Actors - Mrs. Miniver

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	Actors - Mrs. Miniver

Mrs. Miniver was a fictional English housewife created by Jan Struther in 1937 for a series of newspaper columns for The Times, later adapted into a movie.

Origin

The Times columns were short reflections on everyday life, based in part on Struther's own family and experiences. While the columns started out as lighthearted domestic scenes where the outside world barely intruded, the approach of World War II slowly brought darker global concerns into Mrs. Miniver's world. One of the more memorable pieces appears near the middle of the series, where the Minivers get gas masks.

Book publication

The columns were first published in book form in 1939, shortly after the outbreak of war. Struther stopped the regular newspaper columns that year, but wrote a series of letters from Mrs. Miniver, expanding on the character's wartime experiences. These were published in later editions.

The book became an enormous success, especially in the United States, where Struther went on a lecture tour shortly after the book's release.

Although the US was still neutral, the tribulations of the Miniver family as war with Nazi Germany arrived engaged the sympathy of the American public sufficiently that President Franklin D. Roosevelt credited it for hastening America's involvement in the war, and Winston Churchill claimed that it had done more for the Allied cause than a flotilla of battleships.

Film adaptation

The film adaptation of Mrs. Miniver was produced by MGM in 1942 with Greer Garson in the leading role and William Wyler directing. Under the influence of the American Office of War Information, the film attempted to undermine Hollywood's prewar depiction of England as a glamorous bastion of social privilege, anachronistic habits and snobbery in favour of more democratic, modern images. To this end, the social status enjoyed by the Miniver family in the print version was downgraded and increased attention was given to the erosion of class barriers under the pressures of wartime.

The film exceeded all expectations, grossing $5,358,000 in North America (the highest for any MGM film at the time) and $3,520,000 abroad. In Britain, it was named the top box office attraction of 1942. 555 of the 592 film critics polled by American magazine Film Daily named it the best film of 1942.

Although not as 'socially privileged' as in the book, the film version of Mrs. Miniver is still presented as living a comfortable life at a house called Starlings; not in inner London but in an outer suburb along the river Thames. The house has a large garden with a private landing stage on the river and a motorboat. Her husband Clem (despite his American accent) is a successful English architect; they have several live-in staff and a son at University.

As World War II looms, the eldest son Vin comes down from university and meets Carol Beldon, grand-daughter of Lady Beldon, a very stiff-upper-lip aristocrat from nearby Beldon Hall. Despite initial disagreements, they fall in love and eventually marry. As the war comes closer to home, Vin feels he must do his bit and joins the Royal Air Force as a pilot. When qualified, he is posted to a station close to his parents home. Clem takes his motorboat to assist in the Dunkirk evacuations. Left alone at home, Mrs. Miniver finds a wounded German pilot in her garden. She feeds him, then calmly disarms him and calls the police.

The town is heavily bombed and whilst Vin is away with his squadron, Carol is killed by a stray bullet. The local inhabitants assemble at the badly damaged church and affirm their determination to fight on and defend their way of life.

Awards and nominations

The film won six Oscars:

Academy Award for Best Picture - Sidney Franklin, producer
Academy Award for Best Actress
- Greer Garson
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
- Teresa Wright
Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White - Joseph Ruttenberg
Academy Award for Directing - William Wyler
Academy Award for Writing, Screenplay - George Froeschel, James Hilton, Claudine West, Arthur Wimperis

It was nominated for another six Oscars:

Academy Award for Best Actor
- Walter Pidgeon
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
- Henry Travers
Academy Award for Best Actress
- Dame May Whitty
Best Effects, Special Effects - A. Arnold Gillespie (photographic), Warren Newcombe (photographic), Douglas Shearer
(sound)
Best Film Editing - Harold F. Kress
Best Sound, Recording - Douglas Shearer

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Mrs. Miniver ]

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