IN HER ARMS… HE FELT A QUIET PEACE NO TERROR COULD DISTURB.
When Joseph Goebbels, minister of propaganda, saw this movie, he was probably both disturbed and impressed. He thought it was an ingenious piece of propaganda, refined in the way it spoke out against Nazi Germany without expressly talking about Hitler or Germany. Mrs. Miniver was indeed used as propaganda, parts of its climactic sermon used in leaflets dropped in occupied territories during the war, in order to boost morale. Both Roosevelt and Churchill spoke of how effective the film was.
Today, Mrs. Miniver is somewhat forgotten, perhaps even dismissed as merely wartime propaganda. But watching it is a reminder of our own times.
Home for the summer
In Belham, a small community outside of London, we are introduced to the Miniver family, consisting of Kay (Greer Garson), her husband Clem (Walter Pidgeon) and their three children. Toby and Judy (Christopher Severn, Clare Sandars) are still young, but Vin (Richard Ney) is studying at Oxford. When he comes home for his summer break, he meets Carol (Teresa Wright), the granddaughter of Lady Beldon (May Whitty), the domineering aristocrat of the village. After a contentious first encounter, they fall in love. When Germany invades Poland, Vin joins the Royal Air Force, but the effects of the war is soon upon the whole family.
Convincing the American people
As I’m writing this, Ukraine is desperately trying to make the United States understand why it’s critical to make sure that Russia’s fascist and imperialistic ambitions be thwarted. We’ve been here before. As Germany started bombing Britain during World War II, it wasn’t easy for President Roosevelt to convince the American people and Republicans of the need to help their friend and ally.
The original Mrs. Miniver was a character that the British writer Jan Struther invented for a series of columns in the Times, portraying an ”ordinary” woman living an ordinary small-town life. The columns were later published as a book and when Hollywood became interested the screenplay was changed over and over to reflect current events, sharpening the attitude. One of the film’s most memorable scenes, a tense encounter between Kay and a downed German pilot who forces himself into her kitchen, was re-filmed after Pearl Harbor with more of an edge, allowing Kay to slap the pilot. At the time, when people saw Mrs. Miniver in the U.S. they recognized themselves and the film helped them see how Britain’s plight mustn’t be ignored. Perhaps Hollywoodizing England helped; it’s a mixed cast for sure. The most successful performances belong to the Brits, including Garson in the role that defined her career, and Dame May Whitty who’s superb as the haughty Lady Beldon, who eventually warms up to the Minivers. Pidgeon and Henry Travers do little to convince us they’re British; Ney and Wright come across as all-American young lovers.
William Wyler takes us through the story with great skill.
Fortunately, they’re solid in their roles (especially Pidgeon) and director William Wyler takes us through the story with great skill, delivering lighthearted moments as well as wartime horrors. He was subsequently honest about Mrs. Miniver only ”scratching the surface”, but those sequences tend to be among the film’s best, including a close-call bombing where the family is sheltering, trying to be brave and uphold a sense of normalcy while the sounds of war are coming closer.
The film also builds up to a very moving finale, with that sermon in a bombed-out church and reconciliation between grieving families. The impact of the propaganda is strong there; onward, Christian soldiers, indeed.
Mrs. Miniver 1942-U.S. 133 min. B/W. Directed by William Wyler. Screenplay: Arthur Wimperis, George Froeschel, James Hilton, Claudine West. Novel: Jan Struther. Cinematography: Joseph Ruttenberg. Cast: Greer Garson (Kay Miniver), Walter Pidgeon (Clem Miniver), Teresa Wright (Carol Beldon), May Whitty, Reginald Owen, Henry Travers… Peter Lawford.
Trivia: Norma Shearer was reportedly first considered for the lead. Followed by The Miniver Story (1950) and remade for TV in 1960.
Oscars: Best Picture, Director, Actress (Garson), Supporting Actress (Wright), Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography.
Quote: “We have buried our dead, but we shall not forget them. Instead they will inspire us with an unbreakable determination to free ourselves and those who come after us from the tyranny and terror that threaten to strike us down. This is the people’s war! It is our war! We are the fighters! Fight it then! Fight it with all that is in us, and may God defend the right!” (Henry Wilcoxon as the vicar)
Last word: “[Wyler is] famous for that, for the number of takes he would take. As I said to him one time, ‘You know Willie, you’re a perfectionist, but it’s impossible to reach perfection. There’s always the chance to get something better.’ He wanted a lot of different shots that he could look over and pick from, you see. He might take 15 or 20 takes, then use the second or third one. That was his way of making pictures… He wasn’t pressed for time so he took his time…” (Pidgeon, Reeling Back)