DAYS OF GLORY

US, 1944, 85 minutes, Black and white.
Gregory Peck, Tamara Toumanouva, Alan Reed, Lowell Gilmore.
Directed by Jacques Tourneur.

Days of Glory is a small-budget propaganda war film of 1943. Along with such films as Mission to Moscow and The North Star, it focuses on the Russians and their involvement in World War II. It is evident that the Soviet Union was a strong American ally at this time.

The film shows a group of partisans, their way of life, the struggles during the war, action involvement. The film has voice-over commentary highlighting the importance of the war effort - seeming somewhat dated today, but interesting in the light of the atmosphere of the times. The film, in a modest way, re-creates the atmosphere of Russia in the 1940s. The strength of the film, apart from the action sequences, is in
the humanity of the characters portrayed, their interactions, tensions, details of their way of life. The film also enhances the reputation of its cast by introducing them by comment and visually at the opening of the film, stressing the new talent. The commentary was right as regards the star - it was Gregory Peck's first film. He went on to make The Keys of the Kingdom, Valley of Decision and Spellbound, and a whole string of excellent performances in the upright American style. This culminated in his Oscar for To Kill a Mockingbird in 1962. Russian ballerina Tamara Tumanova has a supporting role as has director (Morning Glory) Lowell Gilmore.

The film raises the usual questions about war, humanity, heroism, life and death - all in the context of the attack of Nazi Germany and Russia's defence of itself.