By Dawn's Early Light
Encyclopedia
By Dawn’s Early Light is an HBO Original Movie, aired in 1990 and set in 1991. It is based on the 1983 novel Trinity's Child
, written by William Prochnau
. The film is one of the last films to depict the events of a fictional World War III
before the collapse of the Soviet Union
and the end of the Cold War
. 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.
begins to undergo radical political change, a group of renegade Soviet military officers steal a nuclear missile and launch it towards the Soviet Union from Turkey
. The Soviet city of Donetsk
is destroyed by the stolen missile. When the missile hits, Soviet defense systems see that the weapon was launched from Turkey, and conclude that a NATO attack is in progress. The Soviets retaliate by launching ICBMs and SLBMs at the United States from both nuclear submarines and from land-based silos.
Moments after the Soviet attack is launched, the President of the United States
receives a teleprinter
message from his counterpart in the Soviet Union saying that they have determined that the first missile was launched by renegades and not by NATO; the Premier tells the President that the Soviet Union will, without retaliation, accept a limited U.S. counterstrike comparable with the Soviet attack (that is, killing between six and nine million people). However, should the U.S. counterstrike be any larger, the Soviets will have no choice but to retaliate in kind — meaning that an all-out nuclear exchange would almost certainly ensue. To further add to the turmoil, China
launches its own strike against the Soviets in accordance with a treaty with the United States.
The President argues over the phone with General Renning at Strategic Air Command
Headquarters at Offutt AFB, Nebraska, over whether or not the teleprinter message can be trusted. The General believes it is a bluff intended to trick the U.S. into not counterattacking and leaving itself vulnerable, while the President is reluctant to launch a nuclear strike over what could be a mistake. General Renning orders his naval attache, "Harpoon", to board the Boeing E-4
airborne command post and orders a launch of his remaining land-based bombers, as most of them have been destroyed in the initial Soviet attack.
After much persuasion, the President orders an initial counter-assault, just after Washington, D.C.
is struck by a nuclear missile, which was originally intended to detonate over Andrews AFB, Maryland but overshot its target by 13 miles and instead detonates over Walter Reed
Army Hospital. Renning then informs the President that the Soviets have launched a second attack, presumably proving him right in that the Soviet Premier was being untruthful. The President reluctantly orders a second counterstrike
. Aboard Marine One, the President's Emergency War Orders officer (EWO) receives a teleprinter message informing him that the second nuclear strike was directed at the Chinese, not at the United States, meaning that the United States will now suffer further casualties. The President is then evacuated from The White House on Marine One
and is en route to Dover AFB, Delaware, but is presumed killed when a second nuclear weapon detonates over Andrews and causes the helicopter to crash. The President is, however, only wounded, yet now completely blind
from exposure to the light of the nuclear explosion.
Assuming the President is dead, the United States Army
and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
locate the Secretary of the Interior
in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As the only remaining Cabinet
member known to still be alive, and thus next in the order of succession
, the Secretary of the Interior is installed as President of the United States with the codename "Condor". Though the Secretary at first appears open to the suggestion of Harpoon, who urges a cautious approach involving reduced hostilities, he quickly decides instead to follow the advice of the hawkish Colonel Fargo, who sees the total destruction of the Soviet Union as the only acceptable resolution to the conflict.
On board the Boeing E-4, Condor orders a decapitating strike on the Soviet Union, concentrating on the destruction of leadership bunkers by land-based bombers and the launch of all U.S. submarine-based nuclear missiles. Condor holds fast to his decision to attack the Soviet Union, even after hearing that the President of the United States is still alive, as he believes the communication to be a trick by the Soviet Union.
