A Nazi spy ring is after a chemical formula that increases the power of ordinary gasoline for U.S. Army aviation use. Two U.S. chemical companies are developing the formula, with each working on half for security purposes. The spies get half the formula and know that either of two chemists, Robert Norton or Tom Fielding, knows the rest. They capture Fielding, through a ruse by gang member Linda Pavlo, and threaten the life of his sister Nancy and his mother if he does not give them the formula. To protect his friend Fielding, who does know the formula and is engaged to Nancy, Tom pretends to know the secret and boards the Dawn Express plane with the spy leader and his gang.
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Waste of time
Just what I expected
Great Film overall
Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .
While there is an airplane at the end of the film this film really has nothing to do with the cover artwork. This film deals with synthetic fuel (formula 311) developed by two scientists apart from each other as security measures. A love interest between the two stars adds to the story and intrigue. This is a slower paced film but I like the plot and the conclusion is surprising. The good news is it is available for free on the internet archive and their copy is watchable. The score by Lee Zahler is passable. Nothing stands out but it is passable. The number of people who were watching Norton was hilarious. The German Captain Gemmler in the picture somewhat reminds me Col. Klink in the television show "Hogan Heroes." I give this film a #100 ranking.
Propopganda drama of Nazi's after two scientists involved in the creation of an explosive. Stereotypical Nazi villains burbling typically lame trite dialog, a sexy femme fatal out to seduce one of the two to get her hands on it, and quite suddenly, an action packed finale that ends with a bang while the whole film itself seems to be buried in a whimper. Michael Whelan and William Bakewell are two pals who become involved in the Nazi's quest with Bakewell the sap who falls prey to the obviously sinister Constance Worth's flirtations. Whelan is pulled in but his intentions are obviously to foil their evil plan, while Bakewell goes along with the plot simply to protect his sister (Anne Nagel) who is engaged to Whelan and their father. Excruciatingly slow pacing makes this extremely difficult to get through but that all of a sudden changes its course as the film begins to wrap up after just over an hour. Even that first 90 percent of the movie is extremely hard to get through, but there's a sense of satisfaction with a shockingly violent ending. The presence of a supposedly blind man with a knife hidden inside his cane only adds to the stereotype of brutally evil Nazi villains, and the opening scene of another professor being brutally targeted then murdered doesn't aid in any subtlety that the film might have tried for better results otherwise.
When "The Dawn Express" began, I assumed that It would be a pretty bad film. After all, it was made by PRC and it had a cast filled with complete unknowns. And, it turned out I was pretty much right about this one. The film is a wartime propaganda movie—meant to capitalize on the war as well as engender support at home for the war effort. Because of this, it is unabashedly patriotic and obvious. Subtle it isn't. Quickly written and often illogical it is.The film begins with a couple workers from a chemical plant being kidnapped by Nazi spies. Then, after pumping them for information about a top secret formula, the two are murdered and their bodies dumped. Not surprisingly, US agents took notice of this—and it's odd the Nazis didn't think of this. The next guy they pump for information is different. Instead of kidnapping him, they know he's a bit of a playboy—so they send a pretty Nazi agent his way. Soon, her superiors demand he give them the formula but he refuses. They threaten to kill his family and he asks for time. Now you'd think they'd kill him or torture him .but they let him go! And, oddly, this dodo doesn't tell anyone!! What's going to happen next and how will Professor Schmidt figure into all this nonsense, find out for yourself.Despite having many more plot holes than I mentioned above, the film has a certain silly likability. I often find these super-low budget films great fun if you don't take them seriously and they are exciting if also quite dumb. Exciting and dumb yep, that pretty much sums "The Dawn Express"!
It is during World War II and nazi spies will stop at nothing to get a secret formula of increasing the power of gasoline. Two scientists Norton and Fielding have the information. Will Norton accept the offer of 100,000 dollars or will Fielding accept the offer of the lives of his mother and sister? What about the protection of the american intelligence team assigned to protect them? One of the agents should have watched an episode of "Get Smart" because when he gets killed he could have said "fell for the old knife hidden in the blind man's cane trick." A rather interesting film and worth the watch.
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