Mrs. Miniver

Kay Miniver does not fly a Spitfire in dogfights over London or ply the North Sea in a battleship, but she is doing her all for wartime England. And she does it so well that Winston Churchill would say Mrs Miniver was more vital to the nation than a fleet of destroyers. Winner of six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, this memorable spirit-lifter about an idealised England that tends its prizewinning roses while confronting the terror of war struck a patriotic chord with audiences and became 1942s No 1 box-office hit. Greer Garson gives a formidable Oscar-winning title-role performance, comforting children in a bomb shelter, capturing an enemy parachutist and delivering an inspirational portrait of stiff-upper-lip British resolve. When Hitler did his worst, Mrs Miniver did her best. (Warner Bros. AU)