That almost impossible feat, a great war picture that photographs the inner meaning, instead of the outward realism of World War II.
Mrs. Miniver (1942)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:21
Fresh:18
Rotten:3
Average Rating:7.5/10
Consensus: An excessively sentimental piece of propaganda, Mrs. Miniver nonetheless succeeds, due largely to Greer Garson's powerful performance.
Synopsis: A moving drama about a middle-class English family learning to cope with war, told in a series of dramatic vignettes. The family, headed by the lovely and gracious matriarch, endures the departure... A moving drama about a middle-class English family learning to cope with war, told in a series of dramatic vignettes. The family, headed by the lovely and gracious matriarch, endures the departure of the father for the beaches at Dunkirk, the discovery of a wounded Nazi pilot, the death of the daughter-in-law in an air raid, and the entry of the son into the Royal Air Force. The scenes culminate in a morale-boosting final speech that President Franklin Roosevelt ordered printed and air-dropped over war-torn Europe. Condensed from the novel by Jan Struther. Academy Award Nominations: 12, including Best Actor--Walter Pidgeon. Academy Awards: 6, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress--Greer Garson, Best (Adapted) Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress--Teresa Wright. [More]
Starring: Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, May Whitty, Teresa Wright
Starring: Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, May Whitty, Teresa Wright, Reginald Owen, Henry Travers, Charles Bennett, Miles Mander, Henry Wilcoxon, Richard Ney, Rhys Williams, Helmut Dantine, Mary Field, Tom Conway, Ben Webster, Aubrey Mather, Forrester Harvey, John Abbott, Billy Bevan, Ian Wolfe, Colin Campbell, Arthur Wimperis
Director: William Wyler
Director: William Wyler
Producer: Sidney Franklin
Screenwriter: Arthur Wimperis, George Froeschel, James Hilton, Claudine West
Story: Jan Struther
Composer: Herbert Stothart
Reviews for Mrs. Miniver
Regardless of its Hollywood trappings, this remains one of the best movies about a brave era in British history.
Winning WW II story of british pluck that manages to side-step the propaganda trap.
A poignant story of the joys and sorrows, the humor and pathos of middle-class family life in wartime England.
Plays out as a soap opera melodrama about a gracious family handling the wartime strife with aplomb.
The most famous and perhaps most effective propaganda film of World War II.
A powerful performance from Greer Garson brings to light a disappointing time in British history just prior to and including its involvement in World War II.
Classic soap opera in which good old British understatement has a field day, everybody is frightfully nice, and sentimentality is wrapped up in yards of tasteful gloss.
Franklin Roosevelt, who loved the movie, put pressure on MGM to release the film earlier than planned, but playwright Lillian Hellman's reaction is more reliable, when she told director Willim Wyler, "Willie you have made a piece of crap."
An effective piece of wartime cinematic propaganda that helped defeat the Nazis.
...a story of calm perseverance in the face of dire circumstances, and its characters remain an inspiration to us all. It's quite a moving film.
One of the most powerful and effective propaganda films of all time ... the job of propaganda is to work your emotions and make you believe in the cause it's selling, and in this, Mrs Miniver succeeds 100%.
Certainly it is the finest film yet made about the present war, and a most exalting tribute to the British, who have taken it gallantly.
Greer's great acting is understated and yet dramatic. She's the Meryl Streep of the day, and beautiful in every shot, even when she's filthy.
By underplaying masterfully, Garson makes us believe Kay's desperate need to hold her life together, as if she's sick with worry and love about a hundred things at once, and is too busy to get hysterical.
Watch Garson's eyes slowly enlarge as the squeal of falling bombs gets louder and louder. She looks genuinely afraid for her life.
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