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
![Donald Douglas](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/382/160382184_d8315f.jpg)
Donald Douglas
UK
Best movies:
Edison, the Man (1940)
Action in the North Atlantic (1943)
Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938)
![Gertrude Astor](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/330/160330139_48c9e1.jpg)
Gertrude Astor
USA
Best movies:
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
The Sound of Music (1965)
Monsieur Verdoux (1947)
Sonny Boy Williams
Best movies:
Hold Back the Dawn (1941)
Boys Town (1938)
Days of Glory (1944)
![Rosemary DeCamp](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/360/160360285_2f9ae5.jpg)
Rosemary DeCamp
USA
Best movies:
Rhapsody in Blue (1945)
Hold Back the Dawn (1941)
Scandal Sheet (1952)
![Karin Booth](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/388/160388669_02ddfc.jpg)
Karin Booth
USA
Best movies:
Two Girls and a Sailor (1944)
Hold Back the Dawn (1941)
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
![Harry Shannon](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/333/158333190_0707f3.jpg)
Harry Shannon
USA
Best movies:
Citizen Kane (1941)
Touch of Evil (1958)
Random Harvest (1942)
![Jimmie Dundee](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/417/160417421_ce919a.jpg)
Jimmie Dundee
USA
Best movies:
Reap the Wild Wind (1942)
Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)
To Each His Own (1946)
![John Hamilton](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/443/161443421_1a4fb5.jpg)
John Hamilton
USA
Best movies:
The Roaring Twenties (1939)
It Started with Eve (1941)
Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
![Leon Belasco](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/579/160579955_b392f0.jpg)
Leon Belasco
Russian Empire
Best movies:
Casablanca (1942)
It Started with Eve (1941)
Adventures of Don Juan (1948)
![Jean Phillips](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/121/161121173_4433c1.jpg)
Jean Phillips
USA
Best movies:
Hold Back the Dawn (1941)
The Lady Eve (1941)
The Great McGinty (1940)
Carlos Villarías
Spain
Best movies:
Hold Back the Dawn (1941)
Dracula (1931)
![Edward Fielding](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/219/161219147_9f676b.jpg)
Edward Fielding
USA
Best movies:
The Song of Bernadette (1943)
Rebecca (1940)
Madame Curie (1943)
![Buddy Messinger](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/532/161532037_10dad0.jpg)
Buddy Messinger
USA
Best movies:
Modern Times (1936)
Citizen Kane (1941)
Test Pilot (1938)
Kitty Kelly
USA
Best movies:
Hold Back the Dawn (1941)
Holiday Inn (1942)
So Proudly We Hail! (1943)
Russ Clark
USA
Best movies:
Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Mighty Joe Young (1949)
![Mikhail Rasumny](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/965/161965174_203cb5.jpg)
Mikhail Rasumny
Russian Empire
Best movies:
Producers' Showcase (1954) (series)
Anna and the King of Siam (1946)
Hold Back the Dawn (1941)
Gordon De Main
USA
Best movies:
Hold Back the Dawn (1941)
This Gun for Hire (1942)
Second Chorus (1940)
Soledad Jiménez
Spain
Best movies:
North West Mounted Police (1940)
Hold Back the Dawn (1941)
Frankenstein (1931)
Mala
USA
Best movies:
Union Pacific (1939)
North West Mounted Police (1940)
Hold Back the Dawn (1941)
Mitchell Ingraham
USA
Best movies:
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Citizen Kane (1941)
Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)