By Dawn's Early Light

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By Dawn’s Early Light is an HBO Original Movie, aired in 1990 and set in the year 1991. It is based on the 1983 novel Trinity's Child, written by William Prochnau. The film holds the distinction of being the last film to depict the events of a fictional World War III before the collapse of the Soviet Union and the essential end of the Cold War.

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

As the Soviet Union 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. When the missile hits, Soviet defense systems see the weapon was launched from Turkey, and conclude that a NATO attack is in progress.

The Soviet response begins, launching ICBMs at the United States from both submarines and land-based silos. At the same time, China launches an attack against the Russian border, per a treaty with the United States (this treaty is never fully discussed and the China-Russia war is not covered in the film).

Moments after the Soviet attack is launched, the President of the United States receives a teletype from his counterpart in the Soviet Union saying that they have determined that the first missile was launched by renegades and not by the West; the Premier tells the President that the Soviet Union will accept (without retaliating) a limited U.S. counterstrike that will kill 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.

The President argues over the phone with General Renning at Strategic Air Command over whether or not the teletype 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.

After much persuasion, the President orders an initial counter-assault, just after Washington, D.C. is struck by a nuclear missile. The President is evacuated, but is presumed killed when a second nuclear weapon explodes. 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 military locates the Secretary of the Interior (the only remaining Cabinet member known to still be alive, and thus next in line in the order of succession) and installs him as the next President of the United States. Though the Secretary at first appears open to the suggestion of Harpoon, a military advisor 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 culture as the only acceptable resolution to the conflict.

The Secretary of the Interior orders an all out assault on the Soviet Union, including the destruction of leadership bunkers and the launch of all U.S. submarine-based nuclear missiles. The Secretary of the Interior holds fast to his decision, even after learning that the President of the United States is still alive.

To prevent the Secretary of the Interior from ordering the final assault, the President contacts the backup Air Force command plane which recognizes that the President is still alive and pledges to stop the Secretary of the Interior. The command plane hunts down Air Force One (The E4 Command plane or the "doomsday" plane) and, at the last minute, is able to ram the plane just before the Secretary of the Interior issues the order to escalate the nuclear conflict. The real President then orders a stand down of all nuclear and military forces.

Throughout the entire film, a sub-plot focuses on a single B-52 Stratofortress crew from the time of its emergency take-off in Spokane, Washington to receiving orders to enter the Soviet Union and begin destroying cities. A romance plot is also hatched, in that the pilot and co-pilot of the B-52 are secret lovers. The B-52 crew eventually decides to turn back, at which time one of the officers onboard becomes insane and attempts to kill the pilot. After a struggle, every officer except for the pilot and co-pilot is killed. The two pilots then commence to desert from their assignment. The end of the film shows the plane flying into the sunset, just after the President has ordered a stand down of the military.