''Return at Dawn'', also known as ''She Returned at Dawn'' (French: ''Retour à l'aube''), is a

1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...

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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

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 ...

. The film was directed by

Henri Decoin Henri Decoin (18 March 1890 – 4 July 1969) was a French film director and screenwriter, who directed more than 50 films between 1933 and 1964. He was also a swimmer who won the national title in 1911 and held the national record in the 500 ...

, who cowrote the screenplay with Pierre Wolff, based on a short story by

Vicki Baum Hedwig "Vicki" Baum (; ; 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 her first international ...

. 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, Ja ...

. The sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Serge Piménoff. It was filmed in Zichyújfalu and

Budapest, Hungary Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Plot

A stationmaster's wife must travel to Budapest to claim an inheritance, but arrives late for her train and experiences many adventures during the night.

Cast

as Anita Ammer * Pierre Dux as Karl Ammer * Jacques Dumesnil as Dick Farmer aka 'Keith' * Pierre Mingand as Osten *

Raymond Cordy Raymond Cordy (9 December 1898 – 23 April 1956) was a French film actor,Youngkin p.466 born Raymond Cordiaux. He appeared in over a hundred and thirty films during his career. Selected filmography * '' Little Lise'' (1930) - Un joueur de bill ...

as Pali * Samson Fainsilber 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) * ''Lilac'' (1932) * '' Poliche'' (1934) * ''Street Without a Name'' (1934) * ''Crime and Punishment'' (1935) * '' Girls ...

as Le commissaire *

Thérèse Dorny Thérèse Dorny (born Thérèse Jeanne Longo-Dorni; 18 September 1891 – 14 March 1976) was a French film and stage actress. Biography Thérèse Jeanne Longo-Dorni was born on 18 September 1891 in Paris, Île-de-France, France, the only child ...

as La directrice de la maison de couture * Louis Florencie *

Léonce Corne Léonce Charles Corne (18 March 1894 – 31 December 1977) was a French film actor. He appeared in 120 films between 1931 and 1974. Selected filmography * '' The Girl and the Boy'' (1931) * ''Luck'' (1931) * '' Rouletabille the Aviator'' ( ...

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, as well in Portugal, ...

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 Cha ...

as Un ami d'Osten * Robert Ozanne 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 was ...

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

Reception

The film premiered in New York on July 31, 1947 as ''She Returned at Dawn''. Critic

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though some ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote: "Do you remember Danielle Darrieux? ... she appears little changed, the explanation is simple. 'She Returned at Dawn' is a pre-war film. More than that, it is naive and foolish ... Except for the glimpse of pre-war Darrieux, there is little to see in this film. It is equipped with English sub-titles, which makes little difference either way."

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 Films scored by Paul Misraki Films based on works by Vicki Baum {{1930s-drama-film-stub