I Remember Mama - Irene Dunne, Barbara Bel Geddes 1948

I have always enjoyed films that show the world at different times and eras. How people related to each other and how they dressed, how they spoke to each other. The title of the film I Remember Mama sounds very saccharine almost like you would be drowning in sugar but that is a falsehood. George Stevens’s greatness as a filmmaker is in part attributable to his ability to clear sentimentality out of the way and focus on the emotional realism of his characters’ lives. George Stevens began to work in 1948, on I Remember Mama, which began as a novel. Written by Kathryn Forbes and published in 1943 titled “Mama’s Bank Account” the book’s occasional sentimental strain wasn’t done away with in John Van Druten’s 1944 stage adaptation. George Stevens, who was famous for his attention to detail, poured the same meticulousness into I Remember Mama. Every second of the 134-minute running time was devoted to creating the mood; as critic Penelope Houston pointed out: "by taking the film at a slow, reflective pace, he constantly emphasized its reminiscent quality, so that it seemed less like something actual and more like something affectionately remembered. Irene Dunne gives an understated, but commanding performance as a woman who scrimps and saves the family's meager income so her children can have a better life. It's difficult to portray virtues like thriftiness and hard-work on film without turning off the audience, but Dunne, whose greatest onscreen asset is her warmth and humor, does an admirable job. Dunne as Mama, was applauded for her consummate Norwegian accent. Although 50 at the time of filming, Dunne had retained her youthful appearance; the make-up artists for I Remember Mama reportedly had to age her for filming. Mama was Dunne's favorite role; in an interview years later she recalls, "I thought she was a wonderful woman. It was probably the only time I played a real character part. It will always be very special to me." Dunne was nominated for Best Actress in 1948 for I Remember Mama, her fifth and last nomination. Although she never won an Oscar, she was honored by the Kennedy Center for her film contributions in 1985. I Remember Mama is full of great performances, especially from Oscar Homolka as blustering Uncle Chris, and Ellen Corby as a maiden aunt who longs to marry the bumbling Mr. Thorkelson (Edgar Bergen). Dunne, Corby, Bel Geddes, and Homolka were all nominated for Oscars, and Corby won the a Golden Globe. I Remember Mama's meandering style, not to mention the heavy Scandinavian accents, can be off-putting for modern viewers, but it is worth investing time and attention in one of the gentlest films in Stevens' long career. Stevens served in World War II, heading a film unit in the Army Signal Corps. During his service, he documented the atrocities in Nazi concentration camps, even preparing his footage for evidence in the Nuremberg Trials, which prosecuted some of those responsible for the Holocaust. I can't help but think that I Remember Mama was Stevens' way of dealing with what he experienced in Germany. Instead of meticulously documenting the horrors of war, he is turning his attention to the goodness and kindness of ordinary people. I Remember Mama is also about the power of memory and how it shapes our lives. Katrin (Barbara Bel Geddes). narrates the story as an older woman, and her remembrances of Mama certainly have an affect on her adult behavior. Katrin looks, acts, and dresses very much like Mama, which certainly seems out of place for the late 1940s. In many ways, Katrin seems more comfortable living in the past with her treasured memories of Mama. It's Katrin's way -- and I think by extension Stevens' way -- of finding a moral compass in an uncertain postwar world. Barbara Bel Geddes was the daughter of famed Norman Bel Geddes the famous Industrial Designer who designed General Motors Futurama Pavilion for the 1939 New York World's Fair among many other designs.