The War Against Mrs. Hadley

Wonderful little film about a sheltered society woman's difficulty in adjusting to the changes wrought on her life by WWII. Mrs. Hadley sees the war as a personal disruption to the routine of her existence and she is not happy about it!

The great thing about these lower budget films from the major studios was that it provided opportunities for great actresses like Fay Bainter to top line films in between providing support in A pictures.

She is marvelous as the unthinkingly selfish Mrs. Hadley making her obdurate obliviousness palatable if not understandable. As good as she is she is fortunate to be surrounded by some of the best character actors and actresses working at that time. Spring Byington flutters and dithers as only she could while Sara Allgood is all warm, bosomy kindness and understanding as an impossibly young Van Johnson's mother. Connie Gilchrist is a stitch as the family cook and Isobel Elsom is very tender in a small part as Fay's rival. On top of that the great Edward Arnold in good guy mode here is very good as an incredibly patient suitor of the difficult Mrs. Hadley.

Due to the professionalism of the cast and good pacing by the director this is a far more enjoyable film than the slim premise would seem to promise. An undiscovered treasure.