MovieChat Forums > Mrs. Miniver (1942) Discussion > Overrated

Overrated

posted 21 years ago by jcurrie58
52 replies | jump to latest

I just cannot understand how this film won so many Oscars, unless it was because it reflected the spirit of the times. I watched it on TV the other day, and there are so many things wrong with it. For instance, the family never seemed bothered by rationing, which was at its height in 1942. Then, the scene in the air raid shelter - whilst the bombs are reigning down on the village, the cat is happily washing itself. Believe you me, that cat would be hiding under the bed to avoid the noise. Then, after the flower show, why is it so dark when Mrs Miniver and her daughter in law are driving home? In summer daylight lasts until after 9 p.m. And where exactly was Teresa Wright hurt? Granted because of censorship in 1942 gory wounds could not be shown, but it's a complete mystery to me how she was wounded. And how were the family able to run a car at the time? Unless Mr Miniver was in a government job, petrol was severely rationed. A complete phoney from beginning to end, not to mention Greer Garson's self-satisfied performance. The least deserving of Oscar winners.

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] LocoHero 19 years ago

The English accents seemed fine to me. Apart from the cat which was clearly a German agent.

[–] hotmaledot1 19 years ago

What is the big deal with the cat washing itself as the bombs fall? On HMS Duke of York during its engagement with the Scharnhorst the ships cat slept soundly throughout the entire battle, the lazy little bleeder.

[–] LBJefferies 19 years ago

You were honestly distracted during that extremely tense scene by the performance of the cat? I hate to say it, but you're nuts.

[–] johnnodowne 19 years ago

Hello LB or should I say Jimmy?

I was really looking forward to seeing this film, found it and weatched it. What a load of dreadful syrupy kitsch!! Absolutely awful - average or poor acting, appaling accents and a pathetic view of England ("quaint" is the wod i think). This film enforced stereotypes amongsth the American public about England that has plagued England ever since.

I am utterly lost as to why this film had a single oscar nomination let alone a win.

Just think of other films of the war years Rebecca, Citizen Kane etc. No comparison. One of William Wyler's more embarrassing moments.

Johnster
Bahrain

[–] kyle_bertulli 19 years ago

You have no idea what in the world you're talking about...with all do respect.

[–] RainbowCatPenny 19 years ago

I've seen the movie last night (stayed up until 3 o'clock in the morning!) and must confess, I've seen much stronger performances of Greer Garson.

One fact, however, is true. She was amazingly beautiful. And to be honest, if I have a look at the photos of my grandparents, my grandma never looked that elegant during WW II. But as someone else has already said: It's a movie and it's there to entertain. So, do just that, enjoy!

But to me I have to say: I too cannot understand why it won so many Oscars. But that's just my personal meaning.

[–] angharad83 17 years ago

With all due respect, just because someone doesn't share your taste in films this doesn't mean they don't know what they are talking about. Mrs Miniver was flawed in many ways - if you find the film powerful enough to overlook these things, that is fine. But for others it just makes it painfully corny

[–] g_dekok 12 years ago

So don't watch it. I'm sooo sorry that an Oscar winner didn't meet with YOUR approval. Go watch your slash and gore trash.

[–] simplemines 16 years ago

"You were honestly distracted during that extremely tense scene by the performance of the cat? I hate to say it, but you're nuts."

ROFLOL!

[–] dbdumonteil 18 years ago

Rocky was worse,as far as oscar winners are concerned...

"Mrs Miniver" is not overrated,I've read more bad reviews about it than good ones.

I think critics hate it but the people like it .

[–] roghache 18 years ago

Apparently Churchill claimed that this film did more for the war effort than a flotilla of destroyers! Perhaps people do tend to rate this movie too highly because of genuine respect for British civilians during WW II. Personally, I appreciated the lovely romance, the touching rose story, and such. However...

The film was essentially propaganda designed to elicit American support for British wartime struggles. The inclusion of everything -- the bombing, the rationing, the heroic Dunkirk rescue etc. -- made it all appear contrived. Also, there's something not quite nice about propaganda, even given that my sympathies would be as anti-Nazi as the next person's. The escaped German flyer seemed rather a demonization of the enemy. I found it came across as absurd when Mrs. Miniver slapped him in response to his threat that thousands more like him would invade England. Not at all the indication of courageous English womanhood that the scene was intended to convey. Others may of course disagree.

