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.
Marcel L'Herbier
Director
Annabella
Jeanne de Corlaix
Victor Francen
Capitaine de Corlaix
Gabriel Signoret
Amiral Morbraz
Pierre Renoir
Commandant Branbourg
Rosine Deréan
Alice
Robert Vidalin
Lieutenant d'Artelles
Roland Toutain
Leduc
Jean Dunot
Maurice Baquet
The Kill Team64%
Jacknife63%
The Beast70%
The Thin Red Line74%
Syngué Sabour - Pierre de patience70%
Onoda, 10 000 nuits dans la jungle71%
The One That Got Away68%
The Monuments Men60%
The Scarlet and the Black70%
The Last Rifleman66%
Tirailleurs60%
Chouans !58%
Walking with the Enemy62%
Les Croix de bois70%
Cross of Iron71%
Waiting for Anya62%
The War Below67%
Heartbreak Ridge68%
Greyhound74%
191779%
