Clip 0:02

For as long as I could remember , the house on the Larkin Street Hill had been home . Papa and Mama had both been born in Norway , but they came to San Francisco because Mama's sisters were here . All of us were born here . All of us were born here . Nell is the oldest and the only boy , my sister Christine , and the littlest sister , Dagmar .

Clip 0:42

But first and foremost I remember Mama .

Tony Maietta 0:46

Hello ,

Brad Shreve 0:50

And I'm Brad Shreve , who's just a guy who likes movies .

Tony Maietta 0:53

We discuss movies and television from Hollywood's golden age . We go behind the scenes and share our opinions too .

Brad Shreve 0:59

And , of course , being the average guy , my opinions are the ones that matter .

Tony Maietta 1:05

As does your self-delusion . Welcome to Going Hollywood .

Brad Shreve 1:10

Tony , we're approaching the beginning of the month and I need to know do we have enough to pay for podcasting bills ?

Tony Maietta 1:16

Yeah , how much is the bills ?

Brad Shreve 1:20

Well , our podcasting host . They are charging us 45 cents a month 45 cents for the podcasting host . Yeah . And to get on the internet is costing us 27 cents a month 27 for the interwebs , yeah . And we might need some new equipment . I was thinking we might have to get a couple of microphones yeah , a couple of microphones are getting . Am I being too extravagant ?

Tony Maietta 1:50

Oh , it's new . How much for the new equipment Microphone 30 cents each one .

Brad Shreve 1:57

30 cents 14 . Are we going to have to go to the bank ? No , yeah yeah , 14 .

Tony Maietta 2:04

No , yeah , it's good , it's good . Are we going to have to go to the bank ? No , yeah , yeah , 14 . No , yeah , it's good , it's good we do not have to go to the bank .

Brad Shreve 2:12

Brad , yeah , and do you promise me you're not going to talk this way through the whole thing ?

Tony Maietta 2:18

Yeah , yeah , brad , yeah , promise , I can't , I can't help it , I can't help it , I can't help it . It gets in my blood . Well , everybody in case you're wondering what the hell you just listened to it's week two of our Mother's Month have to issue an apology , as I frequently do to you , because I switch stream , I switch movies on your midstream again , listener , I do this frequently to Brad . I say , okay , we're going to record this , we're going to record this , and then , like four days before we record , I'm like , can we record this instead ?

Brad Shreve 3:09

Yes , he does that more than I am scurrying to find the films and then try to find time before we record . So I appreciate your flexibility with that . Brad oh , I'm known to be flexible .

Tony Maietta 3:21

Well , okay , I'm known to be flexible . Well , okay , yeah , the reason was because , after Ordinary People last week , our first movie for Mother's May I thought , gosh , this is actually our Mother's Day episode . It's going to be . If everything goes according to plan , it should drop after Mother's Day . So it's our Mother's Day episode and we had a kind of a snarky one scheduled and I just thought you know , mother's Day , I mean , I think about my mother every day . I don't want to be snarky , I want to be sentimental and loving and I want to do that kind of film . So that's why I asked if we could switch it to . I Remember Mama .

Brad Shreve 4:00

So , thank you , we're not going to give you the name of the other one , but think of Mother's Day and snarky , so you may get it . Yeah , not too hard .

Tony Maietta 4:08

We might do it someday too .

Brad Shreve 4:09

Yes , exactly , I mean we might do it for Halloween .

Tony Maietta 4:10

You know it's a better Halloween choice actually .

Brad Shreve 4:12

That is actually a better Halloween choice .

Tony Maietta 4:14

Yes , it is , but I also recommend we do this with a bit of trepidation , because the last George Stevens film we talked about was Alice Adams and it didn't go over so well with Brad , so I'm wondering how this one is going to play out .

Brad Shreve 4:43

I'm girded for this one , Brad . Well , before we do that , I want to talk about what this movie is about . So people know why you were talking in that accent .

Tony Maietta 4:47

Yes .

Brad Shreve 4:48

This movie , as you said , came out in 1948 . Other big movies at that time there aren't any that really will punch people like wow , I remember that great film , the Red Shoes , is probably the one people know most . I can't say for sure Red River was number two , the Pale Face , then Johnny Belinda . Easter Parade , the Three Musketeers is probably another one people will remember . Those are the top six .

Tony Maietta 5:11

Yeah , I'd say so .

Brad Shreve 5:12

I'd say that's up there , yeah , so nothing that like is a 1948 film based on the 1944 play which is based on the 1943 fictionalized memoir by Catherine Forbes , which was called Mama's Bank Account , and what Tony was quoting there , with the different prices , has a lot to do with Mama and her running the house to do with mama and her running the house and what the well I'm .

Tony Maietta 5:48

I'm kind of hoping that people have seen the movie before they listen to us , so they know what that was .

Brad Shreve 5:50

All we're jogging their memory though okay okay , that's true , that's true , and this is a very simple film to describe . It's a slice of life of a norwegian family in 1910 , san francisco . Now , I never heard them mention the year , but that's the number I keep .

Tony Maietta 6:03

I saw an imdb in some other places .

Brad Shreve 6:04

So we'll say 1910 . Yeah , francisco , now I never heard them mention the year , but that's the number I saw at IMDb and some other places . So we'll say 1910 .

Brad Shreve 6:08

Yeah , I think that's safe to assume it's about the family , but it really focuses on the mother . Mama , and she runs the home like a military platoon but is very loving and kind because her husband does absolutely nothing . I'll tell you that Just a nice guy . They have four children and we are seeing this movie from Catrin's viewpoint . We see her both as an adult as in a child , or a teenager , I guess . And I have to tell you I'll tell you about my relationship with her in just a moment- your relationship with the actress or with the character , the actress .

Tony Maietta 6:48

Okay . Yes yes , yes , the actress is somewhat well-known .

Brad Shreve 6:51

Well , but I was really messed up .

Tony Maietta 6:54

Okay .

Brad Shreve 6:55

I saw Barbara Bel Geddes .

Tony Maietta 6:56

Yes .

Brad Shreve 6:57

And I'm watching this movie and I'm like which one is Barbara Bel Geddes ? And I kept asking that when it was over Maurice goes , it was thedes . And when I kept asking that when Maurice , when it was over Maurice goes , it was the daughter , and I said that wasn't the daughter , maybe it was the older daughter . He said the daughter and the older daughter were the same people . They just had makeup . I'm like that looked nothing like her . I thought the whole time I was looking at B Bernadette . Really , I don't know why . I heard Barbara Belettys and for some reason my mind went to be you were looking for cousin Pearl .

