‘I Remember Mama’: A Mother’s Gift of Herself

An immigrant family’s values shine in old San Francisco.

(L–R) Uncle Chris Halvorsen (Oscar Homolka), Lars 'Papa' Hanson (Philip Dorn), Marta ‘Mama’ Hanson (Irene Dunne), and Dagmar Hanson (June Hedin), in “I Remember Mama.” RKO Radio Pictures

NR | 2h 14m | Drama | 1948

Winsome Irene Dunne was no stranger to playing a mother, sacrificing and resilient amid adversity. In “Penny Serenade” (1941) and “It Grows on Trees” (1952) she excels at playing a young mother. But it’s in “I Remember Mama” (1948), playing an aging mother and a Norwegian to boot, that she outdoes herself. Nominated for five Oscars, the film draws on DeWitt Bodeen’s screenplay, adapted from John Van Druten’s stage play, in turn inspired by Kathryn Forbes’s novel.