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By Dawn's Early Light

Name: By Dawn's Early Light
Genre: TV Movie, Action, Drama, Thriller
Released: 1990-05-19
Cast: Powers Boothe, Rebecca De Mornay, James Earl Jones, Martin Landau, Darren McGavin

1990 | 101 min | TV Movie, Action, Drama, Thriller

Weeknight Watchearly rating

Why it’s a Weeknight Watch

With soft box office, it's a mixed bag. Fine if it's on; don't plan your night around it.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it: Made for anyone who likes to be kept guessing and action fans.
The mood: Tense.
The pace: Takes its time with its characters, at 1 hr 41 min.
What might put you off: Rated PG. Worth a look first if you have very young kids.

A nuclear warhead launched by Soviet insurgents protesting the waning Cold War destroys the Ukrainian city of Donetsk. The destruction sets off a race between American and Soviet politicians to prevent a nuclear holocaust. While the U.S. president feverishly works to keep the military and political machine from going into overdrive, various subordinates panic. When the president is believed to be killed in a helicopter crash, zealous advisers take over.

How it earned its rating

CriticsNot counted
Not enough reviews on record yet
AudiencesNot counted
Not measured yet: not enough ratings
AwardsNot counted
No major awards or nominations
Reach & staying powerBelow par
Streaming release that reached a small audience so far; still draws a steady audience long after release
Buzz & cultural impactSolid
About 60K people sought it out in the past year

Trailer

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Cast & crew

Directed by Jack Sholder

Powers BootheCassidy
Rebecca De MornayMoreau
James Earl JonesAlice
Martin LandauPresident
Darren McGavinCondor
Rip TornColonel Fargo
Jeffrey DeMunnHarpoon
Peter MacNicolSedgwick
Glenn WithrowTyler
Ronald William LawrenceHooker