Mrs. Miniver (character) President Franklin D. Roosevelt credited it for hastening America's involvement in the war. Winston Churchill is said to have claimed that it had done more for the Allied cause than a flotilla of battleships. Churchill is further quoted by Bernard Wasserstein in his book, "Barbarism and Civilization," as saying that the book (and later the film) was worth "six divisions of war effort." In 1942, when the film came out, Roosevelt ordered it rushed to theaters. The film adaptation of "Mrs. Miniver" was produced by MGM in 1942 with Greer Garson in the leading role and William Wyler directing. Under
Gile Steele Gile Steele Gile Steele (24 September 1908 in Ohio – 16 January 1952 in Culver City, California), was a Hollywood costume designer. His career began at MGM in 1938 with one of his first assignments being the Norma Shearer film "Marie Antoinette". He also worked on many of the company's prestige pictures including "Pride and Prejudice" and "Boom Town" (both 1940), "Blossoms in the Dust" and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (both 1941), "Mrs. Miniver" (1942) and "Madame Curie" (1943). He was one of the first nominees when the category for Best Costume Design was introduced at the Academy Awards