Greer was great, Rosie
. . . . in the original Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939), Pride and Prejudice (1940), Mrs. Miniver (1942), Madame Curie (1943), The Valley of Decision (1945), and That Forsyte Woman (1950).
I understand that Random Harvest (1942) is her finest hour and a shamelessly potent sobfest; supposedly a masterful, tearjerking film based on the James Hilton novel. I'm looking for that one.
She was breathtaking in Pride and Prejudice. But my favorite was The Valley of Decision, about my home town, Pittsburgh. She was an Irish maid who fell in love with the steel mill owner's son, Gregory Peck, while working in their house. What a dynamic pair they made.
Greer was World War II's inspirational actress. She was even thanked by Queen Elizabeth for generating compassion and admiration for the English citizenry. Her portrayal of Mrs. Miniver, her crowning glory, helped pull the U.S. into the war. That performance won her the Academy Award--her only one. She was nominated seven times. Interestingly, as far as I can tell, she has been the only actress ever nominated five consecutive years, the five years of U.S. involvement in World War II (1941-45). She was the "war actress." The Babe of the Century.
An excellent biography of her was written last year--A Rose for Mrs. Miniver: The Life of Greer Garson, by Michael Troyan (The University Press of Kentucky). Time, though, is obscuring her. For example, A&E's Biography profiles don't include her and she isn't even mentioned in their list of thousands of personalities on their web site. History is missing a gold nugget. Not me!
Dreaming, John |
