MovieChat Forums > I Remember Mama (1948) Discussion > Nice film

Nice film

posted 7 years ago by Sentient Meat (1509)
12 replies | jump to latest

It's about an immigrant family from Norway, struggling to make a life in San Francisco during the early 20th century. Irene Dunne plays Mama, the hardworking matriarch who keeps everyone going even when life becomes very difficult. Barbara Bel Geddes of "Dallas" fame plays Katrin, her eldest daughter who dreams of one day becoming a writer and who is the narrator of the story. Ellen Corby from The Waltons is Mama's old maid sister who finally gets a proposal late in life from a funeral director played by Edgar Bergen (Candice's Dad). Those two also ended up playing the original Ma and Pa Walton in the movie that inspired the show. The only part I didn't care for were the scenes about their Uncle Chris which I felt were over the top and the actor who played him (Oscar Homolka) just felt hammy and out of place among the otherwise fine performances.

Highly recommended for those who like family dramas.

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[–] godewey (16472) 7 years ago

💋

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[–] Sentient Meat (1509) 7 years ago

Irene Dunne I felt did a nice job with her Scandinavian accent... Uncle Chris seemed like he was from another country entirely. I realize he was supposed to be a domineering drunk who was embittered by his lame leg... but his bombastic performance felt like something out of the silent era. I'd be interested to hear reactions from those who watched it during that era... who knows, maybe the critics liked his work.

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[–] [email protected] (1732) 7 years ago

The film is beautiful, but suffers a bit from over-length. Certainly, the Uncle Chris death scene could've been
shortened by at least five minutes. That bedroom scene just goes on and on. Still, a lovely film, and one
that proves that if you invest the time, the reward is wonderful at the closing kitchen window scene. Very
touching.

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[–] Sentient Meat (1509) 7 years ago

Yes, that scene in particular was not well done, very poorly paced and I'm sure didn't have the desired impact. The rest of the film though was very heartwarming and well worth watching.

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[–] godewey (16472) 7 years ago

💋

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[–] Sentient Meat (1509) 7 years ago

I didn't have a problem with the general concept of the Uncle Chris character... I had a problem with the depiction and execution. Homolka's character was too much eccentric and not enough lovable to make me bond with him. I realize that he was generous and helped those other kids but simply bonding with Katrin over a shared dislike of the aunts isn't a good enough reason to create a deep affection for someone. His negative traits seemed to outweigh his positive and by the time you read off a list of donations, it's already too late to care.

Seems the book was almost autobiographical though so maybe the writers felt they had no other artistic choice.

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[–] godewey (16472) 7 years ago

💋

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[–] Sentient Meat (1509) 7 years ago

This film reminded me of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn where James Dunn plays a drunken father and Dorothy McGuire plays a hardworking mother... but even though he's a fuck up... you can see why the daughter and the rest of the neighborhood loves him. In fact you feel for the mother because she doesn't have that warmth that Irene Dunne's character has so the daughter favors the Dad even though he has his head in the clouds and never follows through on his promises. Not that you should copy the other film, but that's an example about how to execute that type of character.

Thanks for the info on Homolka... I feared that might be the case... which is why I try not to read up before I watch a show so my opinion won't be biased.

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[–] [email protected] (1732) 7 years ago

I think the film (and most likely the play) borrows very heavily from "Little Women." The themes of
episodic daily life are very similar, especially with the eldest daughter's struggles to become a
writer.

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[–] Sentient Meat (1509) 7 years ago

Makes sense, been years since I've seen that film so I can't really comment on that... but thanks.

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[–] godewey (16472) 7 years ago

💋

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[–] Sentient Meat (1509) 7 years ago

I think the message about Uncle Chris was good... that you should love someone because of their heart and generosity and not because they give you money... but personally I'd give one of my nieces an education over a stranger's leg.

Yeah McGuire's situation was worse I suppose but they were both pretty bad. When you have to lie about a bank account that doesn't exist to keep your kids calm... it's still quite dire.

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