I Remember Mama (1948)

My Review

“I Remember Mama” is a drama film about a Norwegian immigrant family in 1910. At the head of the cast is Barbara Bel Geddes, who plays the daughter reminiscing about her mother, while narrating the film. The cast includes Irene Dunne as her mother, Cedric Hardwicke, Edgar Bergen, Rudy Vallee, Ellen Corby, Oscar Homolka, Phillip Dorn, and Florence Bates.

Director George Stevens (“Giant” 1956) did a marvelous job at the helm of this motion picture, with an excellent screenplay by DeWitt Bodine. “I Remember Mama” was a flop at the box office for RKO Radio Pictures. It received five Oscar nods for Best Actress (Dunne), Best Supporting Actor (Homolka), Best Supporting Actress (Bel Geddes, Corby), and Best Cinematography/Black-and-White (Nicholas Musuraca). Barbara Bel Geddes later went on to star in the popular CBS television drama “Dallas” (1978-1990).