Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotesOverview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv scheduleAwards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage boardPlot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotesFun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQOther Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDeskPromotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo galleryExternal Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsHold Back the Dawn (1941) More at IMDbPro »
Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Ketti Frings (story)
Charles Brackett (written by) ...
more
Release Date:
26 September 1941 (USA) more
Plot:
Stopped in Mexico by U.S. Immigration, Georges Iscovescu hopes to get into the country by marrying a citizen. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for 6 Oscars. more
User Comments:
Send these ,the homeless,tempest-tost to me/I lift my lamp beside the golden door. more (13 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Charles Boyer | ... | Georges Iscovescu | |
| Olivia de Havilland | ... | Emmy Brown | |
| Paulette Goddard | ... | Anita Dixon | |
| Victor Francen | ... | Van Den Luecken | |
| Walter Abel | ... | Inspector Hammock | |
| Curt Bois | ... | Bonbois | |
| Rosemary DeCamp | ... | Berta Kurz | |
| Eric Feldary | ... | Josef Kurz | |
| Nestor Paiva | ... | Fred Flores | |
| Eva Puig | ... | Lupita | |
| Micheline Cheirel | ... | Christine | |
| Madeleine Lebeau | ... | Anni | |
| Billy Lee | ... | Tony | |
| Mikhail Rasumny | ... | Mechanic | |
| Charles Arnt | ... | Mr. John MacAdams |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Memo to a Movie Director (USA) (original script title)
The Golden Door (USA) (working title)
more
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
116 min | USA:125 min (copyright length)
Country:
Color:
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)
Certification:
Finland:K-16 | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (PCA #7139) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)
Filming Locations:
Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center - 1200 N. State Street, Los Angeles, California, USA more
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The hotel in Tijuana where the immigrants wait anxiously for U.S. visas is the Hotel Esperanza. Esperanza is Spanish for "hope." more
Quotes:
Anita Dixon: All those years with all the others, I've shut my eyes and thought of you. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Sullivan's Travels (1941) more
Soundtrack:
My Boy My Boy more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (13 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Hold Back the Dawn (1941)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| Meaning of the Title? | calvanij |
| Why on Earth? | Moviebuff-17 |
| Please a DVD release! | ginetta-1 |
Recommendations
|
|
|
|
|
| The Aviator | Giant | The Miracle of Morgan's Creek | The Stunt Man | Babel |
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| IMDb Drama section | IMDb USA section | Add this title to MyMovies |

How can you be French and not love this film? First the lead is French;and in a small supporting part,there is Victor Francen,one of Julien Duvivier's ("La Fin Du Jour ",1939) and Abel Gance's ("J'accuse" 1918 and 1937) favorite actors.Plus "La Marseillaise " in the final sequences.Plus Olivia De Havilland who has been living in Paris for years.Except for Bertrand Tavernier,most of FRench critics do not speak highly of Mitchell Leisen's overlooked gem.
This is the kind of superior melodrama I love.Olivia De Havilland is one of the greatest actresses of all time,one of those who never think twice when it comes to playing demeaning parts.She is so moving,so tender and so endearing that beauty Paulette Goddard almost leaves me indifferent.And I wonder why Boyer...
The very structure of the film is highly original,being a long flashback,the hero telling his story (perhaps too much voice over) to a director to earn money (but we will know why in the last minutes )because he thinks all his trials can make a great film!Truth can be stranger than fiction cause he is in a film himself! The subject of the movie is still topical today when you see so many people leaving their country for the wealthy ones (not only America:in France ,Russians and others are actually fighting to get French citizenship).For that matter,one of the peaks is when Victor Francen declaims Emma Lazarus's poem which is graven on a tablet within the pedestal on which the Statue of Liberty stands.There are subplots and Mitchell Leisen's talent manages to make them as interesting as the three leads .You may remember the lady who wants his baby to be an American and the way she makes her dream come true,maybe more than Boyer/Havilland's honeymoon.
A honeymoon that takes them to an old Mexican village where they go to mass,with a candle in their hand.A scene that recalls Murnau's "daybreak" .
Emmy (De Havilland) is a woman who has never known love.She really wants to hold back the dawn ,to make her dream longer than the night.She gave all she had and she 's so altruistic she even returns good for evil.When she realizes that she's through with her pursuit of happiness,she simply puts her glasses.
I had seen Leisen's film when I was still a child.I saw it last night.With the same pleasure.