In Olney, Maryland
, the President is taken to a nearby Federal Emergency Management Agency
emergency shelter, where he is able to get in touch with the Soviet Premier via shortwave, though there is some question at the time of whether the authentication is legitimate. He then contacts the Looking Glass
command plane which recognizes that the President is still alive. He then orders the Looking Glass aircraft battle staff to stand down the bombers and land-based missiles; however, to prevent Condor from ordering the launch of the submarine-based missiles from the U.S. Navy's TACAMO
communications aircraft, the Looking Glass aircraft loyal to the President pledges to ram the E-4B. Minutes before Condor sends out the order for a full-scale nuclear strike, the Looking Glass is able to ram the E-4B (with the unspoken cooperation of its own flight crew during the last few moments, including a brief salute between each plane). The President then reasserts control and orders a stand-down of all U.S. nuclear and military forces. The Soviet Union responds in kind. However, the outcome of the conflict between Soviet Union and China is left unanswered.
Throughout the entire film, a sub-plot focuses on a single B-52 Stratofortress
crew from the time of its emergency take-off from Fairchild AFB to receiving orders to enter the Soviet Union and begin destroying cities. The B-52 pilot and female co-pilot, who are shown carrying on a clandestine romance prior to the emergency, eventually decide to disobey orders, at which time one of the airmen on board mutinies and attempts to kill the pilot. After a violent struggle, every aircrew member, except for the pilot and co-pilot, are killed. The end of the film shows the plane flying into the sunrise, just after the President has ordered a stand down of the armed forces.
Trinity's Child
Trinity's Child is a 1983 novel by William Prochnau. The book depicts a nuclear war waged between the United States of America and the Soviet Union.-Plot summary:...
, written by William Prochnau
William Prochnau
William Walter Prochnau is an American journalist.His work on the Vietnam War while at the Seattle Times landed him on the master list of Nixon political opponents....
. The film is one of the last films to depict the events of a fictional World War III
World War III
World War III denotes a successor to World War II that would be on a global scale, with common speculation that it would be likely nuclear and devastating in nature....
before the collapse of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and the end of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. In 1990, James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special and Matte World Digital
Matte World Digital
Matte World Digital is a visual effects company based in Novato, California that specializes in realistic matte painting effects and digital environments for feature films, television, electronic games and IMAX large-format productions.-History:...
won for Outstanding Achievement in Special Visual Effects.
Plot
As the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
begins to undergo radical political change, a group of renegade Soviet military officers steal a nuclear missile and launch it towards the Soviet Union from Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. The Soviet city of Donetsk
Donetsk
Donetsk , is a large city in eastern Ukraine on the Kalmius river. Administratively, it is a center of Donetsk Oblast, while historically, it is the unofficial capital and largest city of the economic and cultural Donets Basin region...
is destroyed by the stolen missile. When the missile hits, Soviet defense systems see that the weapon was launched from Turkey, and conclude that a NATO attack is in progress. The Soviets retaliate by launching ICBMs and SLBMs at the United States from both nuclear submarines and from land-based silos.
Moments after the Soviet attack is launched, the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
receives a teleprinter
Teleprinter
A teleprinter is a electromechanical typewriter that can be used to communicate typed messages from point to point and point to multipoint over a variety of communication channels that range from a simple electrical connection, such as a pair of wires, to the use of radio and microwave as the...
message from his counterpart in the Soviet Union saying that they have determined that the first missile was launched by renegades and not by NATO; the Premier tells the President that the Soviet Union will, without retaliation, accept a limited U.S. counterstrike comparable with the Soviet attack (that is, killing between six and nine million people). However, should the U.S. counterstrike be any larger, the Soviets will have no choice but to retaliate in kind — meaning that an all-out nuclear exchange would almost certainly ensue. To further add to the turmoil, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
launches its own strike against the Soviets in accordance with a treaty with the United States.
The President argues over the phone with General Renning at Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
Headquarters at Offutt AFB, Nebraska, over whether or not the teleprinter message can be trusted. The General believes it is a bluff intended to trick the U.S. into not counterattacking and leaving itself vulnerable, while the President is reluctant to launch a nuclear strike over what could be a mistake. General Renning orders his naval attache, "Harpoon", to board the Boeing E-4
Boeing E-4
The Boeing E-4 Advanced Airborne Command Post, with a project name of "Nightwatch", is an aircraft operated by the United States Air Force...
airborne command post and orders a launch of his remaining land-based bombers, as most of them have been destroyed in the initial Soviet attack.
