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.

It's a PRC film so start with low expectations, but The Dawn Express will not even meet those. This is a horribly dated early World War II era flag waver when we were told to be on the alert for Nazi spies everywhere.

Michael Whalen and William Bakewell are a pair of scientists working in a chemical laboratory on a formula to get a little more mileage out of the gasoline in your tank's tank. Something no doubt that General Patton will find invaluable, not to mention what it will do for the post war civilian drivers. The Nazis want it too and they're even sending one of their top scientists, flying him secretly to America to test it for himself.

It's Bakewell they get to first putting an alluring Constance Worth in his path. Bakewell does fancy himself a player. Then it's up to Whalen to keep the formula out of Nazi hands and rescue Bakewell if he can do both. In fact he's engaged to Bakewell's sister Anne Nagel.

There are about a dozen holes in this story and it looks like it was shot with an old Bell&Howell home movie camera. I just hope our post war drivers got the benefit of this research.

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.

Cheaply done propaganda film from PRC directed by Albert Herman. Done in 1942, it looks like it was done in 1932.

The Nazis are afoot in the U. S. after a formula that can take regular gasoline and give it more oomph. One company is tackling one part of the formula, with another company doing the rest.

The Nazis obtain half and zero in on two chemists, Fielding and Norton (Michael Whelan) one of whom will have the other half. They kidnap Tom Fielding (William Bakewell) and use harm to his sister (Anna Nagel) and his mother as a threat.

To protect his friend Norton who knows the formula and is engaged to his sister, Tom claims to know how to combine the two halves.

Agonizing with the film using the exact same closeups and a restaurant door constantly.

There was a director - some kind of boy wonder - who fired Tyrone Power from a film and replaced him with Whelan. Same kind of mind that put this film together.

(1942) Dawn Express ESPIONAGE/ WAR DRAMA/ SUSPENSE

Super low budget anti- Nazi movie has set up during WWII, Nazis discovering about a secret formula that can enable them win the war against the US sought to go after some of the gov'ts finest chemists of Robert Norton (Michael Whalen) and Tom Fielding (William Bakewell). They do this by sending over to them Linda Pavlo (Constance Worth).

Routine with some mediocre acting, but at the same time, you first have to consider the time it was made, during WWII. And before the first atomic bomb that was dropped to Hiroshima which was in August 6, 1945. I also thought it was good enough for a movie that has a running time limit of 1 hour and 7 minutes.