George Stevens’ back-from-the-war masterpiece honors family vaues and stability with the near-reverent story of a Norwegian immigrant family subsisting in San Francisco of 1910. The filmmaking is fastidious and the performances exemplary — Irene Dunne is the Hanson matriarch, young Barbara Bel Geddes the teenager who wants to write, and Oscar Homolka the overbearing Uncle who ‘lives in sin.’ The family situation is humble, yet idyllic when we factor in the plight of immigrants and refugees today: a reasonably secure place to live, a reasonable level of peace. The new remaster gives the film an added luster.

I Remember Mama
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1948 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 134 min. / Street Date October 1, 2024 / Available at MovieZyng / 21.99
Starring: Irene Dunne, Barbara Bel Geddes, Oskar Homolka, Philip Dorn, Ellen Corby, Cedric Hardwicke, Edgar Bergen, Steve Brown, Tommy Ivo.
Cinematography: Nicholas Musuraca
Art Directors: Carroll Clark, Albert S. D’Agostino
Film Editor: Robert Swink
Original Music: Roy Webb
Screenplay by DeWitt Bodeen from the novel Mama’s Bank Account by Kathryn Forbes and the play I Remember Mama by John Van Druten
Produced by Harriet Parsons, George Stevens
Directed by George Stevens

Ten years ago appeared a much-promoted book about five Hollywood directors who documented the conflict. One of them, the talented and versatile George Stevens, had followed the Allied push into Germany, where his Signal Corps unit documented the liberation of one of the worst concentration camps. Such an experience would (or should) change anybody. The postwar half of Stevens’ directing career steered away from light comedies, to take on serious social topics. He made fewer movies, and some of them addressed dark issues:  economic injustice and the American Dream,  alcoholism and work stress,  wealth and race prejudice,  the Holocaust, and finally  the Passion of Christ.

Upon his return from Europe George Stevens allied with fellow war effort filmmakers Frank Capra and William Wyler, but their independent company didn’t make it past its first production, Capra’s  It’s a Wonderful Life. Striking out on his own as a producer- director for hire, Stevens’ first major effort didn’t come until three years after the victory. Made for Dory Schary at RKO, it starred his  Penny Serenade star Irene Dunne, and by all accounts was a happy filming experience.

Taken from a sentimental novel about a young writer’s childhood, the amusing but sober I Remember Mama extolls values Stevens judged to be typically American — the values of earnest immigrants grateful for their place in the United States of the early 20th Century. It could easily have been adapted as a simple tear-jerker or turned into comedy fluff. The title may be old-fashioned but the show is the soul of integrity. Its appeal is universal, and its portrait of family ties makes us nod with approval. Once upon a time there were families like this — and there still are.

Katrin Hanson (Barbara Bel Geddes) remembers her childhood in 1910 San Francisco, focusing on her Norwegian immigrant mother Martha (Irene Dunne) and various family milestones. Little sister Dagmar (June Hedin) goes to the hospital for ear surgery. Skittish Aunt Trina (Ellen Corby) becomes engaged to the undertaker, Peter Thorkelson (Edgar Bergen). There are sick cats and troublesome aunts to contend with, along with the feared head of the family, Uncle Chris Halvorsen (Oscar Homolka). Called the ‘black Norwegian,’ Halvorsen ‘lives in sin’ with his housekeeper on a ranch to the North. Katrin aspires to become a writer. Her mother helps by seeking advice for her from prominent novelist Florence Dana Moorhead (Florence Bates).

To the citizens of 1948, 1910 was no farther away than 1986 is to us now, but it seems a different age entirely. The show begins with a brief framing device of the 1948 Katrin Hanson seeing her younger self in a mirror, an optical trick atypical of George Stevens. The sentimental message is that our past is precious, that to appreciate life we must allow our ancestors to live on through us. It makes us realize that few Americans know much of anything about their families beyond two or three generations.

Through Katrin’s narration we learn the basic family setup. The hardworking father Lars Hanson (Philip Dorn) isn’t in the house much but is quiet and dependable. The only relatives are some disagreeable, nosy aunts and that overbearing Uncle who frightens the children with his loud voice. Katrin is labeled ‘dramatic,’ just as her older brother Nels is typed as ‘kindly.’ Two younger sisters are appropriately competitive and obsessed with pets. In Katrin’s memory it is Mother who holds everything together. Mama is the family problem solver, arbiter, bookkeeper and judge. She takes personal responsibility for everything. She is the kind of parent that children don’t appreciate until they mature. She’s the conscience of the family, its moral compass.

Stevens and his writers stay focused on the details of family living even when a crisis comes up. Mother defends the timid Aunt Trina from her cruel sisters, and must bully Uncle Chris to stop him antagonizing the generous and kindly doctor Johnson (a subdued Rudy Vallee). There’s a great episode where the parents find themselves unprepared to chloroform Dagmar’s sick cat. Mother is the center of every dispute. She pulls the family together when little Dagmar needs an operation, a scary proposition in the year 1910. Mama then finds herself stymied by the authoritarian hospital staff, that will not let her visit her own daughter.

