--- title: "Daybreak" year: 1939 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/daybreak" fi1m_id: "daybreak" imdb_id: "tt0031514" tmdb_id: 27053 wikidata_id: "Q1197293" fi1m_score: 82 critics_score: 75 critics_reviews: 5 published: "2026-09-25T02:58:22.086578+00:00" updated: "2026-09-25T02:58:23.141429+00:00" region: "AT" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Daybreak (1939) Directed by Marcel Carné · 1h 33m · Crime, Drama ## Identity Daybreak - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/daybreak - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** daybreak - **IMDb ID:** tt0031514 - **TMDB ID:** 27053 - **Wikidata ID:** Q1197293 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031514/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/27053, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1197293 **Fi1m score: 82** · Critics 75 (early) from 5 reviews *In a sentence:* Jean Gabin makes an attic feel like somewhere we need to recover from > Marcel Carné’s claustrophobic crime drama earns its bleakness through Jean Gabin’s wounded force and a sharply contrasting cast. The gloom can grow insistent, but the performances make confinement painfully absorbing. ## Synopsis François (Jean Gabin) is trapped in an attic, surrounded by police. Getting out means confronting the people waiting outside the attic. Françoise (Jacqueline Laurent), M. Valentin (Jules Berry) and Clara (Arletty) are the other central figures in his story. The attic puts François above the police without taking him beyond their reach. Directed by Marcel Carné and written by Jacques Viot and Jacques Prévert, this 1939 crime drama keeps a man under siege at its centre, with little room left to manoeuvre. ## Review Marcel Carné’s *Daybreak* is a gripping crime drama, with a strain of self-pity that its actors mostly keep in check. François (Jean Gabin) is trapped in an attic, surrounded by police, and the confinement gives the film an immediate pressure. Carné asks us to stay close to a man who is difficult to comfort and difficult to dismiss. Across 93 minutes, the chief attraction is watching Gabin make that predicament feel personal. Gabin’s force comes from how little protection his toughness seems to offer him. He can look formidable without making François seem safe, and the wounded quality never turns him into someone merely asking for our sympathy. We felt trapped with him. With the police outside the attic, his inability to look at ease makes even the available space feel insufficient. That is a difficult performance to sustain: the distress has to remain legible without becoming the only thing we see. Jules Berry’s M. Valentin gives that restraint something useful to work against. Berry’s broader manner could unbalance the film, but the difference in acting styles makes the company more lively and less predictably solemn. Arletty’s Clara has a dry intelligence that is welcome in such oppressive surroundings. Jacqueline Laurent’s Françoise makes less of an impression; beside these strongly defined performances, she seems too easily reduced to the feeling a scene requires. The imbalance matters, though it does not undo the hold of the central performance. The writing, credited to Jacques Viot and Jacques Prévert, also helps keep the gloom bearable. There is a sexual knowingness to the dialogue that makes these people sound capable of enjoying themselves, however uncomfortable their circumstances. We welcome that frankness, because a crime drama can become tiresome when everyone speaks as though conscious of their own tragedy. Carné does sometimes encourage that solemnity. The film is less convincing when its insistence on suffering crowds out the less orderly feelings the actors suggest. Alexandre Trauner’s production design makes the attic an effective source of discomfort. Its position above the police offers no reassuring sense of distance; François remains enclosed, and the attic keeps that physical fact before us. The photography is credited to Philippe Agostini, Albert Viguier, André Bac and Curt Courant, and its attention to Gabin’s face makes the confinement harder to endure. We keep looking for some sign that he can be comfortable there. René Le Hénaff’s editing allows the performances time to register and holds the pressure steadily, although the expectation of disaster occasionally becomes wearing. Maurice Jaubert’s music adds to that weight, sometimes too insistently for our taste. Gabin supplies enough pain without much assistance. Yet Carné’s control remains persuasive: the claustrophobia comes from staying with François long enough to feel the strain, and there is usually enough life in the performances to prevent the sadness becoming monotonous. We would choose it for an evening when there is no need to be cheered up. The dialogue rewards attention, and the performances are too finely judged to leave running while something else gets done. Allow the film its oppressive mood; if that is not tonight’s appetite, leave it for another night. *Fi1m score 82, published 25 September 2026.* ## Straight answers **Is Daybreak worth watching?