Brad Shreve 7:27

I was the whole time . I'm like she looked really different . And then I started adding up the numbers and I'm like , no , because B Bernadette was in her fifties and she was doing radio shows in as an adult . Yeah , this isn't making , this isn't adding up . So I did look and she was born like 15 , 20 years before Irene Dunn , who was the mother , and Barbara . Actually , I'm sorry , she was born about 15 , 20 years before Barbara Bel Geddes , who was in a host of movies and is most known for the Matriarch on Dallas . That's Barbara .

Tony Maietta 7:58

Bel Geddes , not Bea Benederat .

Brad Shreve 8:01

Yes , yes , bea Benederat , who I always get her name wrong . She is most known for Cousin Pearl and then also Petticoat Junction .

Tony Maietta 8:09

Yes , barbara Bel Geddes plays Catherine , the oldest daughter who tells us the story of Mama . She's the writer and she is the one who's remembering Mama in the story . So , yes , you have that cast right . And I tell you , one of the main reasons I wanted to do I Remember Mama , besides the fact that I find it a very sentimental , loving film was is Irene Dunn , because I was thinking about it . I'm thinking we have been doing this podcast . Now this we're in our second season , we're a little ways into our second season and I don't think we've ever talked about Irene Dunn and I thought how weird is that ? Because Irene Dunn was one of the biggest stars of the golden age of Hollywood . And then I thought , well , no , it's actually kind of indicative of her status these days , because I don't think anybody knows who Irene Dunn is . Did you know who Irene Dunn was before we did this ?

Brad Shreve 8:58

I knew her name for sure . I immediately recognized her name and then I said I'm going to look up what movies she was in . And I knew the movies but I'm like , wow , I remember her starring in that film . None of them were like really memorable to me as her in that role . Really , maybe I'd have to look again , maybe I'm wrong , but what I saw I didn't see .

Tony Maietta 9:16

I didn't see anything that said wow I mean , she was one of the biggest stars , one of the top female box office stars in the 30s and 40s . The thing about Irene Dunn was that she could do anything . Now I kind of compare her to her frequent co-star , cary Grant . One of the films that she made with Cary Grant is one of the greatest screwballs of all time , which is the Awful Truth . And the thing about Irene Dunn was that she was incredibly versatile , but she was incredibly skilled in that versatility .

Tony Maietta 9:49

I mean , in the golden age of Hollywood , actors pretty much had to do everything . I mean , they all did comedies , they all did dramas , many of them did musicals even though they couldn't sing . So I I mean , like Joan Crawford made musicals , but that doesn't mean she was good at it . Irene Dunn was good . Her versatility was astounding . She did comedies , as I said , the Awful Truth , theodora Goes Wild , Easy Living . She had a young co-star who freely admitted later in life that she based much of her comic style on Irene Dunn , and that young co-star was a woman named Lucille Ball , just saying , and later on Love Affair , again Musicals . She played Magnolia in the 1936 film of Showboat . She was actually on stage in that and she did action films A Guy Named Joe with Spencer Tracy , so she was incredibly accomplished and good at all of it .

Brad Shreve 11:00

That's what's so wonderful about Irene Dunn . Yeah , I'm looking at her filmography now Again . I don't see anything that makes me thrilled , but I see that she was in uh and in the king of siam and in the king of siam not the musical version though , but not the king and I .

Tony Maietta 11:12

She was in the the , the straight version , if you will , of that story . But yes , it's just a singing . It was ironic about it is irene dunn was a trained operatic singer , a little bit like madeline khan . She could have done opera . I mean , showboat is you know , it's an operetta . There's arguments that it's an operetta . Beautiful voice and it's funny because in almost every Irene Dunn film there is there's a moment where she sings , her character sings . For some reason she sings in this film .

Brad Shreve 11:38

Yes , she does , and you can .

Tony Maietta 11:39

you know , and I'm like , if this Norwegian woman was in this hospital singing with this kind of a voice , she wouldn't stay in San Francisco as a Norwegian housekeeper , I mean , she'd be on her way .

Brad Shreve 11:51

No , it's a beautiful voice and I just noticed this . I didn't notice this before . The year before this film she was in Life with Father , which the whole time I was watching this film I was thinking this reminds me of Life with Father , but from the mother . They're kind of bookends they . This reminds me of Life with Father , but from the mother's point of view they're kind of bookends .

Tony Maietta 12:05

They're kind of bookends , yeah . Yeah , it's funny because she was so gifted and Cary Grant said that she had the best timing of anyone he ever worked with . So that's pretty remarkable when Cary Grant is saying that your comic timing is better than anybody he's ever worked with . So what was wonderful about , what's wonderful about Irene Dunn ? Many things , and I'll talk a little bit more about her later . But what's wonderful about Irene Dunn is that she brings that lightness of touch , that comedic lightness , to everything , even her heaviest dramas . That's what makes them so wonderful . That's how I feel about this film . This film could be very heavy if they had the wrong actress , but Irene Dunn has such a wonderful light touch . She's so subtle and real . There's just a lightness about it which makes it a really wonderful performance .

Brad Shreve 12:53

Yeah , it could be more like Life of Father , where she's very stern and , like you know I said , she runs it like a platoon , but a very soft way . You never doubt that she is very loving and very sweet . It could have the wrong hands . It could have been totally a different film .

Tony Maietta 13:09

Right , yeah , and you know she was pretty much universally considered one of the finest actresses in Hollywood history , who never won an Oscar . She's right up there with Cary Grant , garbo , barbara Stanwyck , deborah Carr , peter O'Toole . She was nominated five times and never won , and the real reason for that is , like Grant and Stanwyck , irene Dunn was a true trailblazer . She went freelance in 1936 . So she was not tied to any studio , which at that time was incredibly brave . Now that's how Hollywood is run now no one's tied to a studio . But this is the studio era after all . So that meant she was getting her own work or her agent was getting her own work , and it's very brave . But the downside of that is that when it came time for Oscar nominations , she didn't have a studio support to push her through . So she lost five times because she didn't have that studio backing . Same thing with Cary Grant , same thing with Barbara Stanwyck they didn't have that studio support and that's one of the big reasons why they never won Oscars .

Brad Shreve 14:13

Yeah , I was surprised that she had not won any . Actually , this film there were five nominations , but there were some great actors and actresses .

Tony Maietta 14:23

There were yeah , it was . It was nominated for five Oscars . You're absolutely right . And you know one of those support , you're talking about Barbara Bel Geddes , and you're talking about , kind of like , a TV icon . There was another . Tv icon in this movie . Did you recognize ?

