Mama Irene

Katrin Hanson (Barbara Bel Geddes) reflects on her life with her Norwegian immigrant family in San Francisco. Her sisters, brother, father, aunts, uncle, and cousin are all recalled, but Katrin tells us, mostly, I Remember Mama (1948).
 
When asked several years ago to list five movies I would have with me on a desert island, I Remember Mama was one of my choices. Our group had not watched it in recent memory (though all but one member had seen it before), and when the opportunity arose to view it, we were thrilled. No matter how many times you see this film, it is one of which you will never tire.

I Remember Mama is a series of vignettes, all centered around the Hanson family. Mama Marta (Irene Dunne) and Papa Lars (Philip Dorn) came to the United States just after their marriage to join Marta's family - Uncle Chris Halvorsen (Oskar Homolka), and sisters Jenny (Hope Landin), Sigrid (Edith Evanson), and Trina (Ellen Corby). The children were all born in San Francisco - Nels (Steve Brown), Katrin, Christine (Peggy McIntyre), Dagmar (June Hedin), and Sigrid's son Arne (Tommy Ivo). The Hansons and Halvorsens are hard working people. They are not wealthy, but they are getting by, and Marta and Lars are working and saving so that their children can have a better life through education. 

There are many memorable performances. But the film must anchor itself on Mama, and Irene Dunne does not disappoint. She was not the first choice for the role - Greta Garbo was approached (and said no), Katina Paxinou was also considered (the family would have been changed to Greeks), and Marlene Dietrich campaigned for the part (she was deemed too sexy) (AFI catalog). When Irene Dunne was asked, she said yes, on the condition that the director was selected from a list she provided.  Luckily, George Stevens (his first film since he returned from Europe during World War II), who was already on the film was also on Ms. Dunne's list (TCM article). He guides her to a subtle, yet strong performance as the heart of this family. Perhaps the incident that most demonstrates Ms. Dunne's power is that of Dagmar's hospitalization. Ms. Dunne gives us a purposeful and wise woman who does what is needed to get to her ailing child. 

Philip Dorn is a low-key actor who is used to good effect. He seems at first glance to be nothing compared to Mama, but he is clearly a partner in the marriage. He's a calming influence - he is observant, supportive, and acts when necessary. Watch him when he realizes his son has begun smoking, or when Katrin makes what is a very grown-up choice. It's Lars who is the leader in those situations. 

His counterpoint is Uncle Chris. Oskar Homolka provides a brusk, noisy man who loves his family, but brooks no nonsense. His conversation with his nieces, who he discovers fear him, is a remarkable one. His care for his grand-nephew Arne is warm and understanding - the scene with young Tommy Ivo is handled beautifully. Uncle Chris is a man who likes to shock. Marta knows this - watch her attitude to Jessie Brown (Barbara O'Neill in another beautifully, subtle performance), which is why she is the only one of his nieces Uncle Chris can stand!

Barbara Bel Geddes has to age over a period of nearly 10 years and does it splendidly. When we first meet her, she is a grade school student; we see her through her teen years, as she advances in school and in maturity. One incident in particular shows her growth - as she and her mother travel by train to visit the ailing Uncle Chris, we see the girl staring out the window of the train, a sandwich in her hand, almost oblivious to the import of what is happening. But the narrative tells us what she, in retrospect, remembers of the event and the scenes that follow reveal the impact of her uncle's distress.

Ms. Bel Geddes started on stage, most notably as the original Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.  After well-received performances in six films (including Panic in the Streets), she was blacklisted. Eventually she was cast by Alfred Hitchcock in Vertigo; he included her in four episodes of his television show Alfred Hitchcock Presents, among them "Lamb to the Slaughter," perhaps the most wicked of all his teleplays. In 1978, she joined the cast of Dallas as Miss Ellie Southworth Ewing, the matriarch of the family; with the exception of a one-year break in which she was recovering from surgery, she played the part until 1990; at which point, she retired from acting. Married twice, with two daughters, she died of lung cancer in 2005. 

The number of remarkable character performances in the film is astonishing. Edgar Bergen has a rare dramatic part as the shy undertaker Mr. Thorkelson, He's paired with Ellen Corby, equally shy and perhaps the sweetest of Mama's sisters.  Sir Cedric Hardwicke uses his impressive speaking voice to bring dignity to Mama's boarder, Mr. Hyde, the man who brings literature to the family. Rudy Vallee, also in a dramatic role, is Doctor Johnson, physician who cares for Dagmar. And finally, the frequently underrated Florence Bates as Florence Dana Moorhead, a successful author and gastronomist, who meets Mama for "two glasses sherry."

Some portions of the movie were filmed in San Francisco, which adds to the verisimilitude of the story.  When it opened at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, Bosley Crowther's New York Times review was glowing. It was also #24 on the list of top grossing films for 1948 (Variety). It was nominated for 5 Academy Awards: Irene Dunne for Actress (she lost to Jane Wyman in Johnny Belinda); Oscar Homolka for Supporting Actor (lost to Walter Huston in Treasure of the Sierra Madre); Barbara Bel Geddes and Ellen Corby for Supporting Actress (lost to Claire Trevor in Key Largo); and Nicholas Musuraca for Cinematography. Ellen Corby did win the Golden Globe for Supporting Actress.

The story was based on the novel Mama's Bank Account by Kathryn Forbes, which became a Broadway play by John Van Druten. The play starred Mady Christians and introduced Marlon Brando as Nels - Oscar Homolka was the only cast member to appear in the film. Later, Irene Dunne, Oscar Homolka, and Barbara Bel Geddes reprized their roles for the Lux Radio Theatre production in August 1948. The story aired as a television series with Peggy Wood, which ran from 1949 to 1957.  In June of 1961, British ITV did a television play with Stella Bonheur as Mama. There were also two musical versions. One, Mama, featuring Celeste Holm in the title role, but closed in 1972 before it reached Broadway. In 1979, it was made into a Broadway musical (with music by Richard Rogers) I Remember Mama with Liv Ullmann as Mama. 

