Mrs. Miniver

The "Miniver" family are a well-to-do lot living a middle class life in rural England. "Clem" (Walter Pidgeon) and his eponymous wife (Greer Garson) have to get to grips with the arrival of the war when their son "Vin" (Richard Ney) joins up and they are told they can't leave their landing light on anymore - to help guide in the planes when landing at a nearby RAF base. What now ensues illustrates gently, but quite potently, the impact on ordinary people across the land of the Luftwaffe's constant raids and their concomitant fears. It's the start of the war so confidence is still high - a fact well demonstrated by the stiff upper lip attitude of the stoic "Lady Beldon" (Dame May Whitty) who insists that the local flower show (which she usually wins) proceed as normal. With a couple of unwelcome house guests and a determination to help with the Dunkirk evacuations, this is an engaging - if slightly rose-tinted - look at survival amongst a class of people ill-equipped for this profound change in their circumstances. The rose growing "Ballard" (Henry Travers) also serves as an unlikely conduit for the political message too, as his relationship with the lady of the manor spells, amiably, the final death knells of the entitled aristocracy. Garson is entirely convincing here, as is Dame May, and with Pidegon providing a solid bedrock we are presented with a touching story that's maybe a little heavy on sentiment, but still well worth watching.

It is not easy to describe this film. For the current generation, the film might not mean much but imagine those who watched this film, witnessing the events they themselves have gone through. Only then you truly understand the power of the film. To me, who is in his mid-30s, the film is certainly a reflection of decent, honest, not over the top acting you may be accustomed to see in films of the same era. This is certainly the reason it gets the score I gave. It could certainly be shorter but then you’d have to give up on some important character development scenes. Would I watch this film again? I don’t think so. Would I make my friends watch it? Possibly not.

So many wonderful, talented actors and actresses in this, where do I begin? Here we have the magnificent line-up of Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Teresa Wright, Dame May Whitty, and Henry Travers, to name but a few. All do a splendid and highly accomplished job. Greer Garson is lovely, as usual, and Henry Travers is a most likeable old character actor. This sentimental WWII drama tells its simple, honest story remarkably well, and is most definitely a classic. As a side note, this, along with the movie Random Harvest, made in the same year, served to put Garson right at the top in Hollywood in no time.