Hold Back the Dawn

Hold Back the Dawn (1941)

Approved 26 Sep 1941 • Drama, Romance • 1h 56m
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Romanian gigolo Georges Iscovescu is trying to get into the United States to become a citizen, it the land of opportunity even in his line of work. Because of the visa requirement, he instead travels to Tijuana, Mexico to cross into the States via the land border, not realizing that this situation has its own obstacles, namely the quota system per country, and Romanians have up to an eight year wait. In joining the queue in Tijuana, he ends up at the Hotel Esperanza, which houses many of those in his similar situation, some of those others who have their own story in trying to become American citizens. In running into an old colleague he met in Europe, the former Polish-Australian Anita Dixon now divorced US citizen Mrs. Shaughnessy - she a female version of him - he decides to do what she did to become a US citizen: get married to an American, Mr. Shaughnessy whom she quickly divorced after getting her citizenship. After a few missteps in finding an American to marry, Georges sets his sights on schoolteacher Emmy Brown, a woman naive in the affairs of the heart, she in Mexico with her class on a field trip. What happens between Georges and Emmy is affected by: the presence of Mr. Hammock, a US immigration inspector who is trying to clamp down on marriages of convenience, which are illegal in terms of gaining US citizenship; the presence of Mrs. Shaughnessy, who will do whatever is required to ply her trade with him, the two of them together whom she sees as the perfect match in being the same; and Georges' own ideas of what best to with Emmy.

Mitchell Leisen
Director
Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, Ketti Frings
Writer
Charles Boyer, Olivia de Havilland, Paulette Goddard
Starring

Language: English, Spanish, Latin, French, German
Awards: Nominated for 6 Oscars. 1 win & 7 nominations total
Country: United States
Metacritic Score: 79
DVD Release Date:
Box Office Total:

7.3

IMDb (2828 votes)
100%
Rotten Tomatoes
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