What I remember best about Mrs. Miniver, other than the wonderful Greer Garson, is the closing speech by the vicar. Here it is: "We, in this quiet corner of England, have suffered the loss of friends very dear to us - some close to this church: George West, choir boy; James Bellard, station master and bell ringer and a proud winner, only one hour before his death, of the Belding Cup for his beautiful Miniver rose; and our hearts go out in sympathy to the two families who share the cruel loss of a young girl who was married at this altar only two weeks ago. The homes of many of us have been destroyed, and the lives of young and old have been taken. There is scarcely a household that hasn't been struck to the heart. And why? Surely you must have asked yourself this question. Why in all conscience should these be the ones to suffer? Children, old people, a young girl at the height of her loveliness. Why these? Are these our soldiers? Are these our fighters? Why should they be sacrificed? I shall tell you why. Because this is not only a war of soldiers in uniform. It is a war of the people, of all the people, and it must be fought not only on the battlefield, but in the cities and in the villages, in the factories and on the farms, in the home, and in the heart of every man, woman, and child who loves freedom! Well, we have buried our dead, but we shall not forget them. Instead they will inspire us with an unbreakable determination to free ourselves and those who come after us from the tyranny and terror that threaten to strike us down. This is the people's war! It is our war! We are the fighters! Fight it then! Fight it with all that is in us, and may God defend the right." And I just discovered this piece of trivia: "The closing speech, delivered by the vicar (Henry Wilcoxon) at the end of the film, was actually written by Wilcoxon and director, William Wyler, the night before it was filmed. Wyler had grown dissatisfied with the speech the screenwriters had come up with, and convinced Wilcoxon to help him improve it. The speech proved to be integral to the film's success, and was distributed across America and Europe in order to boost wartime morale amongst soldiers and civilians alike." A case of screenwriters being rewritten that actually improved the movie... and not the other way around!

No matter how often I hear that speech, it still moves me. It is an eloquent, deeply profound expansion of Carol Beldon's thematic dialogue (mentioned in "my favorite dialogue" section above) "...A bit of action is required every now and then.”