''Return at Dawn'' (French: ''Retour à l'aube'') is a 1938 French

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

starring

Danielle Darrieux Danielle Yvonne Marie Antoinette Darrieux (; 1 May 1917 – 17 October 2017) was a French actress of stage, television and film, as well as a singer and dancer. Beginning in 1931, she appeared in more than 110 films. She was one of France's g ...

, and was directed by Henri Decoin, who co-wrote the screenplay with

Pierre Wolff Pierre Wolff (1 January 1865, in Paris – 1944) was a French playwright. Biography Pierre Wolff was a Jewish writer, who wrote numerous plays, as well as some libretti for operettas. He was the nephew of journalist Albert Wolff. His dramas wer ...

, based on a short story by

Vicki Baum Hedwig "Vicki" Baum (; he, ויקי באום; January 24, 1888 – August 29, 1960) was an Austrian writer. She is known for the novel ''Menschen im Hotel'' ("People at a Hotel", 1929 — published in English as '' Grand Hotel''), one of h ...

. The music score is by

Paul Misraki Paul Misraki (28 January 1908 – 29 October 1998) was a French composer of popular music and film scores. Over the course of over 60 years, Misraki wrote the music to 130 films, scoring works by directors like Jean Renoir, Claude Chabrol, ...

. The sets were designed by the art director

Serge Piménoff Serge Piménoff (1895–1960) was a Russian-born French art director. He designed the sets for the 1958 film ''Les Misérables''.Hayward p.232 Selected filmography * '' Nights of Princes'' (1930) * '' The Unknown Singer'' (1931) * '' Sailor's Son ...

. It was filmed in

Zichyújfalu Zichyújfalu (IPA: ) is a village in Fejér county, Hungary, about 10 km from Lake Velencei, which is more or less easy to reach on road and on railway ( Pusztaszabolcs-Székesfehérvár line). The settlement used to be a part of Gárdon ...

and Budapest, Hungary.

Plot

A stationmaster's wife must go to Budapest to claim an inheritance, but is late for a train and she experiences many adventures during the night.

Cast

as Anita Ammer *

Pierre Dux Pierre Dux (21 October 1908 – 1 December 1990) was a French stage director, stage actor, and film actor. He appeared in 50 films between 1932 and 1990. Filmography References External links * * 1908 births 1990 deaths Burials ...

as Karl Ammer * Jacques Dumesnil as Dick Farmer aka 'Keith' *

Pierre Mingand Pierre Mingand (1900–1982) was a French singer and film actor. He was known for his impersonations of Maurice Chevalier at the Folies Bergère, something he reprised in Billy Wilder's 1934 film ''Mauvaise Graine''.Phillips p.104 Selected filmo ...

as Osten * Raymond Cordy as Pali *

Samson Fainsilber Samson Fainsilber (18 June 1904, Iași – 19 December 1983, Paris) was a Romanian-born French film actor. During his career he appeared in around sixty films and television series. He featured in the 1933 historical drama '' Roger la Honte''.Goble ...

as L'inspecteur Veber *

Marcel Delaître Marcel Delaître (1888–1963) was a French film and stage actor.Crisp p.94 Selected filmography * '' Happy Hearts'' (1932) * '' Poliche'' (1934) * ''Street Without a Name'' (1934) * ''Crime and Punishment'' (1935) * '' Girls of Paris'' (1936) ...

as Le commissaire * Thérèse Dorny as La directrice de la maison de couture *

Louis Florencie Louis Florencie (4 December 1896 – 4 December 1951) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1927 and 1951. Selected filmography * ''Companion Wanted'' (1932) * ''Beauty Spot'' (1932) * '' Suzanne'' (1932) * '' N ...

* Léonce Corne as Un ami d'Osten *

André Numès Fils André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variation ...

as Le notaire *

Jacques Henley Jacques Henley (born Jacques Dhote) was a French actor. Selected filmography * '' Our Masters, the Servants'' (1930) * '' The Mystery of the Villa Rose'' (1930) * ''The Threepenny Opera'' (1931) * '' The Yellow Dog'' (1932) * '' The Regiment's Ch ...

as Un ami d'Osten *

Robert Ozanne Robert Ozanne (February 13, 1898 – September 14, 1941) was a French film actor.Youngkin p.466 Selected filmography * ''The Three Musketeers'' (1932) * ''The Oil Sharks'' (1933) * '' Miquette'' (1934) * '' The House on the Dune'' (1934) * ''The ...

as Un voyageur * Yvonne Yma * Marcelle Barry * Amy Collin * Albert Brouett as Voyageur à la couronne *

Marcel Pérès Marcel Pérès (born 15 July 1956, Oran, Algeria) is a French musicologist, composer, choral director and singer, and the founder of the early music group Ensemble Organum. He is an authority on Gregorian and pre-Gregorian chant. Pérès w ...

as Le pharmacien * Pierre de Ramey as Un ami d'Osten

References

External links

* *
''Retour à l'aube''
at filmsdefrance.com 1938 films 1938 drama films French black-and-white films Films directed by Henri Decoin Films set in Budapest Films shot in Budapest Films based on short fiction French drama films 1930s French-language films 1930s French films {{1930s-drama-film-stub