By Dawn's Early Light

For articles of a similar name, see By the Dawn's Early Light (disambiguation).

By Dawn's Early Light
Film poster
Genre	Action Drama Thriller
Based on	Trinity's Child
Written by	William Prochnau (novel) Bruce Gilbert (teleplay)
Directed by	Jack Sholder
Starring	Powers Boothe Rebecca De Mornay James Earl Jones Martin Landau Rip Torn Jeffrey DeMunn Darren McGavin Ken Jenkins
Music by	Trevor Jones Paul Hulme
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producer	Bruce Gilbert
Producers	Thomas M. Hammel Susan Moore (associate producer)
Production location	Santa Clarita, California
Cinematography	Alexander Gruszynski
Editor	Tony Lombardo
Running time	100 minutes
Production companies	Paravision International HBO Pictures
Original release
Network	HBO
Release	May 19, 1990 (1990-05-19)

By Dawn's Early Light (also known as The Grand Tour) is an HBO original movie, first aired in 1990. It is based on the 1983 novel Trinity's Child, written by William Prochnau. The film is one of the last to depict the events of a fictional World War III before the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.

Plot

In 1991, dissident officials in the Soviet Union launch a nuclear missile at Donetsk from a site in NATO member Turkey. The Soviet automated defence systems, believing that a NATO attack is in progress, execute a measured launch of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) at the United States. After Donetsk is destroyed, the Strategic Air Command (SAC) scrambles its forces and SAC Commander General Renning urges the US president to authorize a large-scale counterattack. The Soviet leader explains the dissidents' actions to the US president. He asks the US to stand down, but he is willing to accept a US counterstrike comparable to the Soviets' strike, costing each side six to nine million people. If the United States launches an all-out attack, the Soviets will respond in kind and doom the whole planet.

As the president and General Renning argue it appears that the Soviets have launched a second attack. The president authorizes a multi-part all-out attack, with US ICBMs launched immediately, then submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) in a few hours, coincident with the arrival of US Air Force bombers over the Soviet Union. General Renning issues the orders just before the first wave hits SAC headquarters and then quickly passes command of SAC to "Alice," the codename of an Air Force general in command of Looking Glass, a flying command aircraft for the Air Force and the US Navy. The president takes off in Marine One and learns the second Soviet attack was directed at China, since it had launched its own missiles against the Soviets. Realizing his mistake, the president tries to cancel all-out nuclear retaliation, but before he can, a nearby nuclear detonation forces his helicopter down.

A B-52 bomber, commanded by Major Cassidy and his co-pilot, Captain Moreau takes off with callsign "Polar Bear 1" minutes before Fairchild Air Force Base is destroyed. The crewmen are shaken by the unfolding events, and a nuclear flash injures Moreau and kills another crew member. An American admiral, codenamed "Harpoon," is in command of Nightwatch, a presidential flying command platform. With the president presumed dead, they swear in the US Secretary of the Interior as president, codenamed "Condor." Harpoon briefs Condor regarding the Soviet president's message, the mistake regarding China, and the matching damage already done by the initial retaliation. Colonel Fargo, a hawkish advisor on Nightwatch, advises Condor to continue American retaliatory strikes. Condor agrees with Fargo's plan for a submarine missile and bomber attack and orders Alice to execute the remainder of the attack plan. Alice reluctantly orders bombers for the attack. Cassidy and Moreau react emotionally to these orders, and convince the crew to abort their mission. Crewman Tyler, despondent over the loss of his family, displays increasingly erratic behavior and attacks Cassidy. After trying to shoot the pilots he escapes by ejection seat, blowing everyone but the two pilots from the aircraft.

The original president is discovered at the crash site of Marine One, blinded and injured, and is taken to a FEMA emergency shelter where he learns of Condor's orders. He contacts the Soviet president and they agree to a one-hour stand off. Aboard Looking Glass, Alice notices that Polar Bear 1 has abandoned its attack, and a Soviet squadron has apparently also turned back in response. Alice begs Condor to recall the rest of the US bombers so a ceasefire can be arranged. Condor instead orders Alice to send US Navy carrier-based fighters to shoot down Polar Bear 1. Alice hesitates and Fargo informs Condor that they can send the launch commands from Nightwatch. Condor cuts off communication with Looking Glass.

