Love this WWII classic
What a brave woman. The story has love and loss. You will laugh and cry. I must have for a good film collection.

There will always be an England.
I find World War II movies about the home front more interesting than actual battle scene flicks. More people can relate to the experience than the small percentage of soldiers that actually saw combat.
There are some really fine movies such as "Since You Went Away", "Tender Comrade" & the essential "Best Years of Our Life", actually made in 1946. Mrs Miniver from 1942 was one of the first of these movies & perhaps just a little better. It takes place in England as the war is about to begin portrays Dunkirk & the blitz that followed. It was aimed smack dab at American public opinion.
Despite this manipulation, it is an outstanding movie worthy of all the awards it received. Remember, at this time the outcome of the war was still in doubt (we were losing).
Greer Garson is absolutely wonderful as the idealized wife, mother & woman in those dark days during the Battle of Britian when England stood alone. Walter Pidgeon is her amiable husband, Richard Ney her grown-up son who joins the RAF. He falls in love with Theresa Wright, the typical girl-next-door type. There are her little children & Henry Travers (remember him?) for humor. Their well ordered life is torn apart, along with their beautiful home when it is bombed. Mrs. Miniver & the whole family are so brave, British, stiff upper lip & all that. You know some tragedy must befall them. When it does it is a bit of a surprise.

A Viewer
A wonderful movie which deserved all the awards which were bestowed upon it. It is refreshing to view great movies with wonderful stories minus bad language and nudity.

As a big fan of Greer Garson, I must comment on Jane Bedinger's review in which she claimed that Ms. Garson was having an "affair" with the actor who played her son. Ms. Garson fell in love with and married Richard Ney about a year after the movie was made. I don't see how Ms. Bedinger could consider this an "affair".

the subtlety and greatness of "Mrs. Miniver"
When I watch this film, I feel like I am in Britain during those dramatic months when the RAF was fighting daily to ward off the brain-washed German barbarians, and the world was hanging by a thread. (Helmut Dantin shouts in German like Hitler at one point: "We will destroy everything!")Though it won the Academy Award in 1942, it was in fact made in 1941, and it is about events in 1939-1940, when Britain stood alone, a never-to-be-forgetten moment in human history. People more objective than I will call it propaganda; I call it a dramatic portrayal of the essence of a historial moment.

Willie Wilder manages to create on a Hollywood studio lot the atmosphere of village in Southern England (near Portsmouth perhaps). The flower show scene is superbly done: a wonderful madrigal choir sings a classical English folk song. It is a very English moment. Wilder's got the train (as they were then) right and the station, as well as the Enlish church with its private pews for the gentry. He even manages to get English accents out of everyone except Walter Pidgeon. Ney who plays Miniver's son (in real life about to marry his mother) and little Christopher Severn, her other son, are straight up and down Americans, but they pull off the accent perfectly. Dame May Whittey gives the sense of quality and breeding that was then a part of English character. Wilder touches affectionately upon English class obsessions, their former love of and excellence at gardening, the cockiness and the fashionable pseudo-radicalism of young Oxbridge graduates, the understated physical bravery of the English people. It's a brilliant job of director and a fabulous piece of revenge on Wilder's part for Hitler's antisemitism, of which he was a victim.

Mrs. Miniver is more than a film. It is part of history. It communicates the indominable spirit of the English people. Ney, who plays Miniver's son, is a subtle combination of youth and very purposeful strength. He giggles and cackles like a boy in front of his parents and siblings, but when he gets the girl alone he knows what he wants, and you recognize that he is very much a man. You realize also that in a Spitfire dogfight with the Germans over England, he will win. There are many angles to this film that warrant watching it a number of times.

"Mrs Miniver" did a lot to bring world opinion around to Britain's side, and in that, it is unique in Hollywood history as film of historical importane.

Greer Garson Immortalised In Her Most Famous And Loved Role
"Mrs. Miniver", was without a doubt the most famous film to come out of the World War Two period and provided inspiration and courage to countless people across the globe either already suffering the effects of war or living in fear of it possibly coming. It is among my personal favourites and I never fail to be moved and inspired by the simple story contained in "Mrs. Miniver". Criticised as being dated, or overly sentimental. I believe its simple message of looking after your fellow man and being strong for others in times of adversity is ageless. Towering over "Mrs. Miniver",is the performance by Greer Garson as house wife Kay Miniver who's comfortable existence is changed forever as she and her family like countless others, face the prospect of war and it's consequences. It was a landmark performance that rightly became associated ever after with Greer Garson and endeared her to a whole generation of everyday people who identified with the dilemmas Kay Miniver faced in the movie.

