The Miniver Story

In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Bosley Crowther wrote:

[I]t takes Mrs. Miniver such an all-powerful long time to die that one suspects that this extension of the picture was the scriptwriter's primary aim. Certainly the prefatory problems are of such minor consequence—are so petty when compared to the problems and the theme of survival in the first film—that they look to be nothing more than fillers to make a story before the long death march. The poignancy of Mrs. Miniver's passing with the tall leaves is the motif of this film. This is too thin, and Miss Garson plays with such lofty humbleness that whatever emotion is in the story is drenched in great waves of obvious goo. So soft and beatific is her manner, so hushed and remote is her tone, that she seems, even before her passing, to have assumed her imminent state in another world.^[2]

Critic Edwin Schallert of the Los Angeles Times wrote: "Whether 'The Miniver Story' is deemed an important contribution to the screen, there is little question that it merits an accolade for the taste and sensitiveness that dignify it. The narration particularly at the end sustains this mode and is well recited by Pidgeon. Undoubtedly Its sentimentalism will be derided in some quarters. Simultaneously, many people will be moved by its sadness, which is deep-rooted."^[3]

According to MGM records, the film earned $990,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $1.23 million in other countries. However, this was not enough to recover the large budget of more than $3 million, and the film recorded a loss of $2.3 million, making it MGM's most costly flop of 1950.^[6][8][9]

• The Miniver Story at IMDb
• The Miniver Story at the TCM Movie Database (archived version)
• The Miniver Story at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films