It has been said that Mrs. Miniver was such a potent work of propaganda for Britain that it influenced the undecided Americans to join the war. More than half a century later, it still manages to convey the spirit and determination exhibited by the British people in the face of Nazi expansion, without resorting to the sappy sentimentality so often exhibited in films of this era. The tale of an average "middle-class British family" and its struggle to maintain normal life during wartime, Mrs. Miniver remains a powerful testament to the courage of ordinary people and the persuasive power of the cinema.