Mrs. Miniver just should have booted it.
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basford — 18 years ago(February 28, 2008 04:51 AM)
You're probably right about that. Yes, Carol's tragic death certainly does show the senselesness of war and that is obviously what the vicar was talking about at the end of the film. You are right.
Indeed it was a scary time for the British in the earlier years of WWII (it was only round 1943 that it seemed victory would definately be ours or on our side at least). My grandmother served in the WRENS throughout the entire war. Although she rarely talks about it, the stories she does come up with are quite extraordinary. My father served in the RAF for 15 years and he saw action in the Falklands War. He too, never talks about it but when he been coaxed to tell a tale or two the things he comes up with are pretty scary. War is a strange business. This is why when I hopefully join the Royal Navy, I intend to be posted to the Gulf.
England expects every man will do his duty - Lord Horatio Nelson, Trafalgar 1805 -
SanityLapse — 16 years ago(August 26, 2009 01:35 AM)
Yeah, Vin surviving was really surprising. This is still a pretty early Best Picture winner, and I was expecting something more traditional, like him dying. Cavalcade, the Best Picture winner of 1933, didn't pull many surprises (aside from one really shocking scene where some characters step away from a railing, and we see the name of something on a life saver). I just thought Vin was going to be a halfway point plot device of "the son's death" for the family to grieve over, and add some drama. I was happy that didn't happen!
I know what gold does to men's souls. -
stargazer1701-1 — 16 years ago(October 05, 2009 08:37 AM)
Mark 1589 is right. When there is a battle happening just over your head, or you see a burning airplane flying toward you, you might become terror stricken and freeze.
Its tough to decide where to be and what to do. No choice is a good one. All you can depend on is blind luck and you might as well be playing High or Low with the devil at that point.
When Mrs Miniver notices that something is wrong with Carol, and notices the bullet holes in the ceiling of the car, I was blown too.
I was touched by the character deaths of Carol, but also the endearing Mr Ballard and the choir boy.
Smoke me a kipper. Ill be back for breakfast -
roghache — 17 years ago(May 30, 2008 08:04 AM)
I could be wrong but was given to believe that much of the purpose of this film was to increase sympathy in America (not yet at war) for the cause of the struggling British against Nazi Germany. Yes, it's sad when military personnel are killed but most viewers would find it even more heart wrenching to see this lovely young civilian wife so randomly killed, sort of a fictional representative of all the British civilian losses resulting from the German bombing.
Good luck to basford from me as well! -
Tolmides — 17 years ago(June 16, 2008 12:23 AM)
It's funny though. It was nice how they avoided the cliche of the airman dying in action, but I was hoping he'd die the whole way through the film. I love Garson, Wright and Pidgeon, but Ney did absolutely nothing for me. I actually wanted him out of the picture within the first hour
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tmf_scipio — 16 years ago(December 07, 2009 10:15 PM)
not to be the "technical geek" but the British had quite a few 2 engine planes. One of the best was the de Havilland Mosquito. Twin engine light bomber made almost entirely with wood. Carol saw a plane crash her husband Vin flew a plane, that's all she would have known or cared about.
"Whenever Mrs. Kissell breaks wind, we beat the dog." -
pt100 — 13 years ago(March 14, 2013 05:15 PM)
It's not true that the British didn't have two-engine fighters. For example, the RAF used the Bristol Beaufighter, including in the Battle of Britain. Here's more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Beaufighter -
spasek — 17 years ago(July 13, 2008 01:38 PM)
Exactly how much faster are you supposed to drive when it is pitch-black dark outside? This is supposed to be in 1939/1940. They had blackouts, which means no lights shining anywhere whatsover. Plus, you're in the country. Don't let the "cinema lights" fool you. With the lights out, you'd be driving at a crawl. If they turn the lights on, they're suddenly a target on the ground.
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mark-1589 — 17 years ago(December 15, 2008 01:39 PM)
In contrast to one of the posters, I do not expect that Carol would have been able to spot the difference between an RAF and a Luftwaffe plan, and in any case was probably too stressed out to really be fully observant. In the same vein, I wouldn't expect the two women to know that their best bet would have been to jump out of the car and crawl under it (as the steel frame would provide them the maximum protection). But I think that was part of the point of the film - these were people who simply were not ready for the reality of total war and would have to adjust fast - unfortunately for Carol, she was one of the early victims.
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genplant29 — 15 years ago(July 28, 2010 02:14 AM)
Yeah - if that had been me, AND if I had any good sense in my head, I'd have AT LEAST gotten OUT of the car after stopping it, and found some less conspicuous place to be, such as perhaps around the base of a large old tree, or in some dense underbrush, etc., etc. Parking in a shiny car smack-dab in the centre of a road just seemed stupid, and like asking for trouble, to me! If I had been Mrs. Miniver, I'd have felt at least slightly responsible for the death of my son's young new wife!