"But most of all I remember Mama."

When I was a child one of the first tv series I loved was Mama. This half-hour family drama was based on Kathryn Forbes best-seller Mama's Bank Account. Sadly, since it was kinescoped, there are very few episodes left for anyone to see. But I remember clearly the ensemble acting of Peggy Wood, Judson Laire, Dick Van Patten, Rosemary Rice and Robin Morgan. Later I saw the 1948 movie starring Irene Dunne. A beautifully realized depiction of the book, or so I thought. Recently I purchased the book again since I recall how much I loved it when I read it decades ago. And I did like it all over again. But I was surprised at how bad my memory was. Many scenes that were in the movie were not in the book. Surprisingly some of the very best scenes. As I read this small (145 page) novel again, I gained new respect for the screenwriter or perhaps John Van Druten who wrote the 1944 play. While the book had many powerful elements in it, they were not fully realized until it was dramatized. The original title Mama's Bank Account refers to the Steiner family bank account that was never to be touched except for an emergency which never came. When one of the daughters Katrin sells a story, she encourages her mother to deposit the money into the account only to learn there never was an account. It was fiction created b the parents so that the children would never be worried. But in the book this is revealed almost immediately. And in the play and film, it is he climatic scene and far stronger. Why am I telling you this? Because I love the book Mama's Bank Account, I love the movie I Remember Mama, and between 1949 and 1956, I loved the tv series Mama. And if you have an ounce of sentimentality in you, I encourage you to see the movie, which is a rare and superb example of one of the few films that is far, far better than the book. And the book is damn good.