Brad Shreve 14:36

her right away . Ellen Corby .

Tony Maietta 14:38

Yes .

Brad Shreve 14:42

She looks when she got older . She didn't change her look in any way , just a few more lines .

Tony Maietta 14:44

Ellen corby , one of those actresses who was born at 45 and stayed 45 yes , exactly until she turned into grandma walton yeah she was grandma walton .

Brad Shreve 14:54

She was in almost all the seasons . Yes , yes , yeah , yeah .

Tony Maietta 14:57

But I mean think about that , how long she worked before she got that worldwide fame . But she was nominated for an oscar this as Best Supporting Actress . So you know , not too bad , not too bad . She did a lot of work in the 40s and 50s , which we'll talk about Her filmography was really long .

Brad Shreve 15:12

It goes from 1928 to 1997 . That's almost 70 years .

Tony Maietta 15:16

Yeah , she worked for a long time , a long time . Yeah , she did , but I did want to talk a little bit about what you were talking about , the history of this story I remember mama . As brad said , it's based on a book , uh , by katherine forbes called mama's bank account , which was then turned into a play called I remember mama , by john van druten . And here's an interesting bit of trivia uh , it was the first broadway role of a certain actor named marlon brando I heard that yes he played Nels the son , yeah , and he hated every minute of it .

Brad Shreve 15:49

This doesn't seem like a role for Brando .

Tony Maietta 15:54

Well , he was a kid , so he was just out of school , so I mean he was very young . And then Mama has one of these properties which has so many iterations , it just keeps on going . It was made into a tv series in the 50s that was shot live and then taped its final year . Um , it was turned into a musical . It was actually richard rogers last musical starring live allman and , uh , it lasted about 100 performances . It was not . It was very sad and to richard ro career and it's known in theatrical circles as I Dismember Mama , so that gives you an idea . It closed after 108 performances , but they were all the same variant Recount of the everyday struggles of this Norwegian immigrant family in San Francisco , which I personally found incredibly charming . So I'm girding myself right now , brad , let me have it . What did you think of this movie ?

Brad Shreve 16:48

Okay , Well , you know , you said I Dismember Mama .

Tony Maietta 16:52

Yeah .

Brad Shreve 16:53

There was actually a 1972 film called I Dismember Mama .

Tony Maietta 16:58

It was a low-budget horror film .

Brad Shreve 17:00

I wish we had watched that .

Tony Maietta 17:06

Happy Mother's Day .

Brad Shreve 17:08

This let me just say after this film you know , folks , when I make a suggestion , tony's like . When he makes a suggestion , I say sure , because I'm like , whatever I haven't seen that let's go for it . Tony , if I recommend Howard the Duck which I would never recommend if I recommend Howard the Duck , you have no right to say no , oh come on , it wasn't that bad .

Tony Maietta 17:31

Oh , it was awful , tony oh my God , okay , okay , okay , let's reel it back , let's reel it back , let's reel it back . All right , I know .

Brad Shreve 17:39

I hate to bust your bubble here .

Tony Maietta 17:46

No , no , no , I understand it . You know , I mean I've been really lucky lately . I mean you loved my Best Girl , you loved the Little Foxes . So I was preparing myself when I saw George Stevens , first of all , because for some reason you just don't get George Stevens . So I was like , okay , but I was preparing myself . I know it's long , I know it's a long film and I thought about that too . I'm like wow , it's over two hours .

Brad Shreve 18:06

It is very long film .

Tony Maietta 18:07

And I'm like , but I'm not really sure what scene I would cut . What I love about this film is the performances . I think Irene Dunn is fabulous in this film and I also love the sentimental . I don't disagree , I love the sentimental view that Stevens gives it . I just want to say that when we talked about the other film , Alice Adams , I mentioned , Stevens stopped making comedies when he came back from World War II .

Tony Maietta 18:36

I think he said you know , I don't think I was ever funny again after , because he was recruited by Eisenhower to head a special coverage unit and they recorded footage of the war , including the only color film of the war in Europe , and he documented the Normandy landing and liberation of Paris .

Tony Maietta 18:51

And he was also the first film unit at Dachau two days after the Allies liberated it . So he documented these atrocities and he was very shaken by what he saw . So when he came back to Hollywood to make films again he didn't know what to do and he thought I don't want to deal with the present right now , I want to deal with the past . I want to go back to my past , and George Stevens is from the Bay Area . He grew up at the very same time , so this was kind of his sentimental recollection of what his life was like as a child . Now he's not from Norway , but that was his escape from what he had just gone through . So then he could move on forward to direct A Place in the Sun and Giant and these other iconic films which , by the way , we will never watch . Now I'm not going to give you A Place in the .

Brad Shreve 19:38

Sun , you said I don't understand or I don't get George Stevens .

Tony Maietta 19:42

Yeah . I would if he was good , don't , don't , don't , don't , don't . Okay , we're going to reel it back in again . So , yeah , I understand what you're saying . It's long , but what was it exactly that you didn't respond to in this film ? Because , don't you think some of these stories were charming and the performances were very great ? I had one I wasn't real thrilled with , which we'll get to in a moment .

Brad Shreve 20:15

I love the cast . I just didn't care because I've watched slice of life films before . I was trying to think of some off the top of my head and I can't . There's not a traditional story arc , it's just here's the day in the life .

Tony Maietta 20:33

And .

Brad Shreve 20:34

I've enjoyed them , this family . I couldn't have cared less what happened with it . It was just like I'm like this is the most boring family I've ever seen . I kept waiting for something to happen . I mean , like there were aspects of each scene that were interesting yeah but it just went nowhere . I mean , other than the daughter made a ridiculous amount of money at the end , what'd you get ? $500 for a short story .

Tony Maietta 20:56

Okay , but here's my question for you then what do you think a slice of life is ? It's a slice of daily life . It's what these Norwegian immigrants dealing with living in a new country . This is what they went through in their life .

Brad Shreve 21:11

And that is what a slice of life story is , but I wanted to watch a slice of somebody's life that is interesting .

Tony Maietta 21:20

Well , we'll agree to disagree . I mean , I don't , as I said , it's my suspicions that you might find that , especially because it is a long movie , but my hope was that you would see the sentiment , you'd see the charm of it , some of the scenes of San Francisco , because they went on location in San Francisco and shot a lot of scenes in San Francisco and we talked about San Francisco in what's Up Doc and we talked about how San Francisco still is and was then especially in 1948 , was kind of like an otherworldly place . And so you have these people coming from another world into another world . They're emigrating into the United States or immigrating into the United States from another country and they're in the United States but they're in a different country .

