Hold Back the Dawn

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Audience Member Billy Wilder was a genius, and Olivia deHavilland was 1 of the best actresses of all-time. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review steve d Passable because of the cast. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Director: Mitchell Leisen Stars:Charles Boyer, Olivia de Havilland, Paulette Goddard, Victor Francen, Walter Abel, Rosemary DeCamp. First-rate soapy drama with Billy Wilder,Charles Brackett script of gigolo Boyer marrying spinsterish Olivia to get into U.S. Hold Back The Dawn plays just like a Wilder movie, and if this had been his directorial debut I'm sure it would be much more famous. That's director Leisen in the Hollywood soundstage sequence, directing Veronica Lake and Brian Donlevy in I WANTED WINGS. Featuring an Oscar nominated Screenplay by Billy Wilder & Charles Brackett . The film was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. Best Actress in a Leading Role Olivia de Havilland . B&W Cinematography, Art Direction-Interior Decoration and Score. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Audience Member The best romance movie ever made! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Gigolo with the (in the end) proverbial heart of gold? I don't think so. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Audience Member Hold Back the Dawn was a film that challenged me. It has a story that is narrated by, and focused on a character who lacks virtue. For a long time I felt like the movie was trying to make me sympathize with Charles Boyer, but I couldn’t because he behaved so poorly. But there is a turning point in this film that worked so well that it changed the entire tone of the movie, and almost had me in tears. I thought Boyer played it brilliantly, and he was helped by acting opposite the amazing Olivia de Havilland. The story is timeless, and might be more relevant now than it ever was in the past. The plot is based on someone who is basically a refugee seeking permanent residence in the USA, but he has to wait on the other side of the wall (in Mexico) for immigration to allow him into the country. If that doesn’t speak to modern Americans, then I don’t know what will. There’s a nice blend of human drama and romance in Hold Back the Dawn. The cast did a great job, and I thought the script was pretty solid. I’m not sure how well the framing device worked, though. It didn’t feel necessary, and almost came across like they were trying to justify why this needed to be a movie at all. The one positive I will concede about that setup is that it actually gives a reason for the narration, and I’m not the biggest fan of narration and voiceover so it helps when I know it is part of a story being told to another character. Hold Back the Dawn is a movie that I would recommend, because it feels relevant and heartfelt in ways that resonate more than 75 years later. It’s not one of the greatest films of all time, but I liked it a lot and can see why it was nominated for so many Oscars. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Hold Back the Dawn

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