21 Days is a 1940 British film directed by Basil Dean.
Larry (Laurence Olivier) is basically a failure in life. He has come back to England flat broke after failing as a farmer in Rhodesia. Despite being so poor that he's pawning possessions, Larry has struck up a romance with lovely Wanda (Vivien Leigh). So it's a bummer when Wanda's husband Henry, not seen for three years, shows up out of nowhere, demanding money. Henry pulls a knife, Henry and Larry fight, and Henry gets killed.
Larry dumps the body in an alley and goes to his brother for advice. Larry's older brother Keith (Leslie Banks) is far more successful than Larry; he's a lawyer on the verge of getting appointed as a job. Keith, thinking more of his own career and social standing than his brother's welfare, tells Larry to keep his mouth shut and flee the country. But when Larry finds out that another man has been arrested for his crime, he feels he has to give himself up.
This movie was filmed in 1937 and shelved for over two years until it was released to capitalize on Leigh's Star-Making Role in Gone with the Wind. One of three films in which the husband-and-wife team of Olivier and Leigh starred in together, along with Fire Over England and That Hamilton Woman.
Tropes:
- Amusement Park: Larry takes Wanda to one for their last day of happiness before he has to go to the police station and give himself up.
- Answer Cut: Evan's lawyer talks about the man who supposedly dropped the murder gloves Evan picked up. He admits the unlikelihood of the story and then says "May there not in fact be such a man?" The film then cuts to Larry at the amusement park making the cheerful hand wave gesture that Evan remembered.
- Deus ex Machina: Larry is leaving to turn himself in when Wanda stops him and tells him that Evan, the suspect, died of natural causes in jail. So Larry and Wanda get to be together after all.
- Dies Wide Open: Henry's sightless stare makes things even more disturbing.
- Empathy Doll Shot: Wanda drops the little doll that Larry won her at the amusement park as they leave for the last time, knowing he has to turn himself in.
- Extra! Extra! Read All About It!: How both Larry and Wanda separately learn that someone has been arrested for the Glove Lane murder.
- A Foggy Day in London Town: The streets of London are choked with fog, which sets the mood when Larry is dumping a body in an alley and trying to cover his tracks.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Larry can't seem to hold a job and gets into affairs with married women, while Keith is a lawyer and potential judge. Played with, though, when Keith is revealed to be somewhat amoral while Larry has a strong moral code.
- Funny Foreigner: Carl, Larry's German landlord, who keeps calling Larry a "schmentleman".
- Idiosyncratic Wipe: The wipes between scenes in the courtroom sequence are done in the manner of flipping pages in a book, with waves on the screen before the "page" turns from one scene to the next.
- Incurable Cough of Death: Guess how the movie ends, as Evan starts coughing as he's cross-examined in his murder trial?
- It's All About Me: Keith rather obviously doesn't care about an innocent person going to jail and doesn't care much about his brother either. All he cares about is avoiding any social embarrassment or scandal that might screw up his chance to become a judge.
- Match Cut: From Carl hoisting a toast for Larry, to the Chief Justice hoisting a toast for Keith at Keith's party.
