21 Days Together

But not much plot. This was obviously a vehicle for its stars who were married at the time. Lawrence Olivier is quite wooden and stagey, Vivien glows, the camera just loves her. The story is a neat twist on ethics and morality with the wayward no-good brother standing firm for honesty and the uptight, successful barrister brother - on his way to becoming a judge - ready to hang an innocent man for a crime he did not commit. The twenty one days refer to the length of time the trial of this innocent man is going to take. The technical quality of the film was poor, the background of London was nearly washed out and the streets were obviously studio sets, not surprising, as it was filmed at the start of WW2. 5 out of 10, the ending was a bit of a let down and Larry really hams it up.

There are many barriers to love, most can be overcome, but is murder one such obstacle, can a couple allow an innocent man to take the blame for their crime?

It's not as good as some of the movies I've seen from this era and in the same genre, but it is good, it's very watchable, and let's be honest, anything that features Vivian Leigh is worth watching.

It's perhaps a lack of suspense that is the stumbling block, you're left in no doubt as to the ending.

It's a good watch though, nicely made, and very well acted, 6/10.

Well played out story of a weak man(Olivier) who kills someone thru self-defense and then decides to hide the fact with his girlfriend(Leigh). His brother(running for Judge duties) helps in the cover-up. Unexpected ending a little disappointing, but follows with the character.

You'll get hooked on this right away but then annoyed at the way it takes so long to get to the point. Director, Basil Dean's lugubrious pace and humourless direction tries too hard to build tension rather than developing the story or making us get to know his cast.

According to Mr Dean he was not entirely to blame. Studio boss Alexander Korda was so underwhelmed by Dean's direction that he started to re-shoot and rewrite scenes himself. This conflict gives the picture a disjointed feel but the main issue is that the balance is really wrong. About half the film is taken up by the (anti) climatic court case which is meant to get you on the edge of your seat. It achieves that ambition but only because you're yelling "get on with it!" This is one of the dullest court room scenes I've seen - where is William Powell or a Barrymore brother when you need them ? What's sacrificed for this pseudo-arty tension trope is that we don't get time to know the characters straight away. More time should have been devoted to that because it takes too long to draw you in.

On the plus side, it looks good, it's full of mood, clever lighting and the inevitable 1930s London fog - the camerawork also is pretty impressive. The acting, as you'd expect from this lot is first rate but it's the story which doesn't grab you. Such a tale about abuse, murder, deception and blackmail handled by another director could have been the most exciting thing since sliced bread but this is actually less exciting than that aforementioned piece of bread.

What does eventually makes you sit up and take notice is the brilliant cameo from Hay Petrie as a down and out ex-vicar. You then wish you'd been paying more attention earlier! That's what happens with this - once you've started you really want to find out what happens next but your brain keeps trying to switch off.

Despite what some reviewers have said, this is not a bad film - it's just frustrating because you know that it could have been made better. For example, had Hitchcock been in the chair this might have been a classic. As it stands it's just ok.

One interesting thing to see is Mr Olivier not playing the alpha male - as the weak willed looser, the unsuccessful brother, he's remarkably believable. That's until you realise that this young actor has, just a few weeks earlier married probably the most beautiful woman in the world.

Although released in 1940 this picture was made in 1937, well before Leigh and Olivier were married. Producer Alexander Korda intended it as a career-boosting role for Leigh but, for whatever reasons, it was put-aside. Columbia bought the property in 1939 and released it after Leigh's success in "Gone with the wind".

The 1937 date explains what must seem to be an anomaly for modern audiences - the sympathetic treatment of the "Axis" characters, ie the German landlord and the Italian grocer.

Well-worth watching - the depth of talent in the supporting roles (Francis L Sullivan, Hay Petrie, Robert Newton etc) is notable.