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Post by marshamae on Apr 4, 2017 23:16:31 GMT
It's episodic ( Wasn't the original source short stories which the author then turned into a play?) but it doesn't feel episodic because of the strong characterization of Mama. Irene Dunne just killed this, all her charm all her humour, everything she knew went into this. The support cast is just as good . The strange sub story about Uncle Chris is lovely, quirky ,strange like real family stories. Actually, it was a book by Kathryn Forbes, "Mama's Bank Account," which was adapted by John Van Druten into a play. He was also the author of, among others, I Am a Camera, which became Cabaret. I have a Samuel French copy of the play and in the forward, Van Druten says "This play is not easy for amateurs." He was referring to the technical and scene design requirements. It would be nice to see it on stage though. And I would have loved to have seen the 1944 production with a young Marlon Brando! It was a book in which each chapter read like a short story, a stand- alone story in a collection of stories about Mama, tge family, the efforts to stay afloat with little money. Every source I looked at referred to it as either a collection of short stories or an episodic novel with each chapter telling a complete tale. I first became aware of tge novel because the first chapter often appeared in short story collections for young adults. At best it's a work of fiction that blurs the boundaries between novel and collected stories. I had forgotten that John Van DRUTEN wrote the play. He also wrote Bell Book and Candle, another favorite. |
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Post by snsurone on Apr 10, 2017 0:34:56 GMT
I love this movie (as I loved reading the play), and, IMHO, Irene Dunne should have won the Oscar as Best Actress of 1948. But then, I never was a fan of Jane Wyman. I only wish there were more details regarding Mama's meatball recipe in sour cream sauce. They sound delicious! Anything like Swedish meatballs? And a nod also to character actress Ellen Corby, wonderful as plain spinster 'Aunt Trina' finally finding a man to love and who appreciates her (Candice's dad Edgar Bergen, sans Charlie McCarthy). She got an Oscar nomination out of it, as did Bel Geddes (which may have split their vote -- although Claire Trevor was the favorite pick anyway). I agree, but I really can't understand why Trina named her baby after Uncle Chris, considering how rotten he was to her and Peter. Come to think of it, I can't understand how a woman Trina's age could even have a baby. |
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