"Mrs. Miniver" by William Wyler: a review

While many books are made into movies, this is the rare film that was created from a series of newspaper columns written by Jan Struther in The New York Times in the 1930s. It was a film promoted by the American Office of War Information to encourage American’s empathy with the war situation in England.

The plot revolves around the well to do Minivers (Greer Garson, Walter Pigeon) who live comfortably in a town outside London. The son Vin (Richard Ney) falls in love with the granddaughter (Teresa Wright) of an aristocrat and delivers some superb handmade presents for this time in film. After much initial sparring, they marry. Eventually, all family members help in the war effort, and a tragedy befalls them.

Released the same year as Casablanca, its closing lines delivered by the town vicar were so powerful that President Franklin Roosevelt ordered them printed on millions of leaflets and dropped over Nazi-occupied Europe. The film was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and won six, including Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress.