The War Against Mrs. Hadley by Jessica Pickens

Hollywood films during World War II generally featured patriotic characters who took pride in their country. Most characters were either fighting in the war or doing their part back home to help those overseas. But in real life, not everyone wanted the United States to be involved in the war, especially in the early days of World War II. Others felt they were above to having to ration and make daily life sacrifices. One movie that shows an honest depiction of these feelings is the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film, THE WAR AGAINST MRS. HADLEY (’42), released in September 1942, less than a year after the United States entered World War II.

In the film, wealthy Washington, D.C., society matron Stella Hadley (Fay Bainter) celebrates her December 7 birthday (Bainter’s real life birthday) the same way every year: lunching with her family and friends and listening to the Boston Symphony. But in 1941, the day was different. When Stella’s daughter Patricia (Jean Rogers) turns on the Boston concert, news of the bombing of Pearl Harbor floods the airways. Stella is irritated and upset when her son Ted (Richard Ney) and friend Elliot (Edward Arnold) rush to the War Department where they work.

After Dec. 7, 1941, Stella is inconvenienced by the changes going on around her and she refuses to bend, facing changes with anger and a lack of understanding of what’s going on in the world. Stella is especially unhappy when the war upsets her household:

• Her chauffeur gives his notice, because he was drafted. She says she wishes he had given her more notice and that she won’t give him a reference for his next job. 
• Pat volunteers at a canteen on Christmas Eve. When Stella asks why she can’t stay home, Pat says, “It’s Christmas Eve for the soldiers too.” 
• Elliot moves Ted to active service, because he drinks more than works. Stella thinks she can use her influence to get Ted out of the war but can’t. Angry that Elliot can’t get Ted out of the war, Stella tells him that she never wants to see him again. 
• The butler, Bennett (Halliwell Hobbes) becomes a local air raid warden and has to leave at a moment’s notice for drills. 
• Other inconveniences include having to turn out her lights during a black out drill and having to be escorted to Elliot’s office in the War Department, rather walk back on her own as she always did.

While working at the canteen Pat meets and falls in love with soldier Michael Fitzpatrick (Van Johnson). The two eventually marry, but Stella, who doesn’t approve of the marriage, doesn’t attend. Other society women even scoff at her saying she doesn’t “have an ounce of patriotism in her.” Stella’s determination to keep everything as it was before for the war leads to Stella ending up alone.

While THE WAR AGAINST MRS. HADLEY has an important war message, it was also important to the career of MGM star, Van Johnson. The film was Johnson’s first credited role after four uncredited films. Johnson said Bainter was kind and helpful to him during the filming. “Thank God for Mrs. Hadley. That was the beginning. Then I began to roll.” Johnson is quoted in the book Van Johnson: MGM’s Golden Boy.

The New York Times film critic Bosley Crowther scoffed at the film, saying it came too late coming after the start of the war and that the character of Stella Hadley is “barely reflective of an average American type.” However, I think this is an interesting time capsule for today’s viewers as it shows that not everyone was in favor of the war or willing to change their lifestyles. In the end, Stella changes her ways and begins holding committee meetings and hosting soldiers in her home. The film’s message to 1942 audiences is that it’s not too late to get involved in the American war effort.

THE WAR AGAINST MRS. HADLEY was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay written by George Oppenheimer. However, the film lost to Ring Lardner Jr. and Michael Kanin’s script for George Stevens’ WOMAN OF THE YEAR (’42).