Mrs. Miniver (1942)

Mrs. Kay Miniver (Greer Garson) and her husband Clem (Walter Pidgeon) live a comfortable life with their three children in a village outside London. As World War II looms, the Minivers and people of the village can still afford to squabble over mundane issues. Like when Mr. Ballard (Henry Travers) enters his beautiful rose- the “Mrs. Miniver” into the village flower show causing the village to be divided by those who believe the working class man has a right to give Lady Beldon a little competition and those who think it outrageous for Mr. Ballard to challenge the current social status by entering the rose to compete with the the Beldon rose. Too, there is time for a relationship to grow between Vin (Richard Ney), the Miniver’s oldest son who is down from university and Carol Beldon (Teresa Wright), granddaughter of Lady Beldon (Dame May Whitty) from nearby Beldon Hall. Despite initial disagreements over their ideals when it comes to class restrictions, they fall in love and eventually marry, knowing they may only have a short time to love one another as the war moves closer and closer to home.

When the war does come, we find a village united with the Miniver’s doing their part. Clem helps in the Dunkirk evacuation, Vin becomes a fighter pilot, and Kay deals with a wounded and hostile German officer who is in enemy territory. All the while they must suffer through air raids, bombings, and the ever increasing knowledge that they may all not make it out of this battle alive.
After the flower show competition where Mr Ballard’s rose wins, Kay and Carol are slowly making their way back when an air attack begins. Thinking it prudent to stop the car, Kay reassures Carol that all will be well however, Carol is wounded by gunfire from a German plane. When she dies a few minutes after they reach home, Kay is devastated. Here the whole focus has been on Vin getting safely back home from a dangerous mission and Carol becomes the casualty.

Once Vin returns home, the village gathers in the remains of their local church where the vicar (Henry Wilcoxon), affirms their determination in a powerful sermon:

"We in this quiet corner of England have suffered the loss of friends very dear to us, some close to this church. George West, choirboy. James Ballard, stationmaster and bellringer, and the proud winner only an hour before his death of the Beldon 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's scarcely a household that hasn't been struck to the heart.
"And why? Surely you must have asked yourselves 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 the 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."

Mrs. Miniver is a an emotionally moving film with unexpected results. I was unnerved at how wonderfully well Garson and Pidgeon displayed their fear and strength. The film realistically shows not only the terror of living in a war zone but how a people can rise against adversity. Simply a must see!

Trivia: Some may have been a little unnerved when they heard Mrs. Minniver married her son Vin shortly after they made this film. ;)


Tonight on TCM!
Mr. Imperium (1951) An exiled king and a film star try to rekindle a romance from the past.

Cast: Lana Turner, Ezio Pinza, Marjorie Main, Barry Sullivan Dir: Don Hartman

Stars! They's Just Like Us!

They drive trains!
They play pool!

They do their best W.C. Fields!

They use the phonebook!

They rest!

They correspond!

Tonight on TCM!

Summer Under the Stars: Elvis Presley (meh.)

Escape in the Fog (1945)

It's the story of an expert in psychological warfare (William Wright) who is given a secret mission to deliver some wartime documents from San Francisco to the Far East. German agents, however, have gotten wind of the plan and spend the movie trying to capture Wright before he can leave the city. Before we see all this, however, we are introduced to a Navy nurse on leave (Nina Foch) who has a dream of Wright being attacked by two men on the foggy Golden Gate Bridge - but only after she awakes does she actually meet Wright. As she tries to figure out the meaning of her dream, she becomes his unwitting partner as he tries to outwit the Germans; naturally the two also fall for each other (in an unconvincing romantic subplot). - TCM

