''The Miniver Story'' is a 1950 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

that is the sequel to the 1942 film '' Mrs. Miniver''. Like its predecessor, the picture, made by MGM, stars

Greer Garson Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson (29 September 1904 – 6 April 1996) was an English-American actress and singer. She was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer who became popular during the Second World War for her portrayal of strong women on the hom ...

and

Walter Pidgeon Walter Davis Pidgeon (September 23, 1897 – September 25, 1984) was a Canadian-American actor. He earned two Academy Award for Best Actor nominations for his roles in '' Mrs. Miniver'' (1942) and ''Madame Curie'' (1943). Pidgeon also starred in ...

, but it was filmed on-location in England. The film was directed by H.C. Potter and produced by Sidney Franklin, from a

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, f ...

George Froeschel George Froeschel (9 March 1891 – 22 November 1979) was an Austrian novelist and screenwriter. In 1943, he received two Academy Award nominations for co-writing screenplays for ''Mrs. Miniver'' and ''Random Harvest''. He won the Academy Award f ...

and

Ronald Millar Sir Ronald Graeme Millar (12 November 1919 – 16 April 1998) was an English actor, scriptwriter, and dramatist. Life and career After attending Charterhouse School, Millar studied at King's College, Cambridge for a year before joining the ...

based on characters created by

Jan Struther Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...

. The music score was by

Miklós Rózsa Miklós Rózsa (; April 18, 1907 – July 27, 1995) was a Hungarian-American composer trained in Germany (1925–1931) and active in France (1931–1935), the United Kingdom (1935–1940), and the United States (1940–1995), with extensi ...

and

Herbert Stothart Herbert Pope Stothart (September 11, 1885February 1, 1949) was an American songwriter, arranger, conductor, and composer. He was also nominated for twelve Academy Awards, winning Best Original Score for '' The Wizard of Oz''. Stothart was widel ...

, with additional uncredited music by

Daniele Amfitheatrof Daniele Alexandrovich Amfitheatrof (russian: Даниил Александрович Амфитеатров, October 29, 1901 – June 4, 1983) was a Russian-Italian composer and conductor. Early life Amfitheatrof was born in Saint Petersburg ...

, and the cinematography by

Joseph Ruttenberg Joseph Ruttenberg, A.S.C. (July 4, 1889 – May 1, 1983) was a Ukrainian-born American photojournalist and cinematographer. Ruttenberg was accomplished at winning accolades. At MGM, Ruttenberg was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinemat ...

. Garson, Pidgeon,

Reginald Owen John Reginald Owen (5 August 1887 – 5 November 1972) was a British actor. He was known for his many roles in British and American films and television programs. Career The son of Joseph and Frances Owen, Reginald Owen studied at Sir Herbert ...

, and

Henry Wilcoxon Harry Frederick Wilcoxon (8 September 1905 – 6 March 1984), known as Henry Wilcoxon, was an actor born in Roseau, Dominica, British West Indies, and who was a leading man in many of Cecil B. DeMille's films, also serving as DeMille's associ ...

return in their original roles. Also in the cast were

Peter Finch Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch (28 September 191614 January 1977) was an English-Australian actor of theatre, film and radio. Born in London, he emigrated to Australia as a teenager and was raised in Sydney, where he worked in vaudeville ...

(as a Polish officer) and

James Fox William Fox (born 19 May 1939), known professionally as James Fox, is an English actor. He appeared in several notable films of the 1960s and early 1970s, including '' King Rat'', '' The Servant'', ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'' and ''Performan ...

(as Toby Miniver, in his first film appearance).

Plot

The story, told partly in flashback and narrated by Clem Miniver, commences on

VE Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...

as Clem and Judy return home from war service and Toby returns from a foster family in the United States. Judy, a corporal driver, is loved by Tom Foley, a captain in the Royal Engineers, but she is besotted with a general (

Leo Genn Leopold John Genn (9 August 190526 January 1978) was an English actor and barrister. Distinguished by his relaxed charm and smooth, "black velvet" voice, he had a lengthy career in theatre, film, television, and radio; often playing aristocr ...

) married but separated and twice her age. Kay Miniver has also conducted a brief, platonic affair with an American colonel. Clem is now restless and dissatisfied; he successfully applies for a design contract in Brazil. But Kay, unknown to him, has developed a major cardiac condition and has one year at most to live. Despite this, she persuades the general to return to his wife, leaving Judy free to marry Tom. The wedding goes ahead. Clem decides to stay in London and brings Tom into his architectural practice, and soon after he's made aware of his wife's illness. Satisfied that her family are safe and happy, Kay dies. No mention is made of the eldest Miniver son Vincent who appeared in the earlier film, possibly because Greer Garson and

Richard Ney Richard Maximilian Ney (November 12, 1916 – July 18, 2004) was an American actor, author, and investment counselor. Life and career Ney was born in New York City, the son of Erwin Maximilian Ney (1893-1968), an insurance salesman, and Charlott ...

(the actor who portrayed Vincent) had married and been divorced (1943–1947) by the time ''The Miniver Story'' was produced in 1950.

Cast

as Kay Miniver *

as Clem Miniver *

John Hodiak John Hodiak ( ; April 16, 1914 – October 19, 1955) was an American actor who worked in radio, stage and film. Early life Hodiak was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Anna (Pogorzelec) and Walter Hodiak. He was of Ukrainian and ...

as Spike Romway *

as Steve Brunswick *

Cathy O'Donnell Cathy O'Donnell (born Ann Steely, July 6, 1923 – April 11, 1970) was an American actor who appeared in '' The Best Years of Our Lives,'' '' Ben-Hur,'' and films noir such as ''Detective Story'' and '' They Live by Night''. Early life O' ...

as Judy Miniver *

as Mr. Foley *

Anthony Bushell Anthony Arnatt Bushell (19 May 1904 – 2 April 1997) was an English film actor and director who appeared in more than 50 films between 1929 and 1961. He played Colonel Breen in the BBC serial ''Quatermass and the Pit'' (1958–59), and al ...

as Dr. Kaneslaey * Richard Gale as Tom Foley *

as Polish officer *

as Toby Miniver, billed as William Fox

Production

Cinematographer

was almost let go due to British film union regulations, but was kept on after lead actress Greer Garson threatened to quit the production.

Reception

According to MGM records the film earned only $990,000 in the US and Canada but performed better elsewhere, making $1.23 million. However this was not enough to recover the large budget of over $3 million, and the film recorded a loss of $2.3 million, making it MGM's most costly flop of 1950.Scott Eyman, ''Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer'', Robson, 2005 p 399

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Miniver Story, The 1950 films 1950 drama films American black-and-white films American drama films American sequel films 1950s English-language films Films scored by Miklós Rózsa Films directed by H. C. Potter Films set in England Films shot at MGM-British Studios Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1950s American films