I know that Hortense and Pat are married and Pat is Fred's father. Roman Bohnen is fantastic by the way. Is Hortense not Fred's birth mother? Why does he refer to her by her given name instead of mom? Is this ever discussed? I have seen this movie many times but do not recall any explanation.
shareWas it mentioned that Hortense and Pat were actually married? I just assumed that they were living together. I always got the impression that Fred's mother had died
long ago, or else had run out on the family for one reason or another, perhaps leaving Pat for someone better off financially, as Pat was obviously struggling.
Hortense took pity on Pat and looked after him and eventually just moved in with him.
I'm not crying, you fool, I'm laughing!
Hewwo.
It was never stated explicitly but I thought Hortense was Fred's stepmother. In those days there wasn't much cohabiting without marriage. (Edit: Actually, her character was listed as Hortense Derry so she must have been married to Fred's father.)
Hortense was great -- sweet, caring, not nagging or greedy, cheerful. The complete opposite of Marie!
Thanks for bringing up this topic! I've wondered about Hortense's place in the Derry Family myself.
My guess is that Hortense and Mr. Derry married when Fred was a young teen (13-14). She could have been drinking buddies with Mr. Derry before they married. Hortense probably treated Fred like an adult rather than a kid and let him call her by her first name. She must have taken care of Fred's dad after his benders so Fred respected her.