I Remember Mama (1948)
Directed by George Stevens

Film Review

John Van Druten's stage adaptation of Kathryn Forbes's novel Mama's Bank Account proved to be one of the most successful Broadway productions of the 1940s, running to over 700 performances.  George Stevens' film version was no less popular and has long been widely regarded as one of the best examples of a now all but forgotten genre, the family melodrama.  Stevens may seem an odd choice to direct the film, given his background in comedy, but he had already shown he had a penchant for melodrama with the popular Penny Serenade (1941), starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant.  One of RKO's most lavish productions, I Remember Mama boasts a distinguished cast, headed by Dunne at her most awesome, and is one of George Stevens' most technically accomplished films.  The film is perhaps a little dated by its slow pace and banal subject matter (it does admittedly overplay the sentiment card in a few scenes), but its sympathetic portrayal of an ordinary family struggling against the small adversities of life is one that still has considerable appeal.

Film Synopsis

Katrin Hanson is an aspiring writer has just completed her first novel, a nostalgic account of her family life in San Francisco, in around 1910.  After immigrating from Norway, Katrin's family found it difficult to get by, and it was only through her mother Martha's careful management of the family's modest earnings that they were able to make ends meet.  Martha, her husband Lars and their three daughters, Katrin, Christine and Dagmar, all have to make sacrifices so that their son Nels can continue his education at high school.

Marta's sister Trina creates a sensation when she reveals she is going to get married to an undertaker, and she coerces Marta into breaking this surprising news to their sisters, Jenny and Sigrid.  One painful episode that Katrin remembers was when her younger sister Dagmar had to go into hospital to be treated for mastoiditis.  Despite the intervention of her kind Uncle Chris, Martha is forbidden from visiting her daughter until the treatment has been completed.  Martha gets her own way by adopting a disguise.  Dagmar makes a full recovery but on her return home she finds her beloved cat has fallen ill...