Tony Maietta 22:02

In the United States . They're all together , the aunts are all there , uncle Chris . So they're very insulated in their own world , in this kind of strange San Francisco world . So I kind of love that . I kind of . I love the shots Stevens has of the fog coming in and it seems like you're on another planet , and those hills , the way they run down the hills , and the wind seems like it's going to blow them over . I don't know , I just find it . I find it incredibly captivating a slice of Norwegian life .

Brad Shreve 22:29

There are aspects of it , I don't disagree . I there are aspects of it , I don't disagree . There's so much I could have liked about this film , but I just kept waiting for something and it's just like , okay , we're going to do this thing and then they just do that thing . I felt like it wasn't humor . I mean , there was a little bit of humor in here , but I felt like it was a Saturday Night Live skit . That was flat .

Tony Maietta 22:51

You didn't like I have to chloroform a cat . That was the funniest thing .

Brad Shreve 22:56

I'm not gonna say there weren't funny moments in it or the characters there were very charming moments in it , but the three aunts aunt trina , aunt jenny and aunt sigrid .

Tony Maietta 23:05

Do you remember her ? In rope , edith evanston plays aunt sigrid , one of the three , one of mama's three sisters these aunts .

Brad Shreve 23:13

I was wondering where I knew her from .

Tony Maietta 23:14

She played the maid in Rope the following year , along with Sir Cedric Harwick , who plays Mr Hyde , their boarder . So yeah , I love the aunts . I think the aunts are so funny . The film starts because Ellen Corby's character Aunt Trina is going to get has been proposed to I couldn't think of the word for a minute there by Mr Torkelson . Mr Torkelson , who is an undertaker , poor undertakers . Did you recognize the actor ? This is probably a crazy question to ask you . Who played Mr Torkelson ?

Brad Shreve 23:47

You know what I didn't ? I knew he was in this film and it was over . I'm like where was Edgar Bergen ? I don't remember seeing him . Yeah , he played Mr , I guess because he wasn't dressed like I was used to seeing him . I I don't know . He looked very different to me . Yeah , I was really surprised because I'm like who is that actor the whole time through the movie yes , it was edgar bergen , absolutely .

Tony Maietta 24:06

And rudy valley , who was a heartthrob of the 20s and 30s on radio , was also . He played the doctor , a very unusual role . Another one of the Oscar nominations was for uh , at the actor Oscar Homica , who plays uncle Chris , and now he actually did the role on Broadway . He was repeating his Broadway role . He also got an Oscar nomination . So five Oscar nominations , brad , and you still hate this movie , hey .

Brad Shreve 24:28

I have to admit I looked at rotten tomatoes . The critics score was a hundred percent . The audience score was 84% . I think there was like a mass neurosis or something going on . Somebody drank the Kool-Aid . Yes , I don't know what it was , because I just… .

Tony Maietta 24:47

Somebody drank some of Uncle Chris's vodka .

Brad Shreve 24:49

I saw wonderful moments in different scenes , but I didn't see great scenes and I didn't see anything that tied together in a way that I found it interesting . I loved the characters . Now , the two aunts I hated their guts , but you were kind of supposed to , yes yes , you are supposed to . I loved Ellen Corby's character . I was sad for her because she was such a doormat .

Tony Maietta 25:12

But in the end she ends up with a maid to help her serve her anniversary dinner .

Brad Shreve 25:16

I mean that's , I was very happy about that , she was very happy about that .

Tony Maietta 25:20

Yeah , I like Aunt Yenny . Aunt Yenny is played by Hope Land and she's that big mountain of a woman . Oh my goodness .

Brad Shreve 25:27

You know , I thought she was the large maid that was in Mary Poppins . And I looked at him like very similar , very similar . Then I looked I'm like oh no , she's way too old for that . And yeah , they don't look the same , so , but they kept showing her from the side and I kept thinking that was her yeah , it's , it's very similar .

Tony Maietta 25:44

it's a very comic role . She is pretty much the bulldozer through that , through of the ants , she's the leader , she's the one who's always charging them up that hill and then charging them down that hill , and I just think it's funny . I understand the episodic nature of this film is problematic for some people , clearly , but what I love about it is to me it's little snapshots of a life , a life which I will never know but which I can get glimpses of . I will never be a Norwegian immigrant living in 1910 San Francisco , unfortunately . It actually sounds like it'd be a lot of fun , but a little bit better than life is right now .

Brad Shreve 26:19

But I really . And it was four years after the earthquake , so everything would have been new .

Tony Maietta 26:22

Exactly . But I really think that that's what's charming about this movie is there are little snapshots of parts of this life she's remembering in her memory and again the title is telling you I Remember Mama . This is a very it's a very sentimental take , but it's also a memory take . Barbara Bel Geddes , who plays Catherine , is telling us this story from the beginning to the end , you know , and she looks in the mirror and she remembers . So it's going to be very sentimental , it's going to be very much of a memory play .

Tony Maietta 26:53

And what Stevens does ? You know we talked about Stevens in his silent film training . He actually did comedies . He worked with Laurel and Hardy and he worked with our gang . He was Hal Roach's cameraman and he uses extreme close-ups for comic effect , particularly of Uncle Chris and Aunt Yenny , and he also uses them to show the naive , childlike qualities of the children , particularly Barbara Belgetti's character . And Stevens is a master . He's known for his extreme close-ups . He does famous ones in the Place in the Sun and More the Merrier . So I love the fact that this is a very subjective film . We are definitely watching somebody's memory , somebody's personal memory of exactly what her life was like as a child . I find it incredibly moving .

Brad Shreve 27:43

I do Part of the reason . I was really interested in Mama and they kept going in different directions . They kept going Sorry , I can't remember her name Ellen Corby's character , aunt Trina . Aunt Trina , okay , they would go off to her for a while and then they spent so much time on Uncle Chris , the one played by Oscar Homolka Oscar Homolka . Every time he walked on the set I'm like get this man off . I hate him , but don't . He's obnoxious , he's disgusting .

Tony Maietta 28:27

And not in a good way , but don't . And she's remembering Uncle Chris as this terrifying man with the mustache . So that's what . As I said , it's a memory . It's a very subjective take on someone's childhood . If you were telling somebody a story from your life , your childhood , I bet you would make the characters in your memory as extreme . Because you're telling a story , you're remembering it , it's subjective . You see what I'm saying .

Brad Shreve 28:50

Yes .

Tony Maietta 28:51

Okay , I do see what you're saying . I'm not trying to change your mind about this film , but what I'm saying is that I'm just trying to illuminate a little bit about what .

Tony Maietta 29:02

Stevens was trying to accomplish in this the chloroform cat scene . So what happens is that one of the children's cats has just been in a fight and he doesn't look like he's going to survive the night , and Mama and Papa have the very difficult decision that they're going to chloroform the cat . Now , I'm telling you right now , in this story , as I'm telling you this , chloroforming a cat does not sound like a comic scene , but it's done with such a light touch and they don't know how to do it and they're very nervous . The cat survives , by the way , what ended up happening was the chloroform gave him a really good night's sleep . So he woke up the next morning and he was fine . But I think that's a really—I never thought a scene about chloroforming a cat would be funny , but Stevens gives it a comic edge which makes it actually one of the comic highlights of this film , don't you think ?

Brad Shreve 29:54

Yes , I , I I'm not going to argue that there weren't funny , cute moments in this film , but I'm going to give you . I don't want to tear this film apart , but I'm going to give you an example . Hopefully this will help . Okay , why I wasn't happy with this film . The scene where the the hospital would not let her go visit her daughter who just had surgery . Right , uh , because they're they're not allowed , and considering there's a whole ward full of children that you can spread disease , I understand why nobody's allowed to go in there , yeah , but so she sneaks into the um the closet and puts on the for like I , the maids scrub woman , the maid .

Brad Shreve 30:30

Yeah , scrub , scrub , I was trying not to use the term because I was trying to think of a better term . I think of maid as a household . So anyway she , she dressed up as a scrub woman and was on the floor scrubbing the floor . Uh , the nurse on duty hadn't seen her before , so she thought , okay , she's a scrub woman . And then the nurse who told her she can't go back there saw her , but didn't really see her face , so she just kind of right cocked her head and moved on and then so she did this . She finally goes in and talks to her daughter , and this is where she sings . Her voice is just amazing .

Tony Maietta 31:03

Irene Dunn yes , she sends all the children to sleep and she leaves .

Brad Shreve 31:07

That scene could have been and I'm not talking about it had to be riveting , but it could have been more dramatic or more humorous .

Tony Maietta 31:17

Instead , it was just like huh yeah you don't think it was touching when the child woke up and saw her mother at her bedside in a hospital handing her her little ? Animal that didn't , that didn't stir your heart , brad , it's .

Brad Shreve 31:33

She's her mother , it's mother's day it takes more than that to pull my heartstrings . I guess , so you were tough . Maybe it would have if the moment up to that and the moment after that I found entertaining .

Tony Maietta 31:48

Right . So , the drama that Irene Dunn was going through because she promised her daughter she would see her after her operation and she was unable to see her because the doctors wouldn't let her . So the fact that she then disguises herself as a scrub woman this sounds like a Lucy skit , but she disguises herself as a scrub woman to sneak into the ward of the hospital so her daughter sees her , so her daughter knows she's there . You don't find that heartwarming . You don't find that moving .

Brad Shreve 32:16

I , you know , I really felt for her when she couldn't go visit her daughter . I got that . I hurt for her but , like you said , I wouldn't want it to be as kooky as Lucy , but it could have been a funny scene .

Tony Maietta 32:27

Well , Lucy would have ended up with her foot in the bucket . But it's not supposed to be funny , it's supposed to be moving . I know , yeah , it's supposed to tug at your heartstrings , your sentimental heartstrings . I don't argue with you that this is a very sentimental film . What I love about this film is in its sentimentality .

Tony Maietta 32:45

I find a reality , I find a touching , a touch point . You know , because of Irene Dunn . Honestly , If you think about it , she could have really been an over-the-top Norwegian woman , but Dunn is so subtle and so real in everything . She does not just this film , In screwball comedy . She has a reality which is really startling and wonderful and that's the way I feel about her . In this . You feel everything that this woman feels because Dunn is so simple . She's so simple in her movements and Dunn will do things like she'll talk under her breath . You know , like we do in real life . Her words will sometimes trail off , like we do in real life . Other actresses weren't doing things like this and that's why I find this so moving is because Dunn is so real . I immediately identify with it . You see , this woman , this is a black and white film , but to me this woman is in living color because of what Irene Dunn gave her .

Brad Shreve 33:46

Okay , so let me give you the positives of this film , because I don't want to trash it entirely , because I'm not saying it was a bad film , it just wasn't my film , because obviously the critics disagree with me and clearly you do .

Tony Maietta 33:58

Well , I mean just for Mother's Day . So for the people who were like ooh , wonder what they're going to do for Mother's Day , so for the people who were like ooh wonder what they're going to do for , Mother's Day .

Brad Shreve 34:07

Maybe I'll watch the movie they're going to talk about . For Mother's Day , I'm going to give a gift to Irene Dunn . I thought she was incredible . She was so good . Here's the positive . I loved her character . I loved Barbara Belgetti's character . I really enjoyed her as , I guess , a teenage girl I think she was supposed to be younger . She looked teenage to me .

Tony Maietta 34:25

Well , she starts out younger and then she becomes . The minute her hair goes up , you know she's an adult . Yeah , and then she got to drink coffee she can drink coffee . She got to drink coffee , yes . She asks her mother when can I drink coffee ? And she says Papa , and I will know , because when you drank coffee , norwegian culture that meant you were an adult and you also put your hair up .

Brad Shreve 34:42

So I liked her . I think they did a great job . That , in the sense that I believed this was a family , I there was the antagonism , there was the love . I was watching real kids interacting with each other . Maybe they were a little sweeter on the real than a lot of families are , but I it was believable to me , so that I enjoyed . I enjoyed that they had a lot of outdoor scenes and look like old San Francisco and I really liked that . I liked that they were . I really got a taste of people that were penny pinching back in 1910 , which most people were back then especially immigrants .

Brad Shreve 35:22

I enjoyed all that aspect , yes , and what I really enjoyed was when they were sitting there and Sir Cedric Hardwick he was the boarder at the house- yes . That he would come down and he would read the stories to the family and I thought you know that's really nice . Before radio and before television , the families , they used to have to find ways to entertain themselves .

Brad Shreve 35:45

And that was certainly a nice way for them to enjoy each other's company more and interact with the real person . I thought all that was beautiful . I've really enjoyed lots of this film .

