**MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW**
Mrs. Miniver is a WWII homefront drama directed by the great William Wyler. It stars Greer Garson as Kay Miniver, the wife and mother of a "typical" English middle class family who suffers nobly in the first stages of the war. The film is a bit dated, but there are some wonderfully shot and played moments that make it worthwhile, including this scene.
**Again, huge spoilers are headed your way, right now...**
This scene occurs at the end of the film...she was driving home during an air raid with her daughter-in-law, Carol (Teresa Wright) when Carol is hit by a bullet. Here Kay has called for an ambulance and is trying to remain calm for Carol's sake. When Carol weakly asks for a glass of water, Kay leaves only to hear Carol exhale her last breath. Kay comes rushing over and takes Carol in her arms in an emotional moment where Kay realizes the tragedy that has just taken place. It is a wrenching moment that comes across on Garson's distraught face and is heard in her cries. Greer won the Oscar for this performance, though I would have given it to her for another movie she made that same year, Random Harvest (which you will see later on). Though she's wonderful in Miniver I find her role in Random Harvest to be a bit more complex and thus more deserving.
Greer Garson is one of my favorite actresses from the studio era. She had the most incredible smile I've ever seen and her eyes could convey any number of emotions (which I will demonstrate later). Sadly, she is often forgotten which is really too bad. Garson the actress was an incredibly intelligent woman who also had a great sense of humor and those qualities are often apparent on screen. Her voice was another trademark...beautiful English diction peppered with hints of an Irish brogue (she spent a lot of time there in her youth).
Colleen, your blog is spectacular! Keep up the good work.
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