"I Remember Mama" is probably a very good picture of immigrant life for many American families in the early 20th century. Among the movies made in the mid-century about immigrants and their struggles, most were of the hardships of travel and settling down. A few films were made about the difficulties in tenement living, especially in New York and other eastern cities. This one is different in its setting and plot. It centers around the Hanson family that have immigrated from Norway and settled in San Francisco where they live in a rented rowhouse.
Irene Dunne plays Marta Hanson, "Mama," and Philip Dorn plays her husband, Lars "Papa." They were born and married in Norway and in the late 19th century followed a brother and three sisters to San Francisco. Their four children were all born in the U.S. They rent and live in a row house, and are a very tight-knit family. The plot is of a story within a story, centering around Mama, as the key person who is the glue for the family.
It's a good story that shows family closeness, frugality and respect. The film is adapted from a stage play that was based on a 1943 novel by Kathryn Forbes, "Mama's Bank Account." I was surprised to learn that RKO actually lost about $1.1 million on this movie. While it got very good reviews and high praise from the critics, it had a very high production cost for that time of nearly $9 million. It's box office of $7.6 million was among the top 30 films for the year, but not enough to cover its high cost.. The film had a considerable cast for the day. Besides Irene Dunne in the lead, among its supporting cast are Oskar Homolka, Cedric Hardwicke, Edgar Bergen, Rudy Vallee, Florence Bates, and Ellen Corby. And it received five Academy Award nominations.
While 1948 wasn't among the most competitive years for great Hollywood films, it was a tough year at the Oscars in the categories for which "I Remember Mama" received nominations. The five nominations this film got but didn't win put four of the cast in great company. Irene Dunne's Mama was up against Ingrid Bergman's "Joan of Arc," Olivia de Havilland's Virginia Cunningham in "The Snake Pit," Barbara Stanwyck's Leona Stevenson in "Sorry, Wrong Number," and Jane Wyman's Belinda in "Johnny Belinda." Wyman won the best actress Oscar in a year that arguably had the best lineup of great actresses in the history of the Oscars.
Then, two of this film's cast were nominated for best supporting actress - Barbara Bel Geddes as Katrin and Ellen Corby as Aunt Trina. They too, were up against tremendous competition of Agnes Moorhead in "Johnny Belinda" and Jean Simmons in "Hamlet." But none of those performances could match that of the 1948 best supporting actress, Claire Trevor, for her phenomenal performance as Gaye Dawn in "Key Largo."
The fourth cast nomination was Oskar Homolka as Uncle Chris. His competition was as tough, and I think he was as good or better than Charles Bickford in "Johnny Belinda" and Cecil Kellaway in "The Luck of the Irish." And, I think Homolka's performance was more deserving of the Oscar than was Walter Huston as Howard in "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre."
Of all of the nominations that "Mama" received, I think Homolka should have won best supporting actor that year. Huston probably had some sentimental support. It was the best role of many I've seen Homolka play in film. And, while she couldn't match Trevor's winning role, Ellen Corby gave arguably the best performance of her career in this film. She did have some consolation when the Hollywood foreign press picked her as the best supporting actress that year for her role in this film.
This is a very good family movie and one that people in the 21st century should watch and share with their children. It has some good historical value in depicting the life of immigrant families in America at the turn of the 20th century. Here's my favorite line from this film.
Katrin, "But, Mama, wouldn't you like to be rich?" Mama, "I would like to be rich the day I would like to be 10-feet high. It's good for some things, bad for others."
Irene Dunne plays Marta Hanson, "Mama," and Philip Dorn plays her husband, Lars "Papa." They were born and married in Norway and in the late 19th century followed a brother and three sisters to San Francisco. Their four children were all born in the U.S. They rent and live in a row house, and are a very tight-knit family. The plot is of a story within a story, centering around Mama, as the key person who is the glue for the family.
It's a good story that shows family closeness, frugality and respect. The film is adapted from a stage play that was based on a 1943 novel by Kathryn Forbes, "Mama's Bank Account." I was surprised to learn that RKO actually lost about $1.1 million on this movie. While it got very good reviews and high praise from the critics, it had a very high production cost for that time of nearly $9 million. It's box office of $7.6 million was among the top 30 films for the year, but not enough to cover its high cost.. The film had a considerable cast for the day. Besides Irene Dunne in the lead, among its supporting cast are Oskar Homolka, Cedric Hardwicke, Edgar Bergen, Rudy Vallee, Florence Bates, and Ellen Corby. And it received five Academy Award nominations.
While 1948 wasn't among the most competitive years for great Hollywood films, it was a tough year at the Oscars in the categories for which "I Remember Mama" received nominations. The five nominations this film got but didn't win put four of the cast in great company. Irene Dunne's Mama was up against Ingrid Bergman's "Joan of Arc," Olivia de Havilland's Virginia Cunningham in "The Snake Pit," Barbara Stanwyck's Leona Stevenson in "Sorry, Wrong Number," and Jane Wyman's Belinda in "Johnny Belinda." Wyman won the best actress Oscar in a year that arguably had the best lineup of great actresses in the history of the Oscars.
Then, two of this film's cast were nominated for best supporting actress - Barbara Bel Geddes as Katrin and Ellen Corby as Aunt Trina. They too, were up against tremendous competition of Agnes Moorhead in "Johnny Belinda" and Jean Simmons in "Hamlet." But none of those performances could match that of the 1948 best supporting actress, Claire Trevor, for her phenomenal performance as Gaye Dawn in "Key Largo."
The fourth cast nomination was Oskar Homolka as Uncle Chris. His competition was as tough, and I think he was as good or better than Charles Bickford in "Johnny Belinda" and Cecil Kellaway in "The Luck of the Irish." And, I think Homolka's performance was more deserving of the Oscar than was Walter Huston as Howard in "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre."
Of all of the nominations that "Mama" received, I think Homolka should have won best supporting actor that year. Huston probably had some sentimental support. It was the best role of many I've seen Homolka play in film. And, while she couldn't match Trevor's winning role, Ellen Corby gave arguably the best performance of her career in this film. She did have some consolation when the Hollywood foreign press picked her as the best supporting actress that year for her role in this film.
This is a very good family movie and one that people in the 21st century should watch and share with their children. It has some good historical value in depicting the life of immigrant families in America at the turn of the 20th century. Here's my favorite line from this film.
Katrin, "But, Mama, wouldn't you like to be rich?" Mama, "I would like to be rich the day I would like to be 10-feet high. It's good for some things, bad for others."