This Tense '90s HBO Movie Was Based On A Beloved Cold War Thriller Book

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In 1990, HBO adapted William Prochnau's 1983 novel "Trinity's Child" for a TV movie that served as a reminder of just how quickly the world can descend into nuclear chaos. Unlike many other movies about Nuclear apocalypse, however, "By Dawn's Early Light" has been largely forgotten.

There's nothing more indicative of the way in which the concept of nuclear destruction became almost banal during the Cold War than the term "nuclear exchange." Incinerating the entire planet in a thermonuclear catastrophe had never sounded so dull. But not everybody was lulled into apathy by such terms. In fact, many artists made significant efforts to remind the stupefied populace of just how destructive an "exchange" would be. For many, the infamously disturbing TV movie "Threads" remains the most memorable example. But there are multiple others, from Nicholas Meyer's "The Day After" to the horrific BBC mockumentary "The War Game."

It wasn't just films, either. In 1958, author Peter George warned of how easily the doctrine of so-called mutually assured destruction (MAD) could lead to armageddon with his book "Red Alert." Eugene Burdick followed suit in 1962 with "Fail Safe," which was adapted for a 1964 film of the same name and later turned into a 2000s TV play starring Sam Elliott and Noah Wyle. Then, there's Prochnau's "Trinity's Child," which similarly dramatized a rapid descent into nuclear war. Like Burdick's book, "Trinity's Child" was adapted for the screen as "By Dawn's Early Light," an HBO original movie that aired one year after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1990.

The latest entry in the "don't forget how terrifying nuclear war actually is" canon is Kathryn Bigelow's anxiety-inducing nuclear war thriller "A House of Dynamite." Like the films to which it's indebted, Bigelow's film makes clear the insanity at the foundation of the nuclear world order, which has placed the entire globe on the verge of complete and total annihilation. Just how successfully it does so will largely depend on how you feel about the infuriating ending of "House of Dynamite." But it's hardly the only movie that tries to make this point, and others have arguably done it better.

William Prochnau's "Trinity's Child" is one example. The book tells the story of a United States President who finds himself in the midst of a nuclear war with the (at the time) U.S.S.R. In order to prevent the complete destruction of humanity, he has to battle with his hawkish successor as a nuclear-equipped B-52 approaches the Soviet Union.

Writer Bruce Gilbert adapted Prochanau's novel for the small screen, making only minor changes to the story. The most obvious change comes right at the beginning of the HBO film, when instead of Russia launching a first strike on the United States, the country is goaded into freeing its warheads only after dissident officials carry out an attack on Donetsk designed to look like a first strike from the United States. There was also a romantic subplot that didn't appear in Prochanau's novel. Otherwise, "By Dawn's Early Light" was as unsettling as "Trinity's Child."

In "By Dawn's Early Light," Martin Landau plays the United States President, who's faced with an impossible choice after the Soviet Union launches nuclear ICBMs at his homeland. The Soviet leader explains that the nukes were launched in retaliation for the attack on Donetsk, but Landau's commander-in-chief is urged by his military advisors to respond in kind. After a second Soviet launch, he authorizes a U.S. response. World War 3 commences. 

Soon after, the President's escape helicopter is downed by a blast, and he's presumed dead. Darren McGavin's US Secretary of the Interior, known by his codename "Condor," is then sworn in and quickly convinced to authorize further strikes and ignore calls for a cease fire. What's more, a B-52 piloted by Powers Boothe's Major Cassidy is headed to the Soviet Union. But when Cassidy decides to turn around, Condor orders him shot down. Meanwhile, Landau's President survives the helicopter crash. He races to contact his successor and call off further strikes before the world is completely engulfed in nuclear fire.

"By Dawn's Early Light" earned positive reviews upon its debut. Ray Loynd of the Los Angeles Times complimented the "splendid cast," which also features James Earl Jones, Peter MacNicol, Jeffrey De Munn, and Rebecca De Mornay. Entertainment Weekly's Ken Tucker described the film as "fast-moving, complex, and only occasionally a bit hokey," ultimately calling it "by far the best original movie project HBO has overseen." Even with a solid reception, however, the movie has been mostly forgotten. As such, it's an underrated apocalyptic movie worthy of your attention, arguably doing a better job than many other films of its kind at reminding us of the true horror of a "nuclear exchange." 

The film is available on Tubi right now.