Mrs Miniver

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Nazis, and Hollywood, roses and Dunkirk and roses. Paul Gambaccini explores the making of a war time classic from 1942, Mrs Miniver - winner of the Best Picture Oscar. During filming, actress Greer Garson insisted on tea every afternoon at 4 o'clock, whilst director William Wyler hated the chocolate box set of rose-strewn villages he was forced to work with. Despite these restrictions Mrs Miniver turned out to be a film that helped change history - credited by many, including Churchill, with helping to turn popular opinion in America away from isolationism and towards whole hearted support for the Allied Forces in Europe. It portrays a family living a safe life in the Garden of England, Kent - a world where Mrs Miniver worries more about a hat than the approaching conflict. But as her world falls apart, she changes and becomes more resilient, as the people of Britain bravely face up to the task of defending this island, whatever the cost. So did Mrs Miniver deserve Best Picture for 1942? Veteran film critic Philip French believes that it hasn't lasted, though he recalls from his own childhood in Liverpool how it touched the hearts of British cinema goers. And behind this patriotic movie lies a darker story - did Hollywood studios protect their sales in Germany by going softly, softly on the Nazi regime, until the tide of public opinion finally turned against the Germans? Producer: Sara Jane Hall First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2015.