After much persuasion, the President orders an initial counter-assault, just after Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
is struck by a nuclear missile, which was originally intended to detonate over Andrews AFB, Maryland but overshot its target by 13 miles and instead detonates over Walter Reed
Walter Reed
Major Walter Reed, M.D., was a U.S. Army physician who in 1900 led the team that postulated and confirmed the theory that yellow fever is transmitted by a particular mosquito species, rather than by direct contact...
Army Hospital. Renning then informs the President that the Soviets have launched a second attack, presumably proving him right in that the Soviet Premier was being untruthful. The President reluctantly orders a second counterstrike
Counterattack
A counterattack is a tactic used in response against an attack. The term originates in military strategy. The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy in attack and the specific objectives are usually to regain lost ground or to destroy attacking enemy units.It is...
. Aboard Marine One, the President's Emergency War Orders officer (EWO) receives a teleprinter message informing him that the second nuclear strike was directed at the Chinese, not at the United States, meaning that the United States will now suffer further casualties. The President is then evacuated from The White House on Marine One
Marine One
Marine One is the call sign of any United States Marine Corps aircraft carrying the President of the United States. It usually denotes a helicopter operated by the HMX-1 "Nighthawks" squadron, either the large VH-3D Sea King or the newer, smaller VH-60N "WhiteHawk", both due to be replaced by the...
and is en route to Dover AFB, Delaware, but is presumed killed when a second nuclear weapon detonates over Andrews and causes the helicopter to crash. The President is, however, only wounded, yet now completely blind
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
from exposure to the light of the nuclear explosion.
Assuming the President is dead, the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
locate the Secretary of the Interior
United States Secretary of the Interior
The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As the only remaining Cabinet
United States Cabinet
The Cabinet of the United States is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States, which are generally the heads of the federal executive departments...
member known to still be alive, and thus next in the order of succession
United States presidential line of succession
The United States presidential line of succession defines who may become or act as President of the United States upon the incapacity, death, resignation, or removal from office of a sitting president or a president-elect.- Current order :This is a list of the current presidential line of...
, the Secretary of the Interior is installed as President of the United States with the codename "Condor". Though the Secretary at first appears open to the suggestion of Harpoon, who urges a cautious approach involving reduced hostilities, he quickly decides instead to follow the advice of the hawkish Colonel Fargo, who sees the total destruction of the Soviet Union as the only acceptable resolution to the conflict.
On board the Boeing E-4, Condor orders a decapitating strike on the Soviet Union, concentrating on the destruction of leadership bunkers by land-based bombers and the launch of all U.S. submarine-based nuclear missiles. Condor holds fast to his decision to attack the Soviet Union, even after hearing that the President of the United States is still alive, as he believes the communication to be a trick by the Soviet Union.
In Olney, Maryland
Olney, Maryland
Olney, a census-designated place and an unincorporated area of Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, is located in the north central part of the county, twenty miles north of Washington, D.C. It was largely agricultural until the 1960s, when growth of the Washington suburbs led to its conversion into...
, the President is taken to a nearby Federal Emergency Management Agency
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders...
emergency shelter, where he is able to get in touch with the Soviet Premier via shortwave, though there is some question at the time of whether the authentication is legitimate. He then contacts the Looking Glass
Looking Glass (airplane)
Looking Glass is the code name for an airborne command center currently operated by the U.S. Navy. It provides command and control of U.S. nuclear forces in the event that ground-based command centers are destroyed or otherwise rendered inoperable.The Looking Glass was initiated by the U.S...
command plane which recognizes that the President is still alive. He then orders the Looking Glass aircraft battle staff to stand down the bombers and land-based missiles; however, to prevent Condor from ordering the launch of the submarine-based missiles from the U.S. Navy's TACAMO
TACAMO
TACAMO is a U.S. military term meaning "Take Charge and Move Out". TACAMO refers to a system of survivable communications links designed to be used in nuclear war to maintain communications between the decision makers and the triad of strategic nuclear weapon delivery systems...
communications aircraft, the Looking Glass aircraft loyal to the President pledges to ram the E-4B. Minutes before Condor sends out the order for a full-scale nuclear strike, the Looking Glass is able to ram the E-4B (with the unspoken cooperation of its own flight crew during the last few moments, including a brief salute between each plane). The President then reasserts control and orders a stand-down of all U.S. nuclear and military forces. The Soviet Union responds in kind. However, the outcome of the conflict between Soviet Union and China is left unanswered.