Tony Maietta 35:56

How about when Mr Hyde , sir Cedric Hardwick , skips out on them and leaves the bad check for the months of rent he owes this family ? And then Aunt Yenny comes up and says how could you let him take advantage of you ? And he has left them his books that he's been reading to them . And Irene Dunn says that's worth more than any amount of money in the world .

Tony Maietta 36:18

I just was like oh , that's so , yeah , sentimental . It's so sentimental as I'm saying it , I'm like it's so sentimental , but it's so beautiful , it's such a beautiful moment . She could be freaking out . She doesn't have any money . This guy just stiffed her for months of rent and she's like but what he's given us in life experience is worth so much more than any amount of money . Money be gone , but they have this memory and they have the books . I love that .

Brad Shreve 36:43

I was heartbroken for her at that point and I a little bit . I mean I knew right away the check wasn't going to be any good , so there wasn't like a like this shock , yeah . So that was kind of disappointing , yeah , I think what bothered me about his character is we saw just enough of him that I wanted to know more , yeah , and we never got more , and I would rather he just been a real background character that we see walking in the house and , oh my God , our border just bailed on us .

Tony Maietta 37:08

Right .

Brad Shreve 37:08

Though I do think I understand that we got to enjoy the family . I understand his purpose , that we got to see the family huddled together enjoying this man reading to them , because most of them couldn't read at least read English , right . So I get all that . Just , I don't know . I just thought the pacing was too slow and I think there should have been some interconnectivity between the scenes . Okay , didn't have to be .

Tony Maietta 37:34

It didn't have to be like a film today , but just a little more well , I mean there's a lot of films today which are longer than this film . I mean this film clocks in at , you know , two hours and some change . And I think that I mean I was thinking about that . I was like , okay , but what scene would you cut ? You know , if you're going to tighten this up , would you cut ? I wouldn't want to cut the chloroform , the cat scene I wouldn't want to cut .

Tony Maietta 38:00

You know , there's arguments made for Uncle Chris , who is their rich relative , who pretty much supports this family , who comes down from up north . He must live up . I'm not thinking of my San Francisco geography , but he lives up north of San Francisco and he comes down a couple times a year , scares the hell out of everybody , gives them some money , takes care of them and then disappears again . He's also a drinker , as all great Norwegian uncles are , and disappears again . He's also a drinker , as all great Norwegian uncles are . And he comes down and then he dies about three quarters of the way through the film and they all go up to his farm of North San Francisco to see him and it's the first time and that's when Barbara Belgetti's character , katrin , sees him and he dies and her mother says you have to come in and look at him . She sees him and he dies , and and her mother says you have to come in and look at him . She goes . I don't want to , she goes . I want you to do it . So never be afraid again . Which incredible loving thing . Scary but loving .

Tony Maietta 38:50

So I'm thinking , would you take out the scene where uncle Chris died ? I don't know , I don't know it's . It's to me it seems like , yes , it's long , but it never feels that long to me , and because I'm so charmed by these performances and by this family um , that I don't know what , what I would cut out . I think that it's it's long , but it needs to be the length . It is , and it is a pace that we're not used to today . That's true of many of these films that we watch . You know , my best girl has a pace . It was a comedy , but it's . It's a slower , it's . Well , my best girl's not a good , not a good .

Tony Maietta 39:28

Uh , little foxes , little foxes , little foxes is slower than a film that you would see today . You know what I mean , but it keeps you engaged , you know . So you're not noticing that . I understand what you're saying . You really can't compare this with little foxes , other than the fact that they're kind of they're both from the 40s , but the pace of life then the pace we're so instant gratification these days that you have to kind of put yourself back in the mind of the 40s and then back even further to 1910 and say , well , but this was the pace of this life . There was no television , there was no radio , there was no internet , god knows . There were books and there were stories and that was how they filled their days .

Brad Shreve 40:08

So I get it , I understand what you're saying , but I also think it's necessary for this film well I maybe I would have liked it better if it was done from katrina's point of view because , like the whole scene with uncle chris , when he is with the two girls and he said you're afraid of me and he tries to entertain them to make them not afraid of him , that was so excruciating long and I found it boring . And I think if it was done more from the girl's point of view of this scary man who suddenly becomes silly and fun , maybe I would have enjoyed it more . But it wasn't . To me it was like OK , we have a scene stuck here in the middle of this movie which is really long and not that interesting and I agree , I think , uncle Chris's death scene I don't know if I would have cut it out because it was again it could have been really a good growing moment for the daughter .

Tony Maietta 40:58

Right .

Brad Shreve 40:59

But instead it was so long and so drawn out and when he died and the mother and his wife who nobody knew was his wife stood there and just looked at him for what seemed like 35 minutes . I mean , I you know and I can ask you , I will say that when she said I was really disturbed . When she said I want you to go see him . She said I want you to go see him because my first interaction with death this was long before I experienced death in my family was I had a friend when I was maybe 10-ish and her father had died and she said that her mother said she can't go look at the father because she did not want that to be the last memory of the father . And so when she said I want to come in , I thought you know that's terrible . And then when she said he's smiling and I want you to not be afraid of it , I thought oh , that's really nice Again . Yeah .

Brad Shreve 41:48

I liked that tender moment . It's to me there were lots of tender moments , but they were filled with lots of dull moments in between . Now you can ask me the question .

Tony Maietta 41:56

Well , I was going to say so . Have you ever ? Have you ever been with anybody when they've left this earthly realm ? Yes , I have . And you didn't immediately say , okay , let's get out of here . I mean you , you took it in , right , you stood there for a while . They stand there for a while . They're , first of all , they're not really sure he's dead , and if you notice irene dunn's like leaning in to make sure he's dead , and then they realize he's dead , and then they turn and they get their drink and they give him a toast .

Tony Maietta 42:25

So I don't know that that's too long . I think maybe the scene itself could have been trimmed , but I don't know that that's necessarily too long of a moment . I think it's just right you stand there because you've just had this incredibly extraordinary event has just happened in front of your eyes . Somebody has left this earth and you have to kind of say , okay , that just happened . Let me take a moment here and get my bearings , because my life has just changed completely , and I think that's what they're trying , what , what Stevens was trying to show and what , what Irene Dunn was showing was that this is a monumental thing . This man was the head of the family , you know for the family . They all depended on him and now he's gone . He's . This huge hole is now here . So I feel like that's why that scene was slow and I don't think you could cut it . I don't think there's anything you could cut in this movie to make it shorter . I think it's long , but it's necessary to be long .

