress (1949)
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935)
Paulette Goddard
USA
Best movies:
The Great Dictator (1940)
Modern Times (1936)
Chaplin (1992) - a.f.
Victor Francen
Belgium
Best movies:
Madame Curie (1943)
Hold Back the Dawn (1941)
Tales of Manhattan (1942)
Walter Abel
USA
Best movies:
Fury (1936)
Hold Back the Dawn (1941)
Mr. Skeffington (1944)
Curt Bois
Best movies:
Casablanca (1942)
The Oyster Princess (1919)
Wings of Desire (1987)
Eric Feldary
Austria-Hungary
Best movies:
Hold Back the Dawn (1941)
For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943)
Golden Earrings (1947)
Nestor Paiva
USA
Best movies:
Bernadette (1943)
The Sea Hawk (1940)
Midnight (1939)
Micheline Cheirel
France
Best movies:
Hold Back the Dawn (1941)
Madeleine Lebeau
France
Best movies:
Casablanca (1942)
Gentleman Jim (1942)
Royal Affairs in Versailles (1954)
Charles Arnt
USA
Best movies:
The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
After the Thin Man (1936)
Ball of Fire (1941)
Arthur Loft
USA
Best movies:
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
The Roaring Twenties (1939)
Scarlet Street (1945)
Mitchell Leisen
USA
Best movies:
Hold Back the Dawn (1941)
Brian Donlevy
Ireland
Best movies:
Beau Geste (1939)
Destry Rides Again (1939)
Union Pacific (1939)
Veronica Lake
USA
Best movies:
Hold Back the Dawn (1941)
So Proudly We Hail! (1943)
This Gun for Hire (1942)
James Flavin
USA
Best movies:
The Roaring Twenties (1939)
In Cold Blood (1967)
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Richard Webb
USA
Best movies:
The Name of the Game (1968) (series)
Out of the Past (1947)
Hold Back the Dawn (1941)
Chester Clute
USA
Best movies:
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
Anchors Aweigh (1945)
Henry Roquemore
USA
Best movies:
The Great Dictator (1940)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Strike Up the Band (1940)
Stephen Chase
USA
Best movies:
Desire (1936)
Hold Back the Dawn (1941)
When Tomorrow Comes (1939)