Mrs. Miniver (film)

Mrs. Miniver is a 1942 film about the Minivers, an English "middle-class" family as it experiences life in the first months of World War II.

Directed by William Wyler. Written by Arthur Wimperis, George Froeschel, James Hilton, and Claudine West, based on a series of newspaper columns by Jan Struther.

In Her Arms...He Felt A Quiet Peace No Terror Could Disturb. (taglines)

Kay Miniver

• I think it's lovely having flowers named after you.

• But in war, time is so precious to the young people.

Carol Beldon

• I know how comfortable it is to curl up with a nice, fat book full of big words and think you're going to solve all the problems in the universe. But you're not, you know. A bit of action is required every now and then.

James Ballard

• What goes to make a rose, ma'am, is breeding... and budding... and horse-manure, if you'll pardon the expression...And that's where you come in, ma'am.

Clem Miniver

• She was a good cook, as good cooks go. And as good cooks go, she went.

Lady Beldon

• I'm sorry to disturb the harmony of this occasion, but our enemies are no respecters of flower shows.

Vicar

• 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.

• We, in this quiet corner of England, have suffered the loss of friends very dear to us - some close to this church: George West, choir boy; James Bellard, station master and bell ringer and a proud winner, only one hour before his death, of the Belding Cup for his beautiful Miniver rose; and our hearts go out in sympathy to the two families who share the cruel loss of a young girl who was married at this altar only two weeks ago. The homes of many of us have been destroyed, and the lives of young and old have been taken. There is scarcely a household that hasn't been struck to the heart. And why? Surely you must have asked yourself this question. Why in all conscience should these be the ones to suffer? Children, old people, a young girl at the height of her loveliness. Why these? Are these our soldiers? Are these our fighters? Why should they be sacrificed? I shall tell you why. Because 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.

Dialogue

Kay Miniver: Did you know that the 12th Lord Beldon was hanged?

Lady Beldon: He was beheaded! Such things happen in the best families. In fact, usually in the best families.

---

Toby Miniver: Are you going to marry Carol, Vin?

Vin Miniver: Well, since you bring it up, Toby... I haven't had the nerve to ask her.

Toby Miniver: Why not? You're brave, aren't you?

Judy Miniver: Don't be so silly, Toby. Gentlemen don't propose when they're eating.

Toby Miniver: Why not?

Judy Miniver: Well, it isn't romantic.

Vin Miniver: Of course it isn't.

Carol Beldon: Toby.

Toby Miniver: What?

Carol Beldon: Why don't you ask me if I'm going to marry Vin?

Toby Miniver: Are you?

Carol Beldon: If he asks me.

Toby Miniver: He's afraid.

---

Vicar: [to Lady Beldon who has just entered the railway compartment he is already sharing with Mrs. Miniver] Good evening, Lady Beldon.

Lady Beldon: Good evening, vicar. Oh, oh, shopping's absolutely impossible nowadays! You can't get near the counter and when you do, they haven't got it and you pay twice as much for it.

Vicar: [laughs] What a wonderful description!

Lady Beldon: [to her servant] Sit down, Simmons, and don't snip! [to the vicar] My dear man, I spent the whole afternoon being pushed around by middle-class females buying things they can't possibly afford.

Kay Miniver: Oh dear, that means me.

Lady Beldon: Oh no, much worse!

Taglines

• In Her Arms...He Felt A Quiet Peace No Terror Could Disturb.
• "Mrs. Miniver" is more than a picture—It's dramatic. It's tender. It's human. It's real.

Cast

• Greer Garson - Mrs. Kay Miniver
• Walter Pidgeon - Clem Miniver
• Teresa Wright - Carol Beldon
• Dame May Whitty - Lady Beldon
• Reginald Owen - Foley
• Henry Travers - James Ballard
• Richard Ney - Vin Miniver
• Henry Wilcoxon - Vicar

External links

• Mrs. Miniver quotes at the Internet Movie Database
• Mrs. Miniver at Rotten Tomatoes