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
John Hodiak "box office poison" by exhibitors at the end of 1948. Hodiak was down the cast list for "The Bribe" (1949). He was second billed in MGM's war film "Battleground" (1949) a huge success. Also popular was "Malaya" (1949) where Hodiak supported James Stewart and Spencer Tracy. Hodiak was a love rival for Robert Taylor in "Ambush" (1950), a popular Western. MGM gave him another lead role, co-starring with Hedy Lamarr in "A Lady Without Passport" (1950), but it lost money. He was third billed in "The Miniver Story" (1950), the flop sequel to "Mrs. Miniver", and fourth lead in "Night