Daybreak

Daybreak

Year: 1948

Runtime: 75 mins

Language: English

Director: Compton Bennett

DramaCrimeThriller

A mysterious barber hides a secret identity that eventually leads to tragedy.

Warning: spoilers below!

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Timeline & Setting – Daybreak (1948)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Daybreak (1948). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Location

Gravesend, Thames River

Gravesend is a historic port town on the north bank of the River Thames, serving as Eddie's base of operations with his barber shop. Much of the story unfolds along the Thames aboard barges, illustrating a working river community. The setting emphasizes a gritty, working-class atmosphere tied to river trade and pub life.

🗺️ Gravesend 🚢 Thames river life

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 18:06

Main Characters – Daybreak (1948)

Meet the key characters of Daybreak (1948), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Eddie Mendover (Eddie Tribe)

A barber by day who moonlights as England's official hangman, Eddie sustains a dangerous secret life. His conflict between duty and love fuels the drama, pushing him toward a painful confession and personal ruin.

🧭 Dual life 🏛️ Duty vs. desire 🕯️ Moral conflict

Frances 'Frankie' Tribe

A woman with a shadowy past who becomes Eddie's wife. She wrestles with loneliness and temptation, including Olaf's advances, while her marriage is strained by Eddie's secrecy.

🎯 Romance 💔 Past secrets 🕊️ Tragedy

Ron

Eddie's assistant who knows the secret of his double life. Practical and loyal, he represents the closest confidant Eddie has within his fabricated world.

🤝 Loyalty 🧩 Hidden life 🗝️ Secrets

Olaf Tyson

A Danish seaman who flirts with Frankie, catalyzing the conflict. His arrogance and advances heighten the tension leading to violence and its consequences.

💃 Temptation 🗡️ Conflict 🩸 Consequences

Bill Shackle

An elderly bargeman who could have helped Frankie but is otherwise occupied; his absence underscores the precariousness of river life.

🪵 Community 🚶‍♂️ Local life 🛶 River work

Doris

A supporting character drawn from the surrounding cast, part of the social milieu around the barge and pub.

👥 Community 🏷️ Town life 🗺️ Locale

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 18:06

Major Themes – Daybreak (1948)

Explore the central themes of Daybreak (1948), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🎭 Dual Identity

The story centers on Eddie Mendover living a double life: a humble barber by day and England's official hangman by night. The narrative shifts between ordinary daily routines and the grim duties of state violence, highlighting the tension between private self and public role.

⚖️ Justice and Guilt

Eddie's clandestine existence forces him to confront the moral ambiguity of his vocation. The plot probes whether duty can absolve violence, culminating in a confession that upends his life and those around him.

💔 Love and Tragedy

Frankie and Eddie's marriage is tested by secrets and temptation, with Olaf's advances pushing their bond toward collapse. The resulting betrayal, suicide, and reveal of Eddie's true role drive a tragic arc that echoes through the characters' lives.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 18:06

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Explore Movie Threads

Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Claustrophobic moral thrillers with bleak endings like Daybreak

Stories where secrets and moral compromises lead to inescapable doom.If you liked the suffocating tension and ethical decay in Daybreak, explore more movies like it. This thread collects gripping drama and crime thrillers where characters are consumed by their double lives, leading to similarly tragic and morally complex conclusions.

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Narrative Summary

Narratives in this thread typically follow a single protagonist whose secret identity or crime creates a domino effect of betrayal and desperation. The plot steadily escalates the stakes, forcing the character into increasingly dire moral tests until they are psychologically broken, culminating in a finale with little to no redemption.

Why These Movies?

These films are grouped together for their shared oppressive mood, focus on internal moral conflict, and a narrative structure that builds steady, inevitable dread towards a devastating conclusion. They explore the psychological cost of living a lie.

Fatalistic crime dramas with tragic love triangles like Daybreak

Gritty stories where crime and passion spiral towards a preordained downfall.For viewers who appreciated the fatalistic love triangle and grim consequences in Daybreak, this section features similar movies. Discover other dramatic crime thrillers and noir films where romance and betrayal lead characters down an inescapable path to tragedy.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern involves a disruptive element, often a new love interest or a sudden windfall, that shatters a fragile equilibrium. This sets off a chain reaction of poor decisions, jealousy, and violence. The story structure often feels like a downward spiral, with characters powerless to stop the momentum towards their tragic end.

Why These Movies?

They share a core theme of inescapable fate, often driven by destructive relationships within a criminal context. The combination of a steady, deliberate pace, a dark tone, and a heavy emotional focus on loss and punishment creates a cohesive, somber viewing experience.

Unlock the Full Story of Daybreak

Don't stop at just watching — explore Daybreak in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Daybreak is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

Daybreak Summary

Read a complete plot summary of Daybreak, including all key story points, character arcs, and turning points. This in-depth recap is ideal for understanding the narrative structure or reviewing what happened in the movie.

Daybreak Summary

Daybreak Timeline

Track the full timeline of Daybreak with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

Daybreak Timeline

Daybreak Spoiler-Free Summary

Get a quick, spoiler-free overview of Daybreak that covers the main plot points and key details without revealing any major twists or spoilers. Perfect for those who want to know what to expect before diving in.

Daybreak Spoiler-Free Summary

More About Daybreak

Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about Daybreak: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.

More About Daybreak

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