Promise at Dawn | |
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Directed by | Jules Dassin |
Written by | Jules Dassin Romain Gary (novel) Andrew Sarris Samuel A. Taylor (play) |
Produced by | Jules Dassin |
Starring | Melina Mercouri Assi Dayan |
Cinematography | Jean Badal |
Edited by | Robert Lawrence |
Music by | Georges Delerue |
Production company | Nathalie Productions |
Distributed by | AVCO Embassy Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 99 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Promise at Dawn (French : La Promesse de l'aube) is a 1970 American drama film directed by Jules Dassin and starring Melina Mercouri, Dassin's wife. It is based on the 1960 novel Promise at Dawn (French : La Promesse de l'aube) by Romain Gary and the subsequent play by Samuel A. Taylor.
The film follows author Romain Gary as he recalls his growing up with his Lithuanian-born mother. The two leave Vilnius, Lithuania for France, where they settle in Paris. As twenty years pass, they encounter social change, age, different convictions, poverty and the slow approach of World War II.
The film was shot in Nice, Paris and the USSR. [1] Dassin broke both his legs after falling over in October 1969 after three days of filming in Nice. [2]
Avco Embassy president Joseph E. Levine filmed a cameo for the film. [2]
Romain Gary, born Roman Kacew, was a French novelist, diplomat, film director, and World War II aviator. He is the only author to have won the Prix Goncourt under two names. He is considered a major writer of French literature of the second half of the 20th century. He was married to Jean Seberg.
Topkapi is a 1964 Technicolor heist film produced by Filmways Pictures and distributed by United Artists.
Maria Amalia "Melina" Mercouri was a Greek actress, singer, activist, and politician. She came from a political family that was prominent over multiple generations. She received an Academy Award nomination and won a Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Award for her performance in the film Never on Sunday (1960). Mercouri was also nominated for one Tony Award, three Golden Globes and two BAFTA Awards in her acting career.
Never on Sunday is a 1960 Greek romantic comedy film starring, written by and directed by Jules Dassin.
Joseph Ira Dassin was an American-French singer-songwriter and actor. He was the son of film director Jules Dassin.
Julius "Jules" Dassin was an American film and theatre director, producer, writer and actor. A subject of the Hollywood blacklist in the McCarthy era, he subsequently moved to France, and later Greece, where he continued his career. He was a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Screen Directors' Guild.
Phaedra is a 1962 American-Greek drama film directed by Jules Dassin as a vehicle for his partner Melina Mercouri, after her worldwide hit Never on Sunday.
Jacques Deray was a French film director and screenwriter. Deray is prominently known for directing many crime and thriller films.
Ivan Ilyich Mozzhukhin, usually billed using the French transliteration Ivan Mosjoukine, was a Russian silent film actor.
When the Cat's Away is a 1996 French drama directed by Cédric Klapisch. The movie is set in Paris and stars Garance Clavel, Zinedine Soualem, Renée Le Calm, Olivier Py, Romain Duris, Hélène de Fougerolles, Hiam Abbass and others.
"Never on Sunday", also known by its original Greek title "Ta Pediá tou Pireá", is a popular song written by Manos Hatzidakis and first sung by Melina Mercouri in the film of same name, directed by Jules Dassin and starring Mercouri. The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1960, a first for a foreign-language picture. The film score to the movie was first released on 1 October 1960 by United Artists Records. The song has since been recorded by numerous artists, and has gained various degrees of success throughout the world. The opening of the song bears some resemblance to that of Poinciana.
Maurice Ronet was a French film actor, director, and writer.
Nikos Kourkoulos was a highly respected Greek theatrical and film performer, one of the most talented and recognizable actors in Greece of modern times. Kourkoulos is best known to Greek audiences for playing "Angelos Kreouzis" in Oratotis miden, but he also appeared in other movies such as To Homa vaftike kokkino, Exodos kindynou, O Astrapogiannos, O Katiforos among others.
He Who Must Die is a 1957 French-Italian film directed by Jules Dassin. It is based on the novel Christ Recrucified by Nikos Kazantzakis. It was entered into the 1957 Cannes Film Festival.
The Law is a 1959 French-Italian film directed by Jules Dassin.
Denise Rosemonde "Rosine" Delamare was a French costume designer. She was co-nominated for an Academy Award for her work on the film The Earrings of Madame de… (1953).
A Dream of Passion is a 1978 Greek drama film directed by Jules Dassin. The story follows Melina Mercouri as Maya, an actor playing Medea, who seeks out Brenda Collins, portrayed by Ellen Burstyn, a woman who is in jail for murdering her own children to punish her husband for his infidelity.
René Lefèvre, born René Paul Louis Lefèvre, was a French actor and writer. Throughout his career, he worked with several notable directors, like Jean Renoir, Jean-Pierre Melville, Jules Dassin, and René Clair.
The 34th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 17–28 February 1984. The festival opened with The Noah's Ark Principle by Roland Emmerich. The Golden Bear was awarded to the American film Love Streams directed by John Cassavetes. The retrospective was dedicated to German-American actor, screenwriter, producer and film director Ernst Lubitsch. The Honorary Golden Bear was awarded to American director Jules Dassin and Greek actress Melina Mercouri and the Homage section was dedicated to the couple.
Promise at Dawn is a 1960 autobiographical novel by the French writer Romain Gary. Two films based on the novel, and sharing the same title, have been released: one in 1970 directed by Jules Dassin and another in 2017 directed by Eric Barbier.