** *Daybreak* is worth watching for Jean Gabin’s wounded, forceful performance and its oppressive attic setting; we score it 82 out of 100. We recommend it to anyone drawn to claustrophobic crime dramas, with the reservation that its gloom sometimes becomes too insistent: this is an evening’s viewing that rewards attention rather than offering comfort. **How long is Daybreak, and what is it rated?** *Daybreak* runs 1h 33m. It is a crime and drama film. **Where can I watch Daybreak in Austria?** *Daybreak* is not on any streaming or rental service in Austria at the moment. It is available in 11 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. **How violent or frightening is Daybreak, and is it suitable for children?** *Daybreak* has no UK or US certificate listed here, and we would not choose its oppressive police siege and adult dialogue for children. The tension comes from confinement and sustained distress, while the dialogue has a sexual knowingness; we cannot give a firm guide to explicit violence, but the bleakness warrants caution for sensitive viewers. **How does Daybreak compare to High and Low?** *Daybreak* is the better choice for sustained claustrophobia, while [*High and Low*](https://film.one/film/high-and-low) offers a broader crime thriller built around a tycoon’s moral choice and police work. We recommend both for their central performances and controlled staging. Gabin’s confinement makes *Daybreak* painfully absorbing, though its gloom can wear; *High and Low* sacrifices some tension when it gives the investigation more room. **What should I watch after Daybreak?** After *Daybreak*, try [*Odd Man Out*](https://film.one/film/odd-man-out) (1947, Fi1m 82): Another hunted man, with a city making every possible refuge feel temporary. Then [*Ossessione*](https://film.one/film/obsession-1943) (1943, Fi1m 82): For desire, resentment and the oppressive sense that nobody can simply leave; and [*High and Low*](https://film.one/film/high-and-low) (1963, Fi1m 90): A crime drama that makes rooms, money and social position equally uncomfortable. ### Reviews we read (5) - **Empire**, Ian Freer (90/100, inferred): Freer calls the film gripping, moving and essential cinema. He especially praises Jean Gabin’s performance, the supporting cast and Alexandre Trauner’s set design. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/le-jour-se-leve-review/) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (85/100, inferred): Bradshaw finds the film bristling with energy and shaped with remarkable artistry. He especially praises Jean Gabin’s rugged yet wounded performance. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/oct/02/le-jour-se-leve-review-jean-gabin) - **The New Yorker**, David Denby (70/100, inferred): Denby presents the film as a vivid expression of prewar French fatalism. He praises the contrasting acting styles and Prévert’s sexually knowing dialogue. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/10/25/love-and-death-david-denby) - **The New York Times** (65/100, inferred): The accessible page does not reveal the critic’s verdict. Its headline identifies the film as a French drama starring Jean Gabin, but provides no specific praise or complaint. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1940/07/30/archives/the-screen-daybreak-french-drama-with-jean-gabin-at-little.html) - **Time Out** (64/100, inferred): The visible text introduces the film but does not reveal the critic’s verdict. It describes Gabin’s character trapped in an attic, surrounded by police. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/newyork/film/le-jour-se-leve) ## Details - **Director:** Marcel Carné - **Director:** Marcel Carné - **Writer:** Jacques Viot, Jacques Prévert - **Cinematography:** André Bac, Curt Courant, Albert Viguier, Philippe Agostini - **Editor:** René Le Hénaff - **Music:** Maurice Jaubert - **Production design:** Alexandre Trauner - **Costume design:** Boris Bilinsky - **Producer:** Jean-Pierre Frogerais - **Cast:** Jean Gabin as François; Jacqueline Laurent as Françoise; Jules Berry as M. Valentin; Arletty as Clara; Mady Berry as La concierge; René Génin as Le concierge; Arthur Devère as M. Gerbois; René Bergeron as Le patron du café - **Runtime:** 1h 33m - **First release (France):** 9 June 1939 - **Genres:** Crime, Drama - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W4lacJZ2Z8 ## Where to watch in Austria Not streaming, renting or buying in Austria at the last check. Also available in: BG, EE, FR, GR, HR, IS, LT, NL, PT, RO, SI. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Odd Man Out* (1947), Fi1m 82: Another hunted man, with a city making every possible refuge feel temporary. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/odd-man-out.md) - *Ossessione* (1943), Fi1m 82: For desire, resentment and the oppressive sense that nobody can simply leave. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/obsession-1943.md) - *Le trou* (1960): Confinement made painfully physical, with patient attention to work, trust and escape. - *High and Low* (1963), Fi1m 90: A crime drama that makes rooms, money and social position equally uncomfortable. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/high-and-low.md) - *The Headless Woman* (2008): For quieter unease, as one troubled person struggles to behave normally. --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/daybreak