Brad Shreve 43:20

And it wasn't really pointed out directly , but the fact that he had been helping them . He owned a car , but when he got to his farm it was pretty run down , so he didn't really have as much money as we thought in the beginning .

Tony Maietta 43:32

Well , he had been sick for a while , so it had gone downhill . I'll tell you one thing I might agree with you on something that I thought was unnecessary . After Uncle Chris dies , to me that feels like a normal climax . But then the movie went on for about 20 more minutes with Catherine and her writing . Now I don't think it was necessary , for because Catherine wants to be a writer .

Tony Maietta 43:57

Barbara Bel Getty is telling us the story so clearly she made it as a writer . She's telling us this story and she keeps getting rejected . And so Mama sees there's an ad in the paper for this famous author who also likes food . So Mama says , oh , I might get her to read Catherine's projected manuscripts . And the author says to Mama to tell Catherine to write what she knows . So she starts . So she remembers Mama , so she writes about her family .

Tony Maietta 44:33

So I don't know all that was necessary . There could have been a more expedient way , without going off into this subplot about this famous author . That I will agree with you on . That was the moment I thought we've just had the climax of the drama Uncle Chris dying . Yes , we've got to get to the point where we establish that Barbara Bell Getty's character , catherine , becomes a writer because she's been telling us this whole story . Maybe we don't need all that exposition . Maybe we just can go to rejected mama says write what you know . Look at me telling I'm like you know , I'm , I'm advising these screenwriters how to write these movies from 1948 . I don't know that'll give you . I will give you that that scene seemed extraneous .

Brad Shreve 45:12

I liked I like that whole storyline . It was too long , too drawn out , but I actually like that . That really showed again throughout this film . We saw how much . Again throughout this film , we saw how much love this mother had for her children . Sure , and I liked the author . The snooty woman like gastronomy .

Tony Maietta 45:32

Yes so .

Brad Shreve 45:32

I enjoyed that . It should have been in a different place , I agree , because it was okay . Well , here we have the author's line , because we need to tie it up , because we need to show that she became a writer , yes , and so I don't think it was placed in the right location and I think it could have been tightened up a bit , but I actually enjoyed that , I think , more than you did . Oh well , there you go .

Tony Maietta 45:53

But I love the movie .

Brad Shreve 45:56

And , as I alluded to earlier , okay , now Grant $500 for a short story today . I think I've gotten paid . Maybe that for a short story Today is about you're getting a lot for short stories . It was a lot of money Now I understand . Back 100 years ago , short stories were much more popular than they are today . They would put them in magazines and then sell them . You know , people just aren't that interested anymore . But she got $500 . Do you know what that is with inflation today ?

Tony Maietta 46:25

What is it ? Did you check it out ?

Brad Shreve 46:27

$16,000 . I am sorry , In 1910 , no girl got $16,000 for a short story . You cannot sell that many magazines . And she's still living in the attic .

Tony Maietta 46:38

She's still living in the attic $16,000 . Well , you know she gave that money to mama , but that in the attic , $16,000 . Well , you know , she gave that money , that money , to mama , but that's . But that leads to my absolute favorite last thing is when she says you know because , because , irene Dunn , mama has been telling her . When she says I don't know what to write about , write about , and she tells her to write about Papa , and of course Catherine goes , thinks I'm going to write about mama . And when , irene Dunn , they don't know about this . And when then Catherine starts reading the manuscript that's been accepted and she realizes it's about her , it's a beautiful moment . She's up again , she walks to the window and you know just the look on mama's face . It's so moving , it's so moving .

Tony Maietta 47:20

Here's a woman again mother . This is our Mother's Day episode . So a mother who does all of this for her family sacrifices , does all these things , she's never going to get that warm coat , you know , that warm coat that they're saving for . She's never going to get it . Because every time she thinks she's going to be able to save up and get the warm coat she needs , something else comes up . You know , nels has's got to go to high school . Nelsa's got to go to college . She's never going to get it . So that's what this is all about . This is a remembrance of the mother sacrifice . You know everything our mothers do for us to give us a life better than they had . It's all summed up in that last moment , I think In the whole movie , but in particularly that moment . I think it's just wrapped up beautifully and I get really moved by that . But in particular that moment , I think it's just wrapped up beautifully and I get really moved by that . Maybe that's why I love this movie so much , because that just moves me .

Brad Shreve 48:08

That last final shot I would say for highlighting a mother that's sweet and wonderful . For the Mother's Day's month , irene Dunn's character was a great choice .

Tony Maietta 48:16

Yes , I think so too .

Brad Shreve 48:19

If we could have just looked at a picture of her oh wow , we will agree . Let's go back to the money issue . I know that's not the whole point of this film , but I don't . I don't see um coats yeah as we were talking , I looked up the cost of a incredible hat just amazing hat five dollars .

Tony Maietta 48:37

So her cow , her coat was not going to cost five hundred dollars oh well , I think I think when katherine finally sold that story , which became a Broadway play and which became a movie and then a musical , I think she finally got that coat . I think Mama was finally able to get a coat with that money .

Brad Shreve 48:53

And it was time for Mama to have that coat . I agree it was .

Tony Maietta 48:57

So we talked a little bit about . You gave us kind of the overview of what was going on in 48 . And we have the fact that this film was nominated for five oscars , as we said . Actress for irine dunn it was her final oscar nomination . She had never , she never won two . Two supporting actresses , one supporting actor in cinematography dunn lost the oscar to jane wyman in johnny belinda . Uh , that year also nominated was Olivia de Havilland for the Snake Pit , a performance I love . Stan Wiccan sorry , wrong number , another performance I love . And Ingrid Bergman and Joan of Arc , a performance which I'm like , eh , that's okay . No , I'm kidding , it's very wonderful . So , yeah . So , as I said , jane Wyman won . I don't know that I agree with that win . I'm not a huge Jane Wyman fan , but she played a deaf mute who got raped . So hello Oscar . There you go . I don't feel like Johnny Belinda stands up as well as I remember Mama . However , brad might find it different . So can you tell us a little bit about how this movie performed at the box office ?

Brad Shreve 50:00

Yeah , this movie . I will say that it was very hard to find the numbers , but I think I usually try to validate them through multiple places because they're all a little bit different . What I got from a couple places was the budget for this film was about $3 million and , despite the rave , this thing premiered at Radio City Music Hall . Despite the rave reviews , it only made about $3 million . And in the end , with everything , all costs and everything else , it actually lost about a million .

