Sacrifice of Honor

Before the Battle is the Englishlanguage title of this espionage melodrama The first half of the film takes place aboard a French cruising ship steaming through dangerous waters during WWI Among the passengers is heroine Jeanne Annabella who was once in love with firstofficer DArtelles Robert Vidalin but he now seems strangely preoccupied It turns out that the ship is on a secret mission which ultimately dooms the vessel to a Lusitanialike death After the sinking Captain De Corlaix Victor Francen faces a courtmartial and it is at this point that the film clarifies several baffling plot points Despite its complexity the story is fairly believable with the exception of the graftedon romantic subplot