21 Days Together (1940)
"21 Days" (original title)

After Larry Darrent accidentally kills his lover's blackmailing husband, someone else is arrested for the crime. When he is found guilty, Larry and Wanda have just three weeks together ... See full summary »

Director:

Basil Dean

Writers:

John Galsworthy (story), Graham Greene,

Stars:

Vivien Leigh, Leslie Banks, Laurence Olivier

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vivien Leigh	...	Wanda
Leslie Banks	...	Keith Durrant
Laurence Olivier	...	Larry Durrant
Francis L. Sullivan	...	Mander
David Horne	...	Beavis
Hay Petrie	...	John Aloysius Evan
William Dewhurst	...	Lord Chief Justice
Esme Percy	...	Henry Wallen
Frederick Lloyd	...	Swinton
Robert Newton	...	Tolly
Victor Rietti	...	Antonio
Morris Harvey	...	Alexander MacPherson
Elliott Mason	...	Frau Grunlich
Arthur Young	...	Ascher
Meinhart Maur	...	Carl Grunlich

Storyline

After Larry Darrent accidentally kills his lover's blackmailing husband, someone else is arrested for the crime. When he is found guilty, Larry and Wanda have just three weeks together before he must give himself up or let an innocent man go to the gallows.

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Plot Keywords:

wrongful conviction | number in title

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 April 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

Twenty-One Days Together

Filming Locations:

Denham Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

London Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

72 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie was filmed in 1937 but released on January 7, 1940. William Dewhurst, who played the Lord Chief Justice, died on October 26, 1937. His only child, Paul, died in 1937 fighting in the Spanish Civil War, only a few months before William Dewhurst's demise.

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Connections

Remade as The Last Ones Shall Be First (1957)

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Soundtracks

"The Blue Danube"
(uncredited)
Music by Johann Strauß
Arranged by John Greenwood

User Reviews

A Rock and a Hard Place

Apparently this is one of those Galsworthy dilemma stories. In it Olivier, early in his career inadvertently kills a man, the estranged husband of his new love. He is faced with the considerable struggle with conscience because a man has been blamed for the act and will face the music. What to do. What to do. We are put in the position of hoping all will somehow work out. I won't spoil the ending, but I will say that Olivier's character could have been sent to the gallows for terminal boredom. At no point did I really care one way or the other. He is selfish in many ways and rather cowardly. While the victim is made to have no redeeming qualities, his death really serves nothing other than that of a plot element. I suppose there is some of that stiff upper lip stuff going on, but at no time did I sit on the edge of my seat. Contrast this to the pain of Jean Valjean who faces a similar question. In that we all need to look inward. This just didn't ask much of me, and I was also greatly disappointed with the conclusion.