Helmut Dantine "Mrs. Miniver" (1942), playing a downed German pilot captured by the title character (played by Greer Garson). This film was a huge hit and Dantine received much positive attention. In August 1942 Warners signed him to a new contract. The studio kept him busy in war films: "The Pied Piper" (1942); "Desperate Journey" (1942), fighting Errol Flynn; and "The Navy Comes Through" (1942). He had a sympathetic role in "Casablanca" (1942), as the young refugee trying to earn money for a visa via gambling who is helped by Humphrey Bogart. Warners begin to give Dantine more sizeable roles in "A"
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,