''21 Days'' (also known as ''21 Days Together'', ''The First and the Last'' and ''Three Weeks Together'') is a 1940 British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

based on the short 1919 play '' The First and the Last'' by

John Galsworthy John Galsworthy (; 14 August 1867 – 31 January 1933) was an English novelist and playwright. He is best known for his trilogy of novels collectively called '' The Forsyte Saga'', and two later trilogies, ''A Modern Comedy'' and ''End of th ...

. It was directed by

Basil Dean Basil Herbert Dean CBE (27 September 1888 – 22 April 1978) was an English actor, writer, producer and director in the theatre and in cinema. He founded the Liverpool Playhouse, Liverpool Repertory Company in 1911 and in the First World War, a ...

and stars

Vivien Leigh Vivien Leigh ( ; born Vivian Mary Hartley; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967), styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress. After completing her drama school education, Leigh appeared in small roles in four films in 1935 and progress ...

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

and

Leslie Banks Leslie James Banks Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (9 June 1890 – 21 April 1952) was an English stage and screen actor, director and producer, now best remembered for playing gruff, menacing characters in black-and-white fi ...

. The film was renamed ''21 Days Together'' for the American market.

Plot

Larry Darrant, the black sheep of his family, returns home to London from an unsuccessful business venture in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

and embarks on an affair with a married woman, Wanda. When Wanda's long-absent Russian husband Henry appears, he tries to extort money from the couple and threatens Larry at knifepoint when he refuses to pay. In the ensuing fight, Henry is accidentally killed when he strikes his head. Larry places Henry's body in a quiet brick archway. He then visits his brother Keith, a successful

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

hoping to soon become a judge, for advice. Keith tells Larry to leave the country for a while to avoid capture. Keith's motivation is partly to avoid the damage that Larry's arrest would do to his own career. However, Larry refuses to leave and returns to the alley where he had left the body. There he encounters John Evan, a former minister turned tramp, who collects a pair of bloody gloves that Larry has dropped in the street. When Evan is found with the gloves, he is arrested for Wallen's murder, and the police believe that they have sufficient evidence for a conviction. Evan is so remorseful for robbing the dead body of a ring that he insists on his guilt. When Larry learns of Evan's arrest, he considers himself a temporarily free man and decides to marry Wanda. Larry and Wanda try to compress 30 years of idyllic life into the course of just 21 days, as Larry plans to turn himself in to the police before Evan's trial begins. On the day when Evan is sentenced to hang, Keith begs his brother to remain silent and let the condemned man die. Larry, set on doing the right thing, refuses and leaves for the police station. He is stopped on the steps of the station by Wanda, chasing after him, who has learned that Evan died from a heart attack on his way to jail.

Cast

as Wanda Wallen *

as Larry Darrant *

as Keith Darrant * Francis L. Sullivan as Mander * David Horne as Beavis *

Hay Petrie David Hay Petrie (16 July 1895 – 30 July 1948) was a Scottish actor noted for playing eccentric characters, among them Quilp in ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' (1934), the McLaggen in '' The Ghost Goes West'' (1935) and Uncle Pumblechook in ''Grea ...

as John Aloysius Evan * William Dewhurst as the Lord Chief Justice * Esme Percy as Henry Wallen * Frederick Lloyd as Swinton *

Robert Newton Robert Guy Newton (1 June 1905 – 25 March 1956) was an English actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the more popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys. Known for hi ...

as Tolly *

Victor Rietti Victor Rietti (29 February 1888 – 3 December 1963) was an Italian-born actor and director who emigrated to the United Kingdom. He became known through his work in television, especially through the many live television productions of the ...

as Antonio *

Morris Harvey Morris Harvey (25 September 187724 August 1944) was a British actor and writer. A renowned character actor, he also wrote for the stage, including material for Broadway theatre, Broadway revues, in which he also appeared. He was the stepfather of ...

as Pawnbroker Alexander MacPherson *

Elliott Mason Elliott Mason (29 January 1888 – 20 June 1949) was a British stage and film actress. She was sometimes credited as Elliot Mason. After making her screen debut in the 1935 comedy '' The Ghost Goes West'', Mason appeared regularly in supportin ...

as Frau Grunlich * Arthur Young as Ascher * Meinhart Maur as Carl Grunlich *

Andreas Malandrinos Andreas Malandrinos (; 14 November 1888, in Greece – 11 July 1970, in Surrey) was a Greek-born actor who started appearing in British films from 1909, until his death 61 years later in Surrey, England. He was fluent in six languages and used ...

as Cafe Tyrol Waiter (uncredited)

Production

Producer

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; ; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)

intended ''21 Days'' as a star vehicle for Vivien Leigh, but his constant interference caused great problems on the set. He rearranged shooting schedules and added a sequence, and director

reportedly never viewed a rough cut or the finished product. The title change to ''21 Days'' was attributed to Korda. His younger brother

Vincent Korda Vincent Korda (22 June 1897 – 4 January 1979) was a Hungarian-born artist and art director, born in Túrkeve in what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire. From 1918 to 1921 he lived and worked in the Nagybánya artists' colony, which was ...

was the film's art director and was responsible for the set design. Principal photography took place in 1937 at

Denham Film Studios Denham Film Studios (''later dubbed Anvil Studios)'' was a British Film studio, film production studio operating from 1936 to 1952, founded by Alexander Korda, in Buckinghamshire. Notable films made at Denham include ''Brief Encounter'' and D ...

. Following Leigh's star turn with her performance as

Scarlett O'Hara Katie Scarlett O'Hara is the protagonist of Margaret Mitchell's 1936 in literature, 1936 novel ''Gone with the Wind (novel), Gone with the Wind'' and the 1939 Gone with the Wind (film), film of the same name, where she is portrayed by Vivien Le ...

in ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind ...

'' (1939), Korda shelved ''21 Days'' for two years before releasing it to

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

Reception

In a contemporary review for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', critic

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though some ...

wrote: "True, it is no deathless drama—is little more than a cultivated penny-thriller, in fact—and Miss Leigh, as the party of the second part, is required to devote her charm and talents to nothing more constructive than making the apparently inevitable parting from poor Mr. Olivier seem exceedingly painful, indeed. But it is a highly charged 'meller,' rigid throughout with suspense and nicely laced with much tender emotion."

References

Notes Bibliography * Walker, Alexander. ''Vivien: The Life of Vivien Leigh''. New York: Grove Press, 1987. .

External links

* * * {{Alexander Korda Films based on works by John Galsworthy 1940 films 1940 drama films British drama films British black-and-white films 1940s English-language films British films based on plays Films directed by Basil Dean London Films films Films with screenplays by Graham Greene Films produced by Alexander Korda Columbia Pictures films Films set in 1938 1940s British films English-language drama films Films scored by John D. H. Greenwood