Told in flashback from a preface in which the main character visits Paramount to sell his story, "Hold Back the Dawn" follows Romanian-French gigolo Georges Iscovescu, who wishes to enter the USA. Stopped in Mexico by the quota system, he plans to marry an American woman, then desert her and join his old partner Anita, who's done the same. But after sweeping teacher Emmy Brown off her feet, Georges finds her so sweet that love and jealousy threaten to derail his plans. Cast: - Charles Boyer as Georges Iscovescu - Olivia de Havilland as Emmy Brown - Paulette Goddard as Anita Dixon - Victor Francen as Van Den Luecken - Walter Abel as Inspector Hammock - Curt Bois as Bonbois - Rosemary DeCamp as Berta Kurz - Eric Feldary as Josef Kurz - Nestor Paiva as Fred Flores - Eva Puig as Lupita - Micheline Cheirel as Christine - Madeleine LeBeau as Annie - Billy Lee as Tony - Mikhail Rasumny as Mechanic - Charles Arnt as Mr. John MacAdams - Arthur Loft as Mr. Elvestad - Mitchell Leisen as Mr. Dwight Saxon Runtime: 116 minutes.