Nowadays its hard to believe that Greer Garson was highly reluctant to undertake the role after MGM's former queen Norma Shearer turned it down. Afraid of being forever typed into playing noble self sacrifing women rather than the comedy characters she aspired to, it nevertheless was the best career decision she ever made and it also cemented her legendary association with fellow actor Walter Pidgeon who plays her loving husband Clem. Mrs. Miniver was responsible for making this pair the most popular screen team of the 1940's. Based on the serialised novel by Jan Struther "Mrs. Miniver", was as timely a film as could be imagined in early 1942. With war raging in Europe and America on the brink of joining in this tale of a comfortable middle class English family and the trials and tragedies they undergo as a result of the war struck a chord everywhere. The film begins in the leisurely period just prior to England's becoming involved in the war against Germany. Distant rumblings are being heard about German aggression in Poland but life is taking its usual course in the small town of Belham until the Prime Minister announces that England is at war with Germany. Life is totally transformed over night as eldest son Vin (Rihard Ney) enlists in the RAF and shortages and black outs become a regular feature of everyday life. The full horrors of war come to the Village as the bombings begin, houses are destroyed and life is lost. Clem Miniver (Walter Pidgeon) gets a first hand look at the war when he is recruited to take part in the gruelling evacuation of Dunkirk, and Mrs. Miniver has a terrifying confrontation with a downed German pilot where she is held at gun point in her kitchen. Tragedy later strikes the family when only two weeks after the wedding to Vin, Carol Beldon/Miniver (Teresa Wright) is killed by some stray shell fire. Like in all times of war however the human spirit is still maintained and life goes on. Despite the danger of Nazi bombing the famous Belham flower show goes ahead as usual and elderly Lady Beldon (Dame May Whitty), a former believer in maintaining "one's place in the order of things", learns a lesson in humility when she graciously lets humble Mr. Ballard (Henry Travers), have the thrill of his life by winning the Best Rose at the show with his "Mrs. Miniver", Rose.

There of course is the famous quote by Winston Churchill in regard to this films impression on people that "Mrs. Miniver" was worth more to England's war effort than a dozen destroyers. High praise indeed. Of course in our present cynical age it's very easy to ridicule this film with its often picture post card views of English life just prior to the outbreak of war. I personally feel the film goes a long way towards trying to seriously show what life was like pre 1939 and certainly how that life was changed forever, and often tragically, by the bombings and losses that England endured. Its message of dealing with adversity and moving on is a universal theme just a relevant today. Criticism was also strangely made of the fact that the Miniver's where a quite affluent upper middle class family with servants. The movie I feel clearly illustrates that all classes suffered equally during the war and experienced loss and sadness. Despite her reluctance to take on the role Greer Garson IS Mrs. Miniver and never can I think of a more perfect marriage of actress and character. The film was not an especially pleasant working time because director William Wyler as seen in his famous work with Bette Davis, was notorious for his repeat takes and commanding manner on film sets. He clashed with famed MGM set designer Cedric Gibbons over what he termed Gibbons' "Chocolate Box" English Village set and often drove Greer Garson to distraction with his brusque direction. Despite those tensions the end result on screen was well worth it and the film boasts many unforgettable scenes and performances. The supporting cast is unsurpassed with the standouts being Teresa Wright as the tragic Carol Beldon, Dame May Whitty as Lady Beldon and especially Henry Travers in his touchingly poignant performance as Mr. Ballard, the station-master and creator of the "Mrs. Miniver" Rose. . The air raid scenes also are depicted in a stark and no holds barred manner that vividly convey the terror people experienced during these frightening bombings.

Topping Exhibitors polls everywhere as the most popular film of 1942 and winning 7 Academy awards in the process, including Best Film, Actress (Greer Garson), Best Supporting Actress (Teresa Wright) and Best Director (William Wyler), few films have left such an indelible impression on moviegoers in any time. Mrs. Miniver", has certainly gone down into movie history much the same way as "Gone with the Wind" has. As entertainment of its time "Mrs. Miniver", I believe is unsurpassed and makes for a totally engrossing movie experience. Tragedy and happiness are all equal components of our lives and "Mrs. Miniver", is richly endowed with both. A true movie treasure.