Mrs. Miniver (1942)

“I know how comfortable it is to curl up with a nice, fat book full of big words and think you’re going to solve all the problems in the universe. But you’re not, you know. A bit of action is required every now and then.” – Carl Beldon

Number of Times Seen –1 (26 Feb 2014)

Brief Synopsis – The going-on’s in a small English town during the beginning of WWII focusing mainly on the Miniver family.

My Take on it –  What’s very interesting about this movie is the fact that it was made not long after the beginning of WWII.  Usually movie’s are made well after an event happens in order to give the viewer better perspective.

I think that is part of why this movie doesn’t age so well even though it is interesting because it deals with the “homefront” during the war and not the battles themselves.

It takes a while to get moving, but once it does, you can easily get into it.  By the end though, you also understand better why it started off so slowly.

This movie is about perseverance in troubling times and I think it would definitely have been even better had it been made after the war ended than during it.

It won 6 (of 12) Oscars – Best Picture, Director (William Wyler), Actress (Greer Garson), Supporting Actress (Teresa Wright), Screenplay and Cinematography.

It lost Sound, Film Editing, Special Effects, Actor (Walter Pidgeon), Supporting Actor (Henry Travers) and Supporting Actress (Dame May Whitty)

This was Wyler’s first Best Director award of 3 along with a total of 12 times being nominated.  His other two wins were for The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) and Ben-Hur (1959)

Bottom Line – Slightly slow moving depiction of WWII from the homefront which was surprisingly filmed in the middle of the war.  Recommended!

Rating – Globe Worthy

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