The White Cliffs Of Dover (1944)

A young American girl (Irene Dunne) from Oklahoma marries a British aristocrat (Alan Marshal) and is devastated when he dies in WWI. As WWII approaches, she worries that the same fate awaits their son (Roddy McDowall who morphs into Peter Lawford). Based on the novel THE WHITE CLIFFS by Alice Duer Miller and directed by Clarence Brown (THE YEARLING). Like MRS. MINIVER (1942), this MGM piece of wartime propaganda was meant to call attention to the bravery of the British people and the wartime hardships and sacrifices they endured. But unlike the Oscar winning MRS. MINIVER, this one is pure sentimental claptrap! To present day audiences, it's a struggle to sit through without any notable performances, visuals or contemporary relevance to compensate for its creaking narrative. However, 1944 audiences lapped it up and the film was a huge hit. Irene Dunne's weepies have never appealed to me, I much prefer her as a comedienne in comedies like THE AWFUL TRUTH, MY FAVORITE WIFE or THEODORA GOES WILD. She's a bit, shall we say ..... mature for the girlish ingenue she's asked to play in the early portions of the movie but she's not any better as she ages on screen. Still, I can't imagine anyone but Dunne fans that would embrace this film. With Van Johnson, Gladys Cooper, Dame May Whitty, C. Aubrey Smith, Jill Esmond, Norma Varden and a young Elizabeth Taylor who grows up and turns into June Lockhart!