The original president contacts Alice and Looking Glass agrees to recall the bombers but lacks the authority to call off the submarine attack. Two US Navy fighters intercept Polar Bear 1 over the Pacific Ocean to shoot it down, but when their aircraft carrier is sunk they call off the attack and wish Polar Bear 1 good luck instead. The real president finally connects with Condor. Fearing he is an impersonator (or seeing a threat to his agenda), Condor orders the Nightwatch staff to contact the US submarines. Alice and the Looking Glass staff agree to ram their plane into Nightwatch before Condor can send out launch orders and the Nightwatch pilots obligingly sacrifice themselves by turning their aircraft into the path of Looking Glass. The real president successfully issues a message to stand down on the American attack, leaving Cassidy and Moreau to wonder what happens next.

Cast

• Powers Boothe as Major Cassidy, USAF – pilot of the B-52 bomber "Polar Bear 1"
• Rebecca De Mornay as Captain Moreau, USAF – copilot of "Polar Bear 1"
• James Earl Jones as USAF general Charlie in command of the EC-135 "Looking Glass" – callsign "Alice"
• Martin Landau as President of the United States
• Darren McGavin as US Secretary of the Interior on the Boeing E-4 NEACP aircraft – callsign "Condor"
• Rip Torn as Colonel Fargo, USA – Army military advisor in the E-4
• Jeffrey DeMunn as USN admiral aboard the E-4 – callsign "Harpoon"
• Peter MacNicol as LCDR Tom Sedgwick, USN – President's Emergency War Orders officer
• Nicolas Coster as General Clay Renning, USAF, at SAC headquarters – callsign "Icarus"
• Ken Jenkins as a USAF Colonel Sam aboard Looking Glass
• Richard Speight Jr. as a USAF guard

Production

Principal photography took place from August 7 to late September 1989. The use of military hardware such as the B-52 bomber and Boeing E-4 enabled a realistic account of the Strategic Air Command in action.

Differences from the source material

There are two major differences between the plot of the novel and the film, the first being that the crisis in the novel is started by a deliberate Soviet attack to counter the US military buildup with which they are unable to compete. The other major difference in the film is the romantic subplot between Moreau and Cassidy, which is absent in the book; the characters there actually ridicule the idea of such a relationship between them.

Reception

Contemporary reviews of By Dawn's Early Light centered on the confrontation by nuclear powers and gave it accolades. "There never has been a made-for-cable movie as sleek and efficient as By Dawn's Early Light. Fast-moving, complex, and only occasionally a bit hokey, it's by far the best original movie project HBO has overseen." "Boasting high production values, okay special effects, and a surprisingly top-notch cast... a thrilling drama that is your better-than-average made-for-TV movie." More recent reviews were similar: "Probably the end of the line for Cold War confrontation on this scale, but compelling drama nonetheless."

Awards and honors

In 1990, James Earl Jones was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special and Matte World Digital won for Outstanding Achievement in Special Visual Effects.

In addition, Martin Landau was nominated for the 1991 Cable Ace award for Best Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries, but lost to his co-star from this film, James Earl Jones who won for Heat Wave.

Trivia

The threat levels used in the film (Applejack, Snowman, Cocked Pistol, Roundhouse, Big Noise) are actually designations only used during training exercises to ensure that there is no confusion with an actual change in defcon alert status. In the film, threat level "Big Noise: is seen at the top of the board, but never declared by the Strategic Air Command. Whether by mistake, or for creative decisions, these terms would not be used; in actuality the threat level conditions used would be DEFCON, and the Exercise mapping from low to high is; Fade Out DEFCON 5, Double Take DEFCON 4, Road House DEFCON 3, Fast Pace DEFCON 2, and Cocked Pistol DEFCON 1.

See also

• Fail-Safe, a 1962 book and a 1964 film with similar themes
• Red Alert, a 1958 novel

References

Bibliography

• Frietas, Gary A. War Movies: The Belle & Blade Guide to Classic War Videos. Bandon, Oregon: Robert D. Reed Publishers, 2011. ISBN 978-1931741385.
• Lisboa, Maria Manuel. The End of the World: Apocalypse and Its Aftermath in Western Culture. Cambridge, UK: Open Book Publishers, 2011. ISBN 978-1-90692-450-8.
• Prochnau, William. Trinity's Child. London: Putnam Publishing Group, 1983. ISBN 978-0-399-12777-9.

External links

• By Dawn's Early Light at IMDb
• By Dawn's Early Light at the TCM Movie Database
• By Dawn's Early Light at AllMovie