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.
Annabella
as Jeanne de Corlaix
Victor Francen
as Capitaine de Corlaix
Gabriel Signoret
as Amiral Morbraz
Pierre Renoir
as Commandant Branbourg
Rosine Deréan
as Alice
Robert Vidalin
as Lieutenant d'Artelles
Roland Toutain
as Leduc
Jean Dunot
as
Maurice Baquet
as
Léon Arvel
as
Raymond Narlay
as
Lucien Walter
as
