Mrs. Miniver

This article is about the film. For the fictional character, see Mrs. Miniver (character). For the later film, see Mrs. Miniver (1960 film).

Mrs. Miniver
Theatrical release poster
Directed byWilliam Wyler
Screenplay by
Based onMrs. Miniver
1939 book (from newspaper column Mrs. Miniver)
by Jan Struther
Produced bySidney Franklin
Starring
CinematographyJoseph Ruttenberg
Edited byHarold F. Kress
Music by
Production
company
Distributed byLoew's Inc.
Release dates
Running time
133 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.34 million[2]
Box office$8.9 million[2]

Mrs. Miniver is a 1942 American romantic war drama film directed by William Wyler, and starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon. Inspired by the 1940 novel Mrs. Miniver by Jan Struther,[3] it shows how the life of an unassuming British housewife in rural England is affected by World War II. Produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, its supporting cast includes Teresa Wright, May Whitty, Reginald Owen, Henry Travers, Richard Ney and Henry Wilcoxon.[4]

It was a critical and a commercial success, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1942 and winning six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Garson), and Best Supporting Actress (Teresa Wright).[5][6] It was the first film centered on World War II to win Best Picture, and the first to receive five acting nominations.[7] The film ranked 40th on the American Film Institute's list of most inspirational movies.

In 2009, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

A sequel, The Miniver Story (1950) was made with Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon reprising their roles.[4]

  1. ^ "MRS. MINIVER (U)". British Board of Film Classification. June 29, 1942. Archived from the original on November 6, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  2. ^ a b The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
  3. ^ Struther, Jan (1940). Mrs. Miniver. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Company. ASIN B000O9ZBGA.
  4. ^ a b Hal Erickson (2007). "Mrs. Miniver (1942)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 23, 2007. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
  5. ^ "Awards for Mrs. Miniver". IMDb. Archived from the original on July 21, 2013. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
  6. ^ "Mr. Miniver (1942)". Reel Classics. Archived from the original on May 2, 2008. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
  7. ^ "The 15th Academy Awards | 1943". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. October 4, 2014. Archived from the original on May 2, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2020.