L'histoire des Miniver

The previous poster wanted to know why Richard Ney wasn't in "The Miniver Story". I believe the reason for Mr. Ney's omission was probably on Greer Garson's part.

Mr. Ney had fallen in love with Greer Garson while filming "Mrs. Miniver". Although he played her son he was only 11 years younger than Miss Garson.

They had a stormy divorce which occurred a couple of years prior to filming this sequel. I guess that's why his character wasn't even mentioned. Miss Garson probably wanted to just wipe out all memory of him.

Mrs Miniver, while not completely flawless, is a superb film and quite rightly received 6 Oscar wins and a further 6 nominations. It was a very powerful and touching film that was beautifully made and superbly acted and directed. I was expecting very little from The Miniver Story judging from what has been said about it. After watching, it was a far better sequel than expected though admittedly it was unnecessary and is nowhere near as good. The script is very soap-opera-ish, skim-the-surface quality and in places caked in over-sentimentality, something that Mrs Miniver- for a melodrama- managed to avoid. The story does have compelling moments and isn't completely tedious, but because this is no longer set in the war the drama is not as emotionally investing or as tense, the characterisations(especially the children, where there is an aforementioned glaring omission) even sketchier. You care about Mrs and Clem, particularly the former, but the rest we don't know enough about. H.C.Potter's direction is competent and gets the job done, but it lacks the tightness and nuances that made William Wyler's direction add so much to the film. The Miniver Story looks beautiful though, with sumptuous period detail and photography that is both moody and luminous. The music is nicely understated, and there are bright spots in the story. Parts of it are heart-warming, the ending is heart-breaking as is the scene on the staircase and there is a funny scene demonstrating the Home Run. The acting is good, especially Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon, Garson is very sincere and touching and Pidgeon acts with understated dignity, the two of them work wonderfully together. James Fox makes a very confident film debut and John Hodiak while not having a lot to do acquits himself well. Leo Genn and Reginald Owen are fine as well, in fact all the support cast are but you do miss May Witty, Teresa Wright and Henry Travers. All in all, not anywhere near as good a sequel and is somewhat unnecessary but while very problematic I found The Miniver Story better than anticipated. 6/10 Bethany Cox

I watched this sequel on a rental after hearing about it for years and expecting it to be somewhat disappointing. Of course, I knew the original "Mrs. Miniver" Best Picture Oscar winner and had seen that perhaps five times. This follow-up creation was much better than I expected. It tackles important issues of the post-war era just as well as the original showed the problems and challenges during the war. The acting and directing of the film seemed smooth enough. It is a sad, realistic story, without sugar coating. It is not melodramatic. Greer Garson is simply excellent in an understated way and again the story rightfully revolves around her character. Walter Pigeon is also excellent, with his familiar voice serving to narrate the film with thoughtful voice-overs. Those who completely knock this picture compared to the first one need their eyes examined.

Like many here. I've avoided this film because of so-so reviews. What a revelation upon finally watching it. Absolutely loved it. A quietly poetic quality differentiates it it from the tense and dramatic "Mrs. Miniver." Greer Garson can't have ever given a better performance: understated, luminous, she simply towers above everyone in the good cast.. She perfectly portrays a lovely, kind-hearted English woman shadowed by a secret sadness - the cause of which I won't reveal. There are a few scenes where she has a heartbreaking faraway look and dreamy manner. I love "Mrs. Miniver," but think Garson is far more mature and subtle in this role. A great actress. Bravo, Greer!

I agree with the favorable preceding review. For all who loved Mrs. Miniver, I feel this is a fine and very moving, very powerful sequel. Pidgen and Garson have extraordinary chemistry (as everyone knows) and aside from the simple error of failing to refer to the elder son, this movie wonderfully adopts, as the preceding reviewer states, an "after the storm" tone that perfectly fits life in Britain from 1945 to 1950.

I love this movie and its predecessor - largely because of Greer Garson's warmth, beauty, liveliness, decency. See also Random Harvest.