Maureen O'Hara O'Hara beat Lauren Bacall to the role as she was busy with other engagements. Though the film was critically acclaimed, Crowther of "The New York Times" felt that the characters of O'Hara and the daughter could have been made "more humorous and spirited than they are". The following year, O'Hara appeared in the CBS television film, "Mrs. Miniver", but despite some critics approving her performance, most thought that the remake was ill-timed and that she could not top Greer Garson's performance in the 1942 Oscar-winning film. In 1961, O'Hara portrayed Kit Tilden in the western "The Deadly Companions", Sam Peckinpah's
Mrs. Miniver expectations, grossing $5,358,000 in the US and Canada (the highest for any MGM film at the time) and $3,520,000 abroad. In the United Kingdom, it was named the top box office attraction of 1942. The initial theatrical release made MGM a profit of $4,831,000, their most profitable film of the year. Of the 592 film critics polled by American magazine "Film Daily", 555 named it the best film of 1942. "Mrs. Miniver" won six Academy Awards in 1943. Notes The fifth episode of season 1 of "Downton Abbey" copies the scene of Lady Beldon giving her award away at a