Before the Battle is the English-language title of this espionage melodrama. The first half of the film takes place aboard a French cruising ship, steaming through dangerous waters during WWI. Among the passengers is heroine Jeanne (Annabella), who was once in love with first-officer D'Artelles (Robert Vidalin) but he now seems strangely preoccupied. It turns out that the ship is on a secret mission, which ultimately dooms the vessel to a Lusitania-like death. After the sinking, Captain De Corlaix (Victor Francen) faces a court-martial, and it is at this point that the film clarifies several baffling plot points. Despite its complexity, the story is fairly believable, with the exception of the grafted-on romantic subplot.
Stars: Annabella, Victor Francen, Gabriel Signoret, Pierre Renoir, Rosine Deréan, Robert Vidalin
Crew: Marcel L'Herbier (Director), Marcel L'Herbier (Screenplay), Ève Francis (Assistant Director), Claude Farrère (Theatre Play), Charles Spaak (Screenplay), Jules Kruger (Director of Photography)
Country: France
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Runtime: 80 minutes
Quality: HD
Released: Jan 04, 1935
IMDb: 10
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