I Remember Mama from 1948 is a triumph on every level with brilliant acting, stellar writing, and marvelous direction elevated the film to an incredible high. It’s also the perfect family movie you never tire of.

We begin with a young girl named Katrin (Barbara Bel Geddes) completing her novel. It's about the highs and lows of a Norwegian immigrant family with a mom, dad, and 4 children living in San Francisco in the 1900s. Katrin's inspiration for this autobiographical novel is her own family, whose trials and tribulations her family faces are at the forefront of her book. Most of all, she 'remembers Mama.'

'Mama' (played expertly by Irene Dunne) is the head of the family in every way. They're not very well-off financially and she is the one holding everybody together, including her three quirky sisters and kind-hearted uncle. Examples of her generous nature include sending her only son to high school, helping her sister get married, sneaking in to see her youngest at the hospital, and making sure her eldest daughter doesn't give up on her writing. I don't want to say too much about the plot, because it really needs to be seen from beginning to end in order to understand the true themes of the film. She's the heart of this movie and one of the toughest women of 1940s cinema.

Katrin is the child that gets the most screen time, which makes sense since we see the movie through her eyes. She loves her family ferociously and one could liken this character to Katie Nolan from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Katrin is tougher than and not as passive as Katie. Dagmar (June Hedin) is the youngest child, and the one whose storyline convinces us what a great person 'Mama' is, as if we don't already know. 'Papa' (Philip Dorn) is a kind man who cheerfully and bravely struggles alongside his family to make ends meet. There are three lively and sweet aunts named Trina, Jenny, and Sigrid who provide most of the laughs needed. Beloved Uncle Chris (Oskar Homolka) is the relative we all wish we had, hard on the outside, a generous person on the inside.


The chemistry of this insanely talented cast is incredibly believable, largely due to their extraordinary talents, and director George Stevens. He got the very best out of any actor he worked with. Stevens is one of the greatest filmmakers that Hollywood ever produced. The winner of two Oscars; his vast resume includes A Place in the Sun, Woman of the Year, and the Rogers/Astaire classic, Swing Time. Irene Dunne delivers her greatest performance ever as 'Mama' in a career filled with incredible roles. She is widely considered one of the greatest actors to never win an Oscar, being nominated 5 times (including for I Remember Mama), but, sadly, never taking one home. Barbara Bel Geddes, 'Katrin', had a career spanning six decades. She is most widely remembered for her roles on TV, especially as Miss. Ellie Ewing in Dallas. Oskar Homolka, a.k.a. 'Uncle Chris,' was an Austrian who spent his career as a character actor, playing villanious roles. Ellen 'Aunt Trina' Corby, like her on-screen niece, achieved her greatest success on TV portraying Grandma Walton in The Waltons

I Remember Mama received 5 Academy Award nominations, including one for Homolka, Bel Geddes, and Corby. Unfortunately, the film didn't win a single man, but Corby did win a Supporting Actress Golden Globe.

It's hard pinpointing an exact reason why you should see this movie, but maybe Katrin's opening lines will: 'For as long as I could remember, the house on the Larkin Street Hill had been home. Papa and Mama had both born in Norway, but they came to San Francisco because Mama's sisters were here, all of us were born here. Nels, the oldest and the only boy, my sister Christine and the littlest sister Dagmar, but first and foremost, I remember Mama.'

Valerie Frederick, a typical young woman who just happens to be in love with classic films and French Fries, writes about the golden age of cinema from a teen's perspective.