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A TRUE STORY:
As Vladmir, the bold leader of a small but determined band of Soviet patriots, Peck implements a plan to take his men behind enemy lines to sabotage the 1941 Nazi invasion of their homeland.
BEHIND THE SCENES:
Casey Robinson scouted Broadway and the New York theater for new faces in order to make his film as realistic as possible. He had seen Peck in Emlyn William's The Morning Star in 1941 which was followed numerous and insistent motion picture offers. Peck was the first actor ever to start a four year contract with just as many studios. Days of Glory was the first of 12 pictures lined up for him...four with 20th Century Fox, four with Casey Robinson, two for David O. Selznick and two for R.K.O.
The female lead was played by the famed prima ballerina, Tamara Toumanova, who took a sabbatical from the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo.
THE DIRECTOR:
Tourneur directed the 1942 critically aclaimed thriller Cat People. "Common it up! Don't project," he'd tell Peck who was used to projecting his voice into the rear theater balconies.
THE CRITICS:
"The writing is eloquent, but it has too many purple passages about heroism, music, poetry and death....", wrote the New York Herald Tribune.
Critics add, "Peck...is destined for screen stardom providing his next vehicle is an improvement on his first...."
RELATED LINKS:
The Films of Jacques Tourneur
Tamara Toumanova
RKO Pictures
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