Very well executed

Did you people see the same film I saw?

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

The storyline anecdotes a loving mother holding together her poor family in 1910 Norway with determination and caring. Ireme Dunne shines as the central character with many excellent supporting roles and real life trials and tribulations of many families going through the same in past Amerrican generations. A classic to be rembered and cherished by those lucky enough to experience it and to be a leaning tool for those curious about it. Fine supporting perfomrances by BarbaraBel Geddes, Rudee Valley and Oscar Homulka among others.

Absolutely beautiful film with an absolutely beautiful performance by Irene Dunne, the best she ever gave.The movie is a series of vignettes told from the point of view of the eldest daughter, played by Barbara Bel Geddes, as she looks back on life with her family in turn-of-the-20th-century San Francisco. It's a film filled with nostalgia and warm, authentic sentiment, not the sickly, treacly kind you might expect in a film like this. This is not a film about big moments or emotions, but rather about how many small moments and details come together to complete the picture of someone close to you that you can't ever see at the time because you're too close to it. What emerges is the portrait of a mother who constantly put her children and husband first and made many sacrifices along the way but who did it so subtly that no one ever knew she was doing it.Dunne was rightfully nominated for her fifth and final Oscar for her performance. She never won, but darn it if she didn't deserve it for this. Additional nominations went to Bel Geddes and Ellen Corby in the supporting actress category, and to Oscar Homolka as Best Supporting Actor for his performance as a cranky uncle, one he originated in the stage version upon which this film is based. A final nomination went to cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca, for lighting the streets and interiors of early 1900s San Francisco.Directed with a sure hand by George Stevens.Grade: A+

There is not one thing that I can say to detract from the quality of this film. That it was George Stevens' first film after returning from the horrors he witnessed in WWII speaks volume. On the surface it is a slice of Americana, but like Frank Capra's "It's A Wonderful Life", it is so much more. It is about a family's survival, orchestrated by its loving and wise matriarch, portrayed here in her penultimate screen role by Irene Dunne. She is surrounded by an embarrassment of acting riches: Cedric Hardwicke, Oscar Holmolka (who as Uncle Chris almost steals the show), Rudy Vallee, Barbara O'Neill, Ellen Corby, Edgar Bergen, and Philip Dorn. Each occupies his or her role so completely that we forget that they are acting and we accept them as we would members of our own family. Mama is no nonsense and she has the smarts that it takes to keep the wolf from the door and to see to it that her large brood succeeds in life. There is no sacrifice too great. The scene where she offers her top secret meatball recipe to Florence Bates' snooty editor in exchange for the latter's promise to review Katrin's story is a tour de force by both Dunne and Bates. This film is woven like a tapestry and like the work of art it is, the viewer can find something new in it each time it is watched. That is the mark of a great film. To be sure, Irene Dunne was snubbed when she didn't receive the Best Actress Oscar for this her masterwork but the fact that the film has stood the test of nearly 70 years is a much greater award.

That's the best way to describe this movie. In words Mama herself used. There are so many things to like about his movie. It holds a mirror up to family life, depicting all the joys, triumphs, struggles, tragedies, and ultimately sacrifice. The script is superb storytelling at its very best. What makes it so good is that it's something all of us can relate to - FAMILY.Even though this is a very sentimental movie, it doesn't gloss over the fact that most of us have imperfect families with some very eccentric members. I think Uncle Chris captured this perfectly. It also reminds us that, ultimately, America is a country of immigrants - a fact that I think many of us lose sight of today. I loved the Norwegian accents and constant references to the "Old Country".All the casting was superb. Barbara Bel Geddes truly shines as the narrator/storyteller of the film. She doesn't strike one insincere note in her entire performance.This film is so rich with details, mood, setting, cinematography, atmosphere - I could go on and on. Each time I watch it, I pick up something new in the set or the dialogue, or in facial expressions, that I haven't noticed before. You will want to watch this again and again, so you too can "Remember Mama".