tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672005424133365490.post4363848783374462319..comments2024-01-25T07:08:17.130-05:00Comments on 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die: Mrs. Miniver (1942) ****Kimberly J.M. Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078951928157843937noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672005424133365490.post-53367488737410036212014-06-26T22:33:19.421-04:002014-06-26T22:33:19.421-04:00By British standards of class, the Minivers were d...By British standards of class, the Minivers were definitely middle class. I think I view this film a little differently than some, as I am a historian and have a penchant for movies that are a reflection of the times in which they were made. I agree that Ney was a rather weak link, but I have more fondness for Wright's performance than you. Kimberly J.M. Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09078951928157843937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672005424133365490.post-21500485010181199222014-06-26T16:49:57.607-04:002014-06-26T16:49:57.607-04:00I was really disappointed by the film as it was th...I was really disappointed by the film as it was the Best Picture Winner that year. Garson, Pidgeon and Wright were pretty good in their performances, but Ney was a huge weak link to me (although i'm glad i read your review because i found it VERY STRANGE that Vin passionately kissed his MOTHER on the lips twice; the Garson/Ney affair explains it a bit now LOL).<br /><br />The script wasn't that great either - the running flower subplot was largely boring/unnecessary and i felt that the German soldier interlude had some potential but was largely wasted (you noted the propaganda aspects of the film which i must admit i totally missed that). And WERE the Minivers "middle class"? Very nice home, multiple houseservants, etc., I didn't get that impression at all - yeah buying a hat/car might have stretched the wallet a bit, but that was pretty quickly laughed off early in the film. I really liked Theresa Wright in "The Best Years of Our Lives" but i don't think her role here was substantial enough to warrant an Oscar nod (her intro and death scenes were good but most of the movie her role was merely "happy girlfriend/wife") - Garson's performance was definitely worthy of Oscar consideration.Bobbynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672005424133365490.post-79860156052348666792014-06-24T19:17:09.953-04:002014-06-24T19:17:09.953-04:00You're probably right that this was aimed more...You're probably right that this was aimed more at the American middle class. However, I would argue that it also played well to truly middle class Britons--as a society they have a much stricter understanding of class: gentry, middle class and working class. The Minivers did actually represent the true British middle class.Kimberly J.M. Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09078951928157843937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672005424133365490.post-18926034245368876962014-06-24T19:15:13.240-04:002014-06-24T19:15:13.240-04:00Yes, I was aware of the scandal of her carrying on...Yes, I was aware of the scandal of her carrying on an affair with Ney (who was 9 years her junior) and that they eventually married. Mayer asked them to keep it quiet until the film made its first complete run in theaters. By all accounts, he was a real bastard to her, which eventually led to it being a very short marriage. Kimberly J.M. Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09078951928157843937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672005424133365490.post-62432556545330338052014-06-24T18:45:51.483-04:002014-06-24T18:45:51.483-04:00Good review. I can tell you really liked this fil...Good review. I can tell you really liked this film. I did, too, although perhaps not quite as much as you. The propaganda didn't bother me until the scene at the end that you mentioned where they basically lecture right to the audience.<br /><br />One other anecdote on Garson, her playing a woman with a grown son, and her Oscar win. She took away something more than an Oscar from this role; she also met her second husband - Richard Ney, who played her son in the film. The age difference in the marriage "scandalized" the sort of people that make their outrage a semi-professional hobby. (Nowadays they'd be called the Politically Correct.)Chip Laryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00787403805554027107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672005424133365490.post-37381358354098221682014-06-24T06:15:11.730-04:002014-06-24T06:15:11.730-04:00As a propaganda film Mrs. Miniver certainly fits t...As a propaganda film Mrs. Miniver certainly fits the bill. It was made for an American audience and shows them a British family as if it was themselves and that was a brilliant stroke. Where a Brittish audience might find it a bit difficult to recognize themselves in this family an American ditto would have no such problems. The family, the house, their social life, their attitude all fits an American middle class family of the 40'ies far more than a Brittish and I think that was important. The audience had to see it as if it was themselves that were being hit by bombs and cast into the war. William Wyler was a sly fellow.<br />TSorensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12208153011927807857noreply@blogger.com