Friday, March 29, 2024

Mrs. Miniver: A Truly Patriotic War Picture

Prior to World War II, writer Jan Struther was hired to write a series of short stories for The Times in Britain that reflected stories of, “an ordinary sort of woman who leads an ordinary sort of life.” Struther created the character Kay Miniver based on her own life experiences and expressed simple moments that happen every day. As the threat of war loomed, Struther wrote of events that reflected public fears and later wrote letters of what Mrs. Miniver was doing when war was declared. These articles were published in a singular book and the rights were bought by MGM to adapt in the United States when the country was still neutral.

What became of it remains one of the best films of the 1940s and an imprint of the social consciousness and patriotism of the British during the war. It received 12 Academy Award nominations, winning six, including Best Actress for Greer Garson, Best Director for Wyler (the first of three), and Best Picture. Ranked in the Top 50 of the American Film Institute greatest films, Mrs. Miniver is the quintessential movie that Hollywood could make while also having a global impact. A story of middle-class England outside of the cities, it was a mirror to the soul of England’s fight for their freedom, especially as they were alone when the French surrendered and the Soviet Union still had an agreement with the Germans of non-aggression.

The United States did not want to go again to Europe to fight a war the public saw as their own affair. Yet, President Franklin D. Roosevelt saw ahead the seriousness of Nazi Germany’s expansion and asked the public to consider the long-term danger of an aggressor like Hitler. It was personal to Wyler, who was a Jew born in Mulhouse, France, near the border with Germany. When principal photography began in late 1941, the country was close to war, although not expecting the first blow to come from Japan. Plus, studio heads, although Jewish, were hesitant to make anti-German films, not because of any profits through German distributors (that had ceased), but due to pressure by isolationist politicians in Washington who threatened to investigate studios for warmongering propaganda.

In Five Came Back, Wyler stated in an interview that Louis B. Mayer wasn’t too happy with the scene where Mrs. Miniver slaps a downed German pilot who landed in her backyard. Set during the Blitz, the pilot defends his country’s actions while Miniver scolds him and slaps him. Mayer was worried about the film being too anti-German and that he didn’t want a single German to represent an entire nation. Wyler defended the scene, saying that since there was only one German represented, he was going to refer to the pilot as, “one of Goering’s little monsters.” After war was declared, Mayer called Wyler and said, “I’ve been thinking about that scene,” and let the moment stay in the film.

The final scene has one of the greatest monologues ever given. The village has been bombed, the church has lost its roof, and numerous people have died. The vicar comes up front to recite his sermon, expressing his grief to the community while also stating the war is not just about soldiers, but about people in general that is fought in every space of the country. It speaks to the audience who were watching in 1942 why this war is important, why it must cost so much, and why it is worth it. The vicar isn’t breaking the fourth wall, but he might as well have when he says:

Well, we have buried our dead, but we shall not forget them. Instead, they will inspire us with an unbreakable determination to free ourselves, and those who come after us, from the tyranny and terror that threaten to strike us down. This is the People’s War. It is our war. We are the fighters. Fight it, then! Fight it with all that is in us! And may God defend the right.ourselves, and those who come after us, from the tyranny and terror that threaten to strike us down. This is the People’s War. It is our war. We are the fighters. Fight it, then! Fight it with all that is in us! And may God defend the right.”

One of those who saw this and was impressed was none other than Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s chief propagandist. It was a film he feared because of how effective the movie’s messaging was being anti-German without saying anything about the country, only the people running it as the real enemy. It was the same in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk in which Germany is not even mentioned once because Nolan didn’t want the politics to get caught up in the story. The Allies and Axis consistently made propaganda film that invoked the enemy’s behaviour and here is a film that contained it to daily life under the constant threat of bombs. 

Eighty years later, the legacy of William Wyler includes the importance of making Mrs. Miniver and its importance when it was released. It stands the test of time and a symbol of what the power of cinema could do. 

 

Follow me on Twitter: @brian_cine (Cine-A-Man)

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