Based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham (Of Human Bondage) and made at the height of the Second World War, The Hour Before the Dawn stars Franchot Tone (Five Graves to Cairo) as Jim Hetherton, a pacifist Englishman who becomes a conscientious objector at the onset of WWII. The sultry Veronica Lake (So Proudly We Hail) plays Dora Bruckmann, the beautiful Austrian refugee whom Jim marries. But what neither he nor anyone else suspects is that Dora is actually an agent planted by the Nazis, and her main concern is finding the location of a secret airfield in the vicinity of the Hetherton estate in order to help Hitler’s planned invasion. By preying on his beliefs, Dora manages to manipulate Jim into potentially betraying his country. Billed as “a story of turbulent emotions, exciting times, impassioned love…and a sinister, deadly secret,” The Hour Before the Dawn was directed by Frank Tuttle (Lucky Jordan, This Gun for Hire), shot by John F. Seitz (The Lost Weekend) and scored by Miklós Rózsa (Secret Beyond the Door).

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Video Quality

The Hour Before the Dawn makes its Blu-Ray debut thanks to Kino Classics with a brand new 1080p transfer from a 2K scan of the 35mm Fine Grain which brings this film to life admirably. This film is 80 years old this year, but it does not show its age thanks to this lovely presentation. The new transfer reveals a formidable amount of depth and enhanced detail within the film’s composition. The exteriors feel sprawling despite knowing that the production was not shot on location. There is a significant amount of detail present with textures on the costumes and within the background.

The rich black-and-white photography shot by John F. Seitz flourishes in high definition with natural grain intact and resolved well. Black levels are in great shape with no major occurrence of black crush or compression artifacts. The contrast is decently defined with only intermittent instances of flicker and density fluctuation in the print. A few hiccups linger after the remastering process such as occasional stray lines and minor marks of damage. Despite this, most fans will be thrilled with how much this has been cleaned up. Kino Classics has provided a premiere presentation for this one.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a consistent DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that serves this movie faithfully considering the age and source of the material. Dialogue and background elements are balanced with all complementary elements that make this world feel alive. The dialogue can be heard quite easily with not much in the way of sibilance. The track appears the slightest bit weak when it comes to the Miklós Rózsa score, which likely can be attributed to the quality of the source elements. The music does not overshadow the dialogue or other important information. Viewers will observe a minor amount of age-related wear and tear and some faint hissing, but it is not a monumental issue throughout. Kino Classics has served this well. Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included for the feature film.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Film Historian and Veronica Lake expert Paul Talbot delivers a pretty solid commentary track in which he discusses the career of Veronica Lake, the production of the film, the direction of Frank Tuttle, the background of the ensemble performers, the themes of the story, and more.

Trailers: There is a two-minute trailer provided for The Hour Before The Dawn. This disc also provides trailers for Saigon, So Proudly We Hail, The Lives of a Bengal Lancer, Five Graves To Cairo, Lucky Jordan, and The Web.

Final Thoughts

The Hour Before the Dawn is an entertaining wartime drama that flies by yet makes every moment count. From the opening emotional character-building until the fiery finale, this film keeps you glued to the screen. Veronica Lake is transfixing in a villainous role that shows her complexity as a performer. The film takes a very broad, fear-based approach to the narrative, but it works well as entertainment. Kino Classics has delivered a Blu-Ray release that sports a worthwhile A/V presentation and an informative commentary track. If you are a fan of the performers or enjoy WWII pictures, be sure to seek this one out. Recommended

The Hour Before the Dawn is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.