The romantic subplot isn't the only problem. In a time where telling someone you had premonitions of their death before you ever met them was a sure way to get locked up in the looney bin, Eileen Carr's (Nina Foch) dream is never really explained or questioned. Not even when Barry Malcolm (William Wright)is involved in a secret mission where he should be questioning all those he comes into contact with. How is he to know Eileen is not a spy, especially when she magically shows up and saves him from being murdered? Yet, again and again he trusts her with information that can and will fall easily into the enemies hands.
Though a B movie and though on a budget, one would think a little more thought could be put into the movie. Eileen wears the same clothes throughout the film, even in her dream. The relationship between her and Barry evolves too quickly and for someone who has just left a hospital due to nerves, she involves herself too deeply in Barry's dangerous "secret mission". Why does Barry carry a federal agent's badge but carries out missions in Hong Kong? And if he is really such a great agent, which is why he was picked for this particular mission, how come he keeps getting caught up in the enemies hands and perform acts like igniting his lighter in a room quickly filling with gas? Beyond Barry's incompetence, why is no one questioning the man with the obvious German accent? He is allowed into places and masquerades as people that any smart person would question. Given the timeframe again, post WWII and the conflicts which make it imperative for Barry to travel to Hong Cong, why is no one suspicious of the German?
Overall, the film was horrible. It had a lot of potential but apparently time and money come before detail and precision.


From TCM:

For Boetticher, these early B productions were simply a training ground. As he later wrote in his memoir, When in Disgrace: "Everything involved with my first five films at Columbia was a learning experience. These little black-and-white pictures were made in twelve days for one hundred thousand dollars....Harry Cohn made sure that I had top old-time cameramen. They were supposed to be there to help me, but I soon discovered they were there to show me what they knew and how very mistaken I was about everything I set out to accomplish. Don't misunderstand me, they were all fine gentlemen. But I was young, and green as grass, and cocky, and consequently, my aged cinematographers and I never really advanced to the "palzy" stage. I invented a system that worked. When one of them questioned me about a shot I had requested, I merely shook my head, patted him on the arm, and said 'You really don't understand what I'm trying to do, do you?' Then I walked away. Of course, most of the time they were right and I was wrong, and I sensed it. But, being wrong as a film director can cost you a hunk of prestige in a hurry. So I faked it....I really faked those first five [pictures] with a bundle of phony confidence."

Tonight on TCM!
Anthony Mann!

A weekend with...

Yesterday I watched two really good movies featuring Teresa Wright who I have only seen in Shadow of a Doubt and Pride of the Yankees. Pairing up with Gary Cooper again, I watched Casanova Brown which was hilarious. Namely due to the ever delightful Frank Morgan. Casanova "Cas" Q. Brown has been hiding a secret, and on the eve of his marriage to Madge Ferris that secret is about to come out. Turns out he was briefly married to Isabel Drury (Teresa Wright). Isabel's mother is a firm believer in astrology and she foresees only doom for her daughter to be married to the Sagittarius Mr. Brown. Unfortunately, burning down Isabel's parents house by accident didn't help matters much. Now, nine months later, Cas is ready to marry again but has received a letter from a maternity hospital in Chicago and that's when hilarity ensues involving kidnapping, marriage, and the search for the perfect baby formula. There were some really good laugh out loud moments in this film.




The second film I watched was The Little Foxes. This was a wonderful film. Bette Davis is at her best which is to say she is playing a monster. Nothing is more important than money and power to Regina Giddens (Bette Davis). In order to join her equally ruthless brothers in a scheme that is sure to gain her wealth and power, she uses her young, naïve daughter Alexandra Giddens (Teresa Wright) to fetch her estranged, ailing husband who has been convalescing in Baltimore for quite some time. When Regina cannot convince her husband to give her the money, her brothers set out to "borrow" some of Mr. Giddens Union Pacific bonds and exclude Regina from the deal. When he discovers what they have done, Mr. Giddens tells Regina he will treat the theft as a loan and remains determined not to take part in the investment. But Regina has plans of her own and she sets forward a malicious plan that will ostracise her from Alexandra who is starting to piece together how evil her family really is.

Both films also featured Patricia Collinge playing Isabel Drury's mother in Casanova Brown and her aunt in The Little Foxes. She also played Teresa Wright's mother in Shadow of a Doubt. These films were among her very first.