Days of Glory

Tourneur’s first assignment at RKO following his hugely successful collaborations with Val Lewton stars a debuting Gregory Peck as the leader of a band of Russian guerrilla fighters grappling with questions of loyalty, love, and duty as they combat Nazi forces. One of a handful of pro-Soviet films made by Hollywood during World War II that would quickly fall out of favor in the HUAC era, Days of Glory avoids propagandistic bombast thanks to Tourneur’s sensitive, understated direction. The result is one of the filmmaker’s most neglected works: a subtly atmospheric, surprisingly affecting portrait of ordinary people swept up in the tide of history. Print courtesy of the British Film Institute.

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