Although Americans never lost their desire for sentiment, social pundits tell us that the immediate postwar audience had less tolerance for sweetness & light entertainment. Back from the war and looking for answers in a new age of problems, they chose the socially conscious  The Best Years of Our Lives over Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life. But I Remember Mama is no simple tearjerker. The most touching scene depicts Mama disguising herself as a washerwoman to sneak into Dagmar’s hospital ward. George Stevens directs it so well, the moment in which Irene Dunne sings a lullabye to an entire ward now seems subdued. Mama said she would visit Dagmar after the operation, and wouldn’t rest until her promise was fulfilled. This movie understands the distinction between people who are simpletons and people with uncomplicated values, dealing with unfair situations.

If anything, George Stevens undercuts scenes that in another movie would be played for stronger heart-tugs. Katrin and Mama take a walk on the steep San Francisco hills, and it’s an ordinary stroll with discussions about coffee, the old country and being rich. Stevens sometimes stays at arm’s length from Katrin’s teenage emotions. When she retreats to her room after receiving a rejection for one of her stories, the camera holds on a composition in depth that shows bits of two rooms, including dad’s unfinished carpentry work in the bathroom. The shot goes unbroken for a couple of minutes while several bits of business play out. But the dramatic focus happens where we can’t see it, off screen to one side.

Barbara Bel Geddes ( Caught,  Vertigo) was just getting started as a film actress. In I Remember Mama she makes a fine journey from shy teenager to an enthusiastic young woman. Among the film’s many Oscar nominees, Ellen Corby and Oscar Homolka stand out as eccentric characters just real enough not to be cartoonish. We soon forget about the Norwegian accents. Cedric Hardwicke is a slippery tenant honored for his animated readings of great books.

Irene Dunne shines. She is one of the great underappreciated actresses of her day, an amazing singer in  Sweet Adeline and the 1936  Show Boat and as equally adept at screwball comedy as she was at drama. The movie is almost entirely hers; she convinces us that Mama is as ethical and inspiring as her daughter says she is.

Proof of the way Stevens avoids schmaltzy material comes at the conclusion, with a lesson in understatement that might profit even Steven Spielberg. Katrin sells her book, supposedly written about her father. It turns out to instead focus on Mama. Katrin reads the opening paragraphs as Mama hovers around the table, finally ending up looking out a window. The last image is a pullback from Dunne’s face, hidden in shadow behind a lace curtain. As Katrin reads on, Martha Hanson appears to fade into a memory, replaced by the words that will immortalize her. It’s very touching, and uncommonly restrained. If audiences cried over that scene, the tears were honestly earned.

The Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray of I Remember Mama is a major improvement over the WAC’s first DVD from twenty years ago. Seeing older B&W films restored in such great condition is always good, but the added resolution and contrast range really means something with a film made with this much craft and finesse. George Stevens would wait for his next picture to perfect his ‘perfect’ extended optical dissolves; here he uses RKO’s superior optical effects department (Vernon L. Walker, Linwood Dunn) to create several delicate transitions. Doors, windows and mirrors become visual ‘portals to the past.’ The camera pushes through them to contrast the 1948 Katrin Hanson with her teenaged 1910 counterpart.

In HD we can also admire the exceptionally good rear projection and scores of matte paintings that turn back the clock on the San Francisco skyline. Most are so good, they were likely not even noticed. The only questionable images are right up front — the first sight of Katrin looks unaccountably soft. Perhaps it was an optical blow-up?

The one extra on the disc is a original trailer, not in the best shape. Original RKO trailers are rare, as the studio’s entire odds ‘n’ ends film library was likely thrown away during a sale or when RKO closed down in 1957. The new Blu-ray omits an extra feature present back on the old 2004 DVD, a video introduction by George Stevens Jr., who is still with us at the age of 92. Stevens fils became influential in the arts, founding the American Film Institute and co-creating the Kennedy Center Honors. For a long time he served as a gatekeeper to his father’s films, and for better or worse exerted a lot of control over the great director’s legacy.

A bit more context for I Remember Mama,  which was filmed in a brief pocket of calm at RKO. Dore Shary became head of production early in 1947, and allowed George Stevens full latitude with the show. The perfectionist director filmed at a deliberate pace that translated into a pleasant but overlong shooting schedule. Sometime near the end of filmingHoward Hughes bought the studio and laid off 75% of its work force. Shary quit in July 1948, four months after Mama’s premiere.

Although well received by both the industry and the public — earning 5 Oscar nominations — the movie failed to yield a profit because of its high production cost, over 3 million. Going forward George Stevens would become even more costly in his production methods, filming scenes from every conceivable angle and exposing many thousands of feet of film stock. On exterior locations he would wait days for perfect weather. Stevens made seven more pictures in 20 years, including the big hits  Shane and  Giant.

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

I Remember Mama
Blu-ray rates:
Movie: Excellent
Video: Excellent
Sound: Excellent
Supplements:
Original trailer.
Deaf and Hearing-impaired Friendly? YES; Subtitles: English (feature only)
Packaging: One Blu-ray in Keep case
Reviewed: October, 2024
(7207mama)

Final product for this review was provided free by The Warner Archive Collection.

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