Commandos Strike at Dawn Reviews

Muni is dynamic and compelling as a simple fisherman living on the coast of Norway. A widower, he falls in love with Lee whose father, Hardwicke, is a British admiral. Shortly after Lee and her father return to England, the Nazis invade Norway, occupying the small village where Muni lives with his daughter, Carter. The German captain, Knox, immediately orders harsh measures taken against anyone caught with radios or sabotaging the fishing quota. When the situation worsens, Muni and others escape in a small boat and sail to England. There Muni agrees to lead British troops in a commando raid against the village to knock out a German airfield, on the promise that the British will help rescue his daughter who, along with others, is being held hostage. The airfield is destroyed and Muni leads the troops into the village where a desperate battle ensues; he is killed but Carter is rescued and taken to England to live with Lee. The film is a sensitive and moving drama, not a wild and woolly war action film, although the final battle for the airfield and village is spectacular and exciting, staged by veteran action director Farrow who did such a splendid job with WAKE ISLAND. Muni performs his chores with restraint and carries the film with the private majesty he always personified. The rugged Norwegian coast was duplicated for this film by utilizing the coastal area outside of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, where the film was shot on location. The Royal Canadian Navy and Air Force, as well as candidates from the Norwegian Flying School (all of whom had fled from Nazi-occupied Norway) gave enormous help to the production. The film earned an Oscar nomination for its score.