I Remember Mama

"You'll just love...MAMA!"

1948 2h 14m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 68

FamilyDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Norwegian immigrant Marta Hanson keeps a firm but loving hand on her household of four children, a devoted husband and a highly-educated lodger who reads great literature to the family every evening. Through financial crises, illnesses and the small triumphs of everyday life, Marta maintains her optimism and sense of humor, traits she passes on to her aspiring-author daughter, Katrin.

“You'll just love...MAMA!”

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Cast

Irene Dunne
Mama
Barbara Bel Geddes
Katrin
Oskar Homolka
Uncle Chris
Philip Dorn
Papa
Cedric Hardwicke
Mr. Hyde
Edgar Bergen
Mr. Thorkelson
Rudy Vallee
Dr. Johnson
Barbara O'Neil
Jessie Brown

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: George Stevens
Writers: DeWitt Bodeen
Languages: Norwegian, French, English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

78 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Norwegian, French, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by George Stevens, shot by Nicholas Musuraca. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Roy Webb. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Robert Swink shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Irene Dunne and Barbara Bel Geddes and Oskar Homolka carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "You'll just love...MAMA!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0040458 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

George Stevens directs. Nicholas Musuraca behind the camera. Roy Webb scores. Robert Swink cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Norwegian, French, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

178 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Norwegian, French, English.
3Directed by George Stevens, shot by Nicholas Musuraca. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Roy Webb. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Robert Swink shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Irene Dunne and Barbara Bel Geddes and Oskar Homolka carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "You'll just love...MAMA!".
8IMDB entry: tt0040458 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 68 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Classified under 10 themes, including "immigrant", "based on novel or book", "san francisco, california", "based on play or musical".

The technical file

Cinematography: Nicholas Musuraca
Original score: Roy Webb
Editing: Robert Swink
Costume design: Edward Stevenson
Makeup / hair: Gordon Bau
Runtime: 134 min · 2h 14m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: I Remember Mama (1948)

Also by

George Stevens

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-07-09
★ 7/10
The "Hansen' family arrive in San Francisco from Norway at the start of the twentieth century. Under the guidance of their matriarch "Mama" (Irene Dunne) the family set down roots and begin to live their lives in their new home - and for the next 2¼ hours we are immersed in a chronicle of their trials and tribulations. It is recounted largely from the perspective of the daughter "Katrin" (Barbara Bel Geddes) who regales us in a gentle and charming fashion as she, her father (Philip Dorn); Uncle "Chris" (Oscar Homolka) and an extended collection of "family" navigate their new surroundings. This film goes nowhere fast, like life itself it is not a pace fest, but the characterisations are richly presented with George Stevens taking his time to let them all breathe, to develop and explain their idiosyncrasies, loves and aspirations. It's a very personal character study this with Dunne, Homolka, Bel Geddes on top form and also featuring a delightfully nuanced contribution from Ellen Corby (whom I only ever really recall seeing as "Grandma" in "The Waltons") resulting in Oscar nominations for all four. It's a story to just let wash over you with dialogue that can be both intense and quite witty. It may trigger reminiscences of your own childhood or experiences and though I'd be fibbing if I didn't admit that it does drag at times, that oddly enough adds authenticity to what it's trying to do - and that is to be a plausible real life story where nothing much actually happens!

Production companies