George Stevens’ I Remember Mama is considering to be one his biggest achievements in the director’s career. The 1948 drama was based on John von Duten’s play, which was based the novel by Kathryn Forbes which was called Mama’s Bank Account. The film has a mighty fine cast with Irene Dunne, Barbara Bel Geddes, Sir Cedric Hardwicke.
Taking place in San Francisco in 1910 the story focuses on a The Hansons, a Norwegian family, that is struggling to survive and make ends meet. Mama Martha(Irene Dunne, My Favorite Wife, Love Affair) is the matriarch who, along with her husband (Philip Dorn, Spy Hunt, Tarzan’s Secret Treasure) and their children Nels (Steve Brown), Katrin (Barbara Bel Geddes, Vertigo, Panic in the Streets, Dallas), Christine (Peggy McIntyre), and Dagmar (June Hedin), are all trying to get by despite financial trouble, sickness, and other obstacles along the way. They sacrifice their own dreams and financial wants to use the funds they have for their youngest, Nels who wants to go to school and receive a high school education. They also have an Uncle Chris Halvorsen (Oscar Homolka, Mr. Sardonicus, Sabotage) who at times, seems indifferent toward the family and has a few skeletons in his closet. A lodger and family friend (screen legend Sir Cedric Hardwicke, The Ghost of Frankenstein, Invisible Agent, The Ten Commandments) reads some of the finest literature to the family every evening which makes keeps them happy through the toughest of times.
I Remember Mama is a fantastic film that was rightfully nominated for five Academy Awards which included best actor and best actress in a supporting role. Irene Dunne received the Best Actress nomination for this picture. The movie is an emotional rollercoaster as one minute you will have you laughing and then suddenly, a few scenes will make you feel weepy. The acting and direction for this picture are top-notch!
Warner Archive has given I Remember Mama a Blu-ray release. Presented in the film’s original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.37:1 in1080p and given a 4K scan the image quality is phenomenal. The Blu-ray image is sharper than ever (except for the dreamy close-ups of Katrin during her opening narrative sequences) and completely clean of print damages and debris. The Oscar-nominated cinematography by Nicholas Musuraca captured for this film has a balanced grayscale looks vivid and dynamic. Close-ups of the characters faces are detailed; interior and exterior shots also look detailed with a lot of texturing. Warner has done a remarkable job in giving the movie the best video quality that this film has received!
For the audio, the English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono soundtrack is also excellent. The dialogue is clear and easy to hear, action sounds and Roy Webb’s musical score all sound wonderful without hissing, popping, and crackling detected. None of the audio for the action or music sounds is neither overly aggressive nor too passive, you can listen to any specific sounds clearly. The fidelity is balanced all the way through to make this a great listening experience. English subtitles are available for this release.
A trailer is the only supplement for this release, unfortunately.
Outside of the lack of supplemental material, the audio and video quality for I Remember Mama is so good that we can overlook that one aspect of this release and highly recommend this offering!
I Remember Mama
Director – George Stevens
Cast- Irene Dunne, Barbara Bel Geddes, Sir Cedric Hardwicke
Country of Origin-USA
Distributor – Warner Brothers/ Warner Archive Collection
Number of Discs –1
Reviewed by – David Steigman
Date –10/13/2024