Released in 1942, this sad but uplifting story of a "middle class" (read quite upper middle class) English family dealing with the looming war is most definitely propagandist.
Greer Garson is lovely, naive but strong. As the film starts out in 1939, the Miniver family, like all of England, is carefree. Their biggest concern is the money they spent - the Mr. on a new car and the Mrs. on a new hat.
No one really wants to believe the war is coming, even as the windows are blacked and the air-raid warden's whistle pierces the nights.
Slowly but surely, the war invades their little village, in air raids, bombings and plane crashes. The family and village continues on, with the "this is but a nuisance to be tolerated temporarily" attitude that became known as the British "stiff upper lip."