Mrs. Miniver flower show, with Maggie Smith's Violet Crawley in the place of Lady Beldon. In the play "A Raisin in the Sun", Brother, Ruth, and Beneatha give Mama (Lena) a gift with the note "To our own Mrs. Miniver – Love from Brother, Ruth, and Beneatha". Citations Further reading Mrs. Miniver 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, the film shows how the life of an unassuming British housewife in rural England is touched by World War
William Wyler films that could be considered anti-Nazi were banned by the Hays Office. U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, Joseph Kennedy, told the studios to stop making pro-British and anti-German films. Kennedy felt that British defeat was imminent. But MGM producer Eddie Mannix disagreed, saying that "someone should salute England. And even if we lose $100,000, that'll be okay." "Mrs. Miniver" went on to win six Academy Awards, becoming the top box office hit of 1942. It was Wyler's first Academy Award for Best Director. President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill both loved the film, said historian Emily Yellin,