diff --git a/clang/Driver/clang.cpp b/clang/Driver/clang.cpp
index 8a6d1326842f..bcffeb73b790 100644
--- a/clang/Driver/clang.cpp
+++ b/clang/Driver/clang.cpp
@@ -984,7 +984,14 @@ static void ProcessSerializedFile(const std::string& InFile, Diagnostic& Diag,
     exit (1);
   }
   
-  TranslationUnit* TU = TranslationUnit::ReadBitcodeFile(Filename,FileMgr);  
+  TranslationUnit* TU = TranslationUnit::ReadBitcodeFile(Filename,FileMgr);
+  
+  if (!TU) {
+    fprintf(stderr, "error: file '%s' could not be deserialized\n", 
+            InFile.c_str());
+    exit (1);
+  }
+  
   ASTConsumer* Consumer = CreateASTConsumer(InFile,Diag,
                                             FileMgr,TU->getLangOpts());