Throughout the entire film, a sub-plot focuses on a single B-52 Stratofortress
B-52 Stratofortress
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber operated by the United States Air Force since the 1950s. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, who have continued to provide maintainence and upgrades to the aircraft in service...
crew from the time of its emergency take-off from Fairchild AFB to receiving orders to enter the Soviet Union and begin destroying cities. The B-52 pilot and female co-pilot, who are shown carrying on a clandestine romance prior to the emergency, eventually decide to disobey orders, at which time one of the airmen on board mutinies and attempts to kill the pilot. After a violent struggle, every aircrew member, except for the pilot and co-pilot, are killed. The end of the film shows the plane flying into the sunrise, just after the President has ordered a stand down of the armed forces.
Differences from the source material
There are two major differences between the plot of the novel as compared to the movie. In the novel the crisis begins when the USSR launches a deliberate attack on the US. The attack is aimed at US. military forces only, though the Russians know and accept that major civilian casualties will result. Unable to compete with US defense spending, the Russians have engaged on this attack knowing that the US will respond in kind, thus effectively ending the cold war. The second major difference is in the romantic subplot between Captain Moreau and Major Cassidy; in the book this is not merely absent but the characters actually mock the idea of such a relationship between them.Cast
- Powers BoothePowers BoothePowers Allen Boothe is an American television and film actor. Some of his most notable roles include his Emmy-winning 1980 portrayal of Jim Jones and his turn as Cy Tolliver on Deadwood, as well as Vice-President Noah Daniels on 24....
.... Maj. Cassidy - Rebecca De MornayRebecca De MornayRebecca De Mornay is an American film and television actress. Her breakthrough film role came in 1983, when she played Lana in Risky Business opposite Tom Cruise...
.... Capt. Moreau - James Earl JonesJames Earl JonesJames Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
.... Looking Glass General - 'Alice' - Martin LandauMartin LandauMartin Landau is an American film and television actor. Landau began his career in the 1950s. His early films include a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest . He played continuing roles in the television series Mission: Impossible and Space:1999...
.... President of the United States - Darren McGavinDarren McGavinDarren McGavin was an American actor best known for playing the title role in the television horror series Kolchak: The Night Stalker and his portrayal in the film A Christmas Story of the grumpy father given to bursts of profanity that he never realizes his son overhears...
.... Secretary of the Interior - 'Condor' - Rip TornRip TornElmore Rual "Rip" Torn, Jr. , is an American actor of stage, screen and television.Torn received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 1983 film Cross Creek. His work includes the role of Artie, the producer, on The Larry Sanders Show, for which he was nominated...
.... Col. Fargo - Jeffrey DeMunnJeffrey DeMunnJeffrey DeMunn is an American theatre, film and television actor.-Life and career:DeMunn was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of Violet and James DeMunn. Stepson of noted actress Betty Lutes DeMunn...
.... 'Harpoon' - Peter MacNicolPeter MacNicolPeter MacNicol is an American actor. He may be best known in films for his roles of Janosz Poha in Ghostbusters II, Stingo in Sophie's Choice, Thomas Renfield in Dracula: Dead and Loving It and David Langley in Bean...
.... Sedgwick - Emergency War Orders officer - Nicolas CosterNicolas CosterNicolas Coster is a British-born American actor, most known for his work in daytime drama and as a character actor on nighttime television series.-Biography:...
.... Gen. Renning - 'Icarus'