GARSON'S LONG RIDE FROM SHINING STAR TO FLEETING FAME.

Byline: Henry Sheenan Orange County Register

The obituaries for Greer Garson in Sunday's newspapers were poignant proof of the old saw that fame is fleeting. The actress, 92 when she died, had been retired from the screen for many years, not having appeared in a feature since ``The Happiest Millionaire'' in 1967. So perhaps it's not surprising that the write-ups were somewhat involved in a process of self-justification, trying to explain just who this actress was and why she deserved a long obituary.

On the other hand, we live in the video age now, and movies from the past are supposed to be readily available. And one film famously starring Garson, and for which she won an Academy Award, should have been revived last year, when the world was celebrating the 50th anniversary of World War II's end.

When ``Mrs. Miniver'' went into production in 1941, America was not at war, and it was meant to valorize the hardy response of the English people to the war's depredations. But by the time it was released, in 1942, America WAS at war, and the film became one of the most effective pieces of Hollywood wartime propaganda.

When the movie opens, Garson is the title character, living with her husband (played by Walter Pidgeon, a frequent co-star) and family in the idyllic English countryside in the last days of peace. As the movie progresses, nearly every calamity of the war visits them.

While clearly dated today, the movie had an extraordinary impact, just as it was meant to. In fact, it achieved the most significant validation a pop-culture icon is capable of receiving: It became as much a source of amusement as respect.

Garson's career surged through the war, then sagged afterward.

Still, the memory of ``Mrs. Miniver'' lived for several decades after its release. Oddly, though, that memory failed to outlive its star, which is probably a fate no one anticipated.

Garson wasn't the only eminent Hollywood woman to die recently. Also 92, film editor Barbara McLean passed away this month.

Film editing was one of the few technical fields in Hollywood where women were allowed to flourish, and McLean achieved great distinction. Known mostly for her work at Twentieth Century Fox, McLean was nominated for seven Oscars in 1935-50, winning in 1944 for ``Wilson.'' Editors are the unsung heroes of Hollywood, almost literally squirreled in back rooms where, in the old days at least, they sat hunched over Moviolas while keeping track of countless strips of film. If a director hadn't provided correct footage, it was the editor's job to make sure scenes cut together correctly anyway, and more often than not they succeeded. McLean's success rate was obviously among the best. She was a key builder of what we call Hollywood.

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Photo: Actress Greer Garson, who died last week at 92, outl ived the memory of ``Mrs. Miniver,'' the World War II film that earned her an Academy Award.