Here we have it—our first actual World War II Best Picture winner. Although Mrs. Miniver (1942, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) doesn’t contain a ton of war details, it does include more specifics than previous films that have merely alluded to the likelihood of war and/or the ideals of patriotism and courage, along with the concept that the present looks darker than the past. Nevertheless, some actual events from the war are noted, such as the invasion of Poland and the miracle at Dunkirk (Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster flick about this WWII event comes out in theaters two weeks from tomorrow!).

The vicar’s famous speech at the end of Mrs. Miniver

But the real aim of the film seems to be to urge resistance to German aggression as well as to inspire the average citizen in the Allied nations (specifically Britain and the United States) to do his/her part in the war effort—whatever each person can do, no matter how small the action seems. The film is a call to arms for the ordinary person, to what we can call “civilian arms,” closing with an inspirational speech by the Miniver family’s vicar, which goes in part: “This is not only a war of soldiers in uniform. It is a war of the people, of all the people, and it must be fought not only on the battlefield, but in the cities and in the villages, in the factories and on the farms, in the home, and in the heart of every man, woman, and child who loves freedom! 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!”

That’s pretty inspirational, if you ask me. It’s also propaganda. At a time when American feelings toward the war vacillated between promoting isolationism and advocating support for the embattled British and French forces, Mrs. Miniver rode into theaters at the start of a wave of anti-Nazi films that aimed to unify American minds in a pro-Allied direction. However, this anti-German trend was not without resistance from Hollywood and its few studio heads. For, of course, a war was not good for movie profits overseas. One couldn’t offend the German regime too much if one wanted to make a nice chunk of change in theaters of the Third Reich. William Wyler, the director of Mrs. Miniver, believed differently, thank goodness. Based on a series of wildly popular British newspaper columns written by Joyce Maxtone Graham (who wrote under the pen name Jan Struther), Wyler’s film molded the tales about a British housewife into a propagandistic force, making the German pilot far more menacing and the vicar’s speech more pointedly pro-war. Wyler later admitted he was a “war monger,” seeing the need for Americans to come to the aid of the British and their allies and desiring that his film serve as a metaphorical kick in the pants to Americans who were on the fence about getting involved in another European conflict. President Franklin D. Roosevelt loved it, urging MGM to distribute the film to theaters all across America as quickly as possible and having the vicar’s closing speech translated into several different languages and dropped from the air over Nazi-occupied countries. Winston Churchill, who firmly believed Britain could not win the war without the aid of the United States, also prized the film, reportedly stating that Mrs. Miniver was worth “a flotilla of battleships.” Joseph Goebbels, Nazi propaganda minister, recognized the power of Mrs. Miniver as Allied propaganda, stating that “the anti-German tendency is perfectly accomplished.” So it would seem that Mrs. Miniver fulfilled the aim of its director.

The Academy considered the film a success as well. Mrs. Miniver was nominated for 12 Academy Awards, including Actress in a Supporting Role (Dame May Whitty as Lady Beldon), Film Editing, Actor in a Supporting Role (Henry Travers as Mr. Ballard; Travers would go on to play the beloved angel Clarence in It’s a Wonderful Life), Sound Recording, Special Effects, and Actor (Walter Pidgeon as Mr. Miniver). The film took home six Oscars: Outstanding Motion Picture, Writing (Screenplay), Cinematography (Black-and-White), Directing, Actress in a Supporting Role (Teresa Wright as Carol Beldon), and Actress (Greer Garson as Mrs. Miniver, whom we can thank for the current 45-second speech limit which was imposed soon after Garson gave the lengthiest acceptance speech in Oscar history at over 5 minutes long).

From their bedroom window the Minivers watch British war planes head out to confront the enemy.

For me, I enjoyed Mrs. Miniver’s film propaganda—especially during this Fourth of July week when we remember our Founding Fathers and their determination that all people should live in freedom from tyranny. I felt that the vicar’s speech at the end of this film greatly resembles Winston Churchill’s famous June 4, 1940, “We Shall Fight on the Beaches” speech. So, to close this Weekday Warm-up, here is the end of that particular (and spectacular) call to action:

I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our Island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone. At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do. That is the resolve of His Majesty’s Government-every man of them. That is the will of Parliament and the nation. The British Empire and the French Republic, linked together in their cause and in their need, will defend to the death their native soil, aiding each other like good comrades to the utmost of their strength. Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.

Several articles/sources that I found to be of interest in connection with Mrs. Miniver and the war can be found at the following web addresses: the original text of Mrs. Miniver by Jan Struther (http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/struther/miniver/miniver.html), a BBC article about the role the film played in Allied propaganda (http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20150209-the-film-that-goebbels-feared), and the full text of Churchill’s “We Shall Fight on the Beaches” speech (https://www.winstonchurchill.org/resources/speeches/1940-the-finest-hour/we-shall-fight-on-the-beaches). For more thoughts on Mrs. Miniver and its significance, please check out the full post this weekend!