The accents truly bothered me, as I found throughout that the characters seemed Americans pretending to be English! Actually, I had no preconceptions of this film when I began watching and was quite surprised when some time into the movie, it was mentioned that the son was returning from Oxford. I suddenly realized that the setting was England! Greer Garson gave a fine performance, but it surprised me to read here that she was British since I didn't notice her having any accent myself. (I'm Canadian, and my hometown was Walter Pidgeon's birthplace!)

I'm hesitant to disparage the movie but it did come across to me as quite phony, a romanticized portrait of English life with the affluent home boasting both cook and maid, the idyllic gardens and church, the flower show, and the grand dame Lady of the Manor! Not authentically British at all, although I do realize that the British were too busy fighting a war to focus much on making movies! I agree with a comment made that any deprivations caused by rationing were not well captured.

The film does indeed reflect the spirit of its times, gives us a picture of the human spirit and the stiff upper lip prevailing in times of strife, and should at least make us all recall the truly heroic wartime efforts of everyday British civilians, however flawed (IMO) this particular depiction.

[–] nlpnt 18 years ago

"Hope and Glory" does a much better job of portraying the time and place than "Miniver" does. But then, John Boorman had the luxury of working in the 1980s, with a much larger budget.

"Mrs. Miniver" reminds me of a comment I made about "Jackass Number Two"; both movies accomplished exactly what they set out to do (If you think that's damning with faint praise, think of how many movies haven't...)

I could be strung out on ham for days!

[–] eadoe 17 years ago

I think the “Americanization” of the sets, accents, lifestyle, etc. was intentional. Wyler wanted Americans to identify with the British people – to think, “Why, they’re just like us! This could be happening to us! This is just how we would react!”

And if they had REALLY spoken with British accents there isn’t a person in America who would have understood a word they said! We get so used to hearing cultivated British accents today on BBC or watching Hugh Grant movies that we don’t realize what the majority of English, Scots, Welsh & Irish people sound like. Believe me, we would probably only understand a few words in every sentence, if that.

Wyler himself said that, after serving in the war subsequent to this movie, he realized that he had softened the war too much in the movie. So remember that these movies were written and directed by people who had not seen firsthand the effects of the blitz in England and so only imagined it. So they focused on telling a good story and not on authenticity.

Also, keep in mind that movie sets were not intended to be “realistic” in those days, anymore than a Broadway set is intended to be “realistic” today. Movies were an extension of the stage and no one expected their sets to be realistic. “On location” shooting was unheard of, and during wartime, impossible anyway.

Don't judge a World War II era movie by 21st century standards, expectations, and technology.

"The abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power."
- Julius Caesar, act 2 sc 1

[–] morleys 17 years ago

Re daylight. During the war we had DOUBLE Summertime to cut down on the hours of darkness available to the German bombers so that it stayed light in the north of England until gone ten o'clock. Not easy for a child of ten to have to go to bed with so much sun shining in. Although obviously the night remained the same length the planes had to arrive later and so leave people to get on with their evening tasks and pleasures rather than sit in the shelter awaiting the recognisable drone of enemy planes flying in formation overhead on their way to the tatget.

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] chronowoman2003 16 years ago

It's funny. I've never seen the likes of the very first poster in this thread. Could it be he/she ran out of answers?

[–] jcurrie58-1 13 years ago

No, chronowoman2003, I have not run out of answers. I've not bothered to read all the messages on this board for five or six years. Some of the comments I agree with, but there seemed to be a lot of vitrol about my posting. I still think Greer Garson is a self satisfied actress and the film, although useful as propoganda, is typically "Hollywood British". The whole film gives very little sense of how the population coped during the war. I was born the year Miniver was released, and my parents seldom talked about the war afterwards. Some of people, especially in the heavily populated areas of the major cities, had it a lot worse than we did in the Home Counties.

I should add that some British film critics disliked the film. And we did make quite a lot of propaganda films during the war which were probably far more true to life.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] stevenvh 14 years ago

Hogwash! None of the details you mention take anything away from the power of this film.

Carol was hit by a bullet in the left side of her neck. When Kay looks up she sees a series of bullet holes in the roof of the car.

not to mention Greer Garson's self-satisfied performance

Wyler instructed Garson to play a confident woman, which she did excellently. Don't confuse the actress with the role she plays.

--
Rome. By all means, Rome.