Saturday, October 12, 2013

TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Best Picture Winners (Casablanca / Gigi / An American in Paris / Mrs. Miniver)



Old Timers Just Love Old Time Films
I am 80 years old and saw these films when they were first released. In an age when there were no VCRs, much less DVDs, a film came your way, you saw it and from then on they were memories. These films were considered classics then and seeing them again I would say that they stand up well against current stuff. Different acting style, true, but the dramatic impact and the story lines are as good as any. It is refreshing to see the dancing in American... and Gigi. Is today's stuff really more energetic? The old days were so much more graceful - tell me about Ginger Rodgers and Fred Astair. The great relief? I cannot imagine Mrs. Minniver using the indecent language that we hear in too many films these days. How refreshing!!!

Mrs. Miniver
It is such a disappointment to not be able to obtain the DVD edition of Mrs. Miniver yet. This is a film I shared with my granddaughter several years ago and is a warm memory for her.

It was my pleasure and honor to meet Greer Garson at the end of her life at Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. It was her birthday and our department was responsible for the setting up of the room and the refreshments. I was to uncork the champagne. At 5:30pm, Mrs. Fogelson (her married name) was wheeled into the room, absolutely radiant at the age of 92, wearing a brocade gown that matched the beauty of her green eyes. The celebration was short, in keeping with her frail condition, but she was such a grand lady, just like her presentation of Mrs. Miniver. Frail, yet regal. Queenlike, yet personable.

After her party, I took flowers to her room. She had already been tucked back into bed, but still so pretty, though tired. I went to her bed and she held out her hand to me. She held my hand with...

THE MOVIE THAT SAVED THE MORALE OF WARTIME AUDIENCES!
The most important picture of World War II was an intensely moving drama about a middle class British family and its strong matriarch standing up against the tragedies and terrors of the onset of World War II. The movie was "Mrs. Miniver".

"Mrs. Miniver" remains today one of the most powerful and compelling films ever made about the hardships of war even with the lack of a single battle scene. Like "Gone With the Wind", "Mrs. Miniver"'s greatness lies in its revealing look of the individuals affected by a war. Making the film an even greater emotional experience is the fact that this film was made just at the time it revolves around, during the onset of WWII, when the outcome of the war was still uncertain and the future of the world was hanging in the balance.

In the title role of the film, Greer Garson is radiant, willful, warm and determined in the role of Kay Miniver, a British housewife who must keep her head on the homefront with her...

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