Tony Maietta 50:30

Yeah , no , that's true , that's true . So yeah , it was a disappointment , financially it was , which is kind of interesting . You know , when Stevens came back from World War II he formed a production company with Frank Capra and William Wyler called Liberty Films , and Frank Capra's first film after the war was a film you might have heard of called it's a Wonderful Life . This was George Stevens' first film . I Remember Mama , two films that were disappointments at the box office when they were released but have become especially it's a Wonderful Life , have become kind of iconic nowadays , have become legendary films , and so I think that's kind of interesting that this film did indeed lose money but its reputation over the years has grown , I think mostly because of Irene Dunn's performance . That's my feeling about that .

Brad Shreve 51:22

And you know , I think it's a Wonderful Life is grossly overrated , yeah , but I like it . It's a fun film . I just think people make too much of it than it is . But I enjoy that film because it has more , I think , what I I mean . Granted , it has a different there are apples and oranges .

Tony Maietta 51:38

Let me stop there . No , I agree with you . I agree with you .

Brad Shreve 51:41

They're not trying to be similar .

Tony Maietta 51:42

Yeah , and I just want to say about Irene Dunn , you know , as I said , you know it's kind of strange that we haven't talked about Irene Dunn before . But it's not strange because I don't think a lot of people know who Irene Dunn was . And when you look back at her filmography and you see these iconic films like Love Affair , like the Awful Truth , like A Guy Named Joe Penny Serenade , magnificent Obsession , I mean this is crazy . These films are true , true classics . It's because she was a very .

Tony Maietta 52:13

She was , like they called her , the first lady of Hollywood . Because she was a lady . She was married to one man for her entire life . There were no scandals , there was no divorce . She was a devout Catholic , but not annoyingly devout like Loretta Young was . She didn't have swear jars on her set . But she was also very charitable , very active in Catholic charities , and she was elected president of Santa Monica St John's Health Clinic in Santa Monica . And in 1957 , president Eisenhower appointed her one of five alternative US delegates to the United Nations .

Tony Maietta 52:50

I mean , this woman had quite an afterlife after she retired . She also retired in 1952 . So she was born in 1898 . So she was 54 when she retired and she knew when to get off stage clearly she's like I'm not , she's not going to do . She even commented she's not going to do . People ask her why she retired . She's like well , look what Joan Crawford's doing now , look what Betty Davis is doing now . You know I'm not going to do Lady in the Cage like Olivia de Havilland . So she was a smart lady . Her motto was and she said this that she believed that living was greater than acting , and she lived her life that way . You know she died in 1990 at the age of 91 , a true , true icon of Hollywood and a really great lady . So I got to give it up to Irene Dunn for that alone .

Brad Shreve 53:37

Well , before we wrap up , I want to ask you one question . It's something I saw as a fact and unfortunately I didn't have time to validate . I don't like to get it . From one site it says that they originally wanted George Cukor to do this film and to get him to persuade Greta Garbo out of retirement . Do you know if that's true ?

Tony Maietta 54:02

Well , the Greta Garbo is absolutely true . Okay , there's two sources here . This film was purchased by RKO before the play . The property was purchased . Mama's bank account was purchased before the play .

Tony Maietta 54:15

I remember Mama was even on Broadway , so RKO had it , and it was producer Harriet Parsons who had the idea of Garbo coming backbo left in 42 , so they wanted garbo to come back and it would have been perfect for garbo , except for the reason that there ain't no way in hell garbo was going to come back and play a mother to anybody , let alone barbara belgedes . I mean , barbara garbo was gone , she was not coming back . She almost came back one time , made some screen tests and then went I think I go home now and never came back again . So yes , that is true , they did want Garbo . Garbo would have been an interesting choice , but again , there's no way in hell Garbo was going to play somebody's mother .

Brad Shreve 54:56

Yeah .

Tony Maietta 54:56

Unless it was a little child , she played a mother , and Anna Karenina , obviously she has a small child , but she's not going to play mother to a grown woman . There's just no way . And she was done . So , yeah , that is true , it would have been really interesting . But I mean , then we wouldn't have gotten Irene Dunn and I think Irene Dunn is perfection in this . She was , she was excellent .

Brad Shreve 55:14

Can't argue that .

Tony Maietta 55:16

Well , Brad , is there anything we ?

Brad Shreve 55:18

want to say Are you done ? Are you ?

Tony Maietta 55:21

done .

Brad Shreve 55:22

I will say this rather than you know . It sounds like I trashed this entire film . There was a lot of really good stuff in this film , well good .

Tony Maietta 55:30

Really good stuff .

Brad Shreve 55:31

I just didn't think the whole package worked .

Tony Maietta 55:33

I get you , I get you . Well , again , it's good for us to have these differences of opinions . I think it's important . We represent two viewpoints Mine is right and yours is wrong . So there you go .

Brad Shreve 55:43

Anyway , and listener , you can expect Howard the Duck next week .

Tony Maietta 55:47

Oh hell , no . End of this podcast . So , anyway , we have a couple more Mother's Day movies coming up , one of which is , I believe , what I would say is the biggest mother of them all , and then we have a TV mother , which I think will be a lot of fun . Yes , it will be fun , it'll be a lot of fun .

Brad Shreve 56:07

And that boy that leaves it wide open for people to guess .

Tony Maietta 56:09

Yeah , well , exactly that's what I'm telling them . So , brad , is there anything else you want to say about I Remember ?

Brad Shreve 56:15

Mama or the podcast . I just want to say something to the listener , If this is your first time listening .

Tony Maietta 56:20

I'm sorry .

Brad Shreve 56:23

We hope that you enjoyed it and would like you to subscribe . If you are a regular listener and you listened this long , then it's a very good chance that you enjoy this show . And I will say , the easiest podcast app to leave a review in is Apple , and 70% of you listen to us on Apple .

Brad Shreve 56:44

Yes , we get that information At least the last episode , 70% of you listen to us on Apple . Yes , we get that information . At least the last episode , 70% of you were on Apple . So please rate and review us so that others can know that they can enjoy the show as much as you do .

Tony Maietta 56:54

And I think we used to have two listeners in Norway and they're gone now , after this podcast episode .

Brad Shreve 57:00

That is true . We do have somebody still from the one person from the Isle of man .

Tony Maietta 57:05

Oh really .

Brad Shreve 57:06

Yes , they've been listening for quite a while .

Tony Maietta 57:10

Well , brad , I guess then there's only one thing left to say , but I don't want to say it . So let's not say goodbye , let's say adieu .

Brad Shreve 57:19

No , tony , let's say adios .

Tony Maietta 57:23

That makes no sense . Bye everybody . That's all folks .