First released on March 3, 1948 this film tells the story of the Hanson family who were Norwegian immigrants, living in San Francisco in the early part of the 20th century. Mama Marta Hanson (Irene Dunne) keeps a firm but loving hand on her household of four children, a devoted husband (Philip Dorn) and a highly-educated lodger (Cedric Hardwicke) who reads Charles Dickens to the family every evening. Through financial crises, illnesses and the small triumphs of everyday life, Marta maintains her optimism and sense of humor, traits she passes on to her aspiring-author daughter, Katrin (Barbara Bel Geddes).

The film was nominated for five academy awards. Ellen Corby won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Despite receiving good reviews, it failed to turn a profit due to its high production costs. It was directed by George Stevens from a screenplay by DeWitt Bodeen, whose work was adapted from John Van Druten’s  stage play. Druten, in turn, had based his play on Kathryn Forbes’ novel Mama’s Bank Account, which was originally published by Harcourt Brace in 1943.
(Licensing Rights distributed by Swank Motion Pictures Inc)