If you've never seen this film, please consider finding it. It is heartwarming, but in a good way. We'll leave you with this trailer:

Barbara Demonstrates Yum-Yum

When Professor Bertram Potts (Gary Cooper) discovers that his seven years of relatively isolated research have led to a complete lack of understanding of current American slang, he ventures out of the confines of his enclave.  In his quest, he meets Sugarpuss (Katherine) O'Shea (Barbara Stanwyck), an entertainer who is currently on the lam from the cops - seems her boyfriend, Joe Lilac (Dana Andrews) is suspected of murder and wants her out of the way, since she could link him to the victim.  Sugarpuss arrives on Bertram's doorstep, and within an hour has his research colleagues eating out of her hand, as well as a room in their headquarters.  Meanwhile, Joe is planning a wedding - since a wife can't testify against her husband.  And Bertram is falling in love with his sexy house guest. 

Ball of Fire (1941) is another one of those madcap films that show Barbara Stanwyck's gift for comedy, as well as her chemistry with co-star Gary Cooper.  They had worked together earlier that year in Meet John Doe, and Cooper suggested her for the part of Sugarpuss when other actresses turned it down - among those approached were Virginia Gilmore (Sam Goldwyn's first choice, as she was under contract to him at the time), Ginger Rogers (who thought the role beneath her), Carole Lombard, Jean Arthur, Betty Fields, and Lucille Ball.  Goldwyn and director Howard Hawks were thrilled at having Stanwyck in the role, and their confidence paid off.  (This TCM article gives a little more information on the casting woes of the production).  

Stanwyck carefully balances the greedy showgirl against the young woman who falls in love - against her will - with a man who "looks like a giraffe", "gets drunk on a glass of buttermilk," and "doesn't know how to kiss".  Without the fine hand of Stanwyck, the film could have easily imploded, as it did with the remake (A Song is Born).  Stanwyck gives us a Sugarpuss who glows with love and with sexuality, and who is finally bested by an innocent man who loves her with all of his heart.  She is intelligent, though uneducated, but she is someone who hungers for love AND for knowledge.  And though clearly Joe has gotten her a job in a classy joint, Stanwyck shows us Sugarpuss' roots - watch her walk on the stage as she performs - Sugarpuss started as a stripper.  

As always, Stanwyck is impeccably dressed by her favorite costumer Edith Head.  She has some lovely street clothing, as well as a splendid costume for her act, that is both breathtaking and cheesy at the same time.  And watch how it sparkles in the dull environs of the professors' apartment house - Head makes Sugarpuss the real bright spot in the lives of these sequestered intellectuals.

Equally perfect is Gary Cooper as Bertram.  It would be easy to make Potts merely a jerk, rather than an innocent, but Cooper carefully walks that line.  Certainly Potts is naive, but he is eager to learn and to experience new things.  His enthusiasm for the slang he is discovering is palpable. He is a man dedicated to his scholarship - though much younger than his scholarly colleagues, he hasn't had the opportunity to interact with the opposite sex, but when he does, his inhibitions take a back seat to his passion.

It's interesting to see Dana Andrews in a supporting role.  His Joe Lilac is an egomaniac, surrounded by Yes Men, who is quite sure he can tame Sugarpuss with a large diamond and a marriage certificate.  Given that Andrews has very little screen time, he makes the most of what little time he is provided.  You don't forget Joe - Andrews makes him just sinister enough to keep the comic background, but still have a character that is a threat to our lovers.

This is a film that is blessed with an amazing supporting cast.  We have the always excellent Allen Jenkins as the neighborhood garbage man, who wants to enter a "quizzola" (he's got all the boxtops he needs.  What he needs are the answers).  Dan Duryea as Duke Pastrami, Lilac's lead henchman is delightfully oily, with his rather disturbing laugh is put to good use.  Watch for the scene when he licks his thumb to clean his gunsight - thus tipping his hat to co-star Gary Cooper (who did the same maneuver in Sergeant York).  "I saw this in a movie," Duryea quips. (Interestingly, a few days after seeing Ball of Fire, I was watching Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (1955), and my husband noticed that Fess Parker (as Crockett) does the same maneuver while fighting Santa Ana at the Alamo. Coincidence? I think not.)

And let us not forget the "seven dwarfs" (Yes, the film is loosely based on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), Professor Potts colleagues in research.  Among the superb actors gracing the cast are Oscar Homolka as Professor Gurkakoff (Mathematics), Henry Travers as Professor Jerome (Geography), S. Z. Sakall  as Professor Magenbruch (Physiology), Leonid Kinskey as Professor Quintana, and Richard Haydn as the appropriately named Professor Oddly (Botany).  Sugarpuss calls them a bunch of "squirrelly cherubs", a most apt description.  But rather than just have them there for laughs, they are intrinsic to the plot - it is their combined brain power that will save the day for our couple.

One other note of interest, actress Mary Fields, who plays Miss Totten, is the only actor to appear in the remake, A Song is Born. She plays the exact same character in the remake, though there was a seven year gap between the films.  

Ball of Fire was well received at the time of its release, as is evidenced by this New York Times review.  In 2007, it was selected as a TCM Essentials pick (as well as a 2012 Essentials, Jr. selection).  AND it is number 92 on the American Film Institute's 100 Funniest American Movies Of All Time list.   If you've never seen it, treat yourself to a viewing - and if you have seen it, curl up on a cold evening and watch it again!  We leave you with the scene in which Sugarpuss demonstrates "Yum-yum".  We'll be back soon with more Barbara!