Overview

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.

Top Cast

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

Léon Arvel

Raymond Narlay

L

Lucien Walter