Book traces history of moms in the movies

  • By Douglass K. Daniel Associated Press
  • Friday, May 2, 2014 8:01am
  • Life

“Mom in the Movies: The Iconic Screen Mothers You Love (and a Few You Love to Hate)” by Turner Classic Movies and Richard Corliss

Don’t go thinking this is a hardcover companion to a sickly sweet greeting card designed to give you-know-who a good cry on her special day.

The smartly written and nicely illustrated “Mom in the Movies” is appropriate for any occasion, an entertaining slice of movie history that’s served up by one of film’s best writers and a few special guests.

Time magazine critic Richard Corliss, working with the cable channel TCM, takes us through the cinema’s treatment of motherhood from the silent films of a century ago to the IMAX-size moms of today.

That’s a long string of depictions that include Lillian Gish as “eternal motherhood” rocking the cradle in the classic “Intolerance” (1916) and Diane Lane calming a young Clark Kent in last year’s “Man of Steel.”

In spite of that stretch of time, Corliss argues that the mother movie often seems near extinction these days.

One reason he offers is that modern movies present stories wrapped in danger and physical triumph, not the stuff of home and hearth.

The shift from realism to fantasy after the success of “Star Wars” (1977) also has helped thin the herd of mother movies, he writes, as has the industry’s catering to the young male demographic.

Corliss neatly divides his subject into several types — perennial moms like those in the many film versions of “Anna Karenina” and “Stella Dallas” and great American moms like Ma Joad (Oscar winner Jane Darwell) in “The Grapes of Wrath” (1940).

As we know, not all mothers are perfect: Piper Laurie as the insane mother in “Carrie” (1976), Anjelica Huston as the swindling mother in “The Grifters” (1990) and the unseen and unhinged Mrs. Bates in “Psycho” (1960) are among those he places in the ranks of criminal moms and horror moms.

Mom movie quiz

Make mother proud by testing your knowledge of movie moms by answering these five questions inspired by Corliss’ text:

1. Shirley MacLaine was nominated for Oscars when she played mothers in what two films?

2. In what 1934 film and 1959 remake with the same title does a black mother die of heartbreak because her light-skinned daughter rejects her to “pass” for white?

3. After she plays a mother saving her daughter from the devil in “The Exorcist” (1973), what actress won an Oscar the next year for playing a mother who takes her son on the road in “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”?

4. Who won the best-actress Oscar — and in what 2000 movie — for playing a twice-divorced, unemployed mother of three who turns whistle-blower?

5. Who played Debbie Reynolds’ mother in “The Catered Affair” (1956) and whose mother did Reynolds play four decades later in “Mother” (1996)?

Answers:

(1) “The Turning Point” (1977) and “Terms of Endearment” (1983), winning an Oscar for the later film.

(2) “Imitation of Life.”

(3) Ellen Burstyn.

(4) Julia Roberts in “Erin Brockovich.”

(5) Bette Davis and Albert Brooks.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.