Editing George Stevens (section)

===1946–1950: Transition into serious fare===
After his military service, Stevens accepted an offer to direct a comedic segment between James Stewart and [[Henry Fonda]] featured in ''[[On Our Merry Way]]'' (1948). The film was produced by [[Burgess Meredith]] and [[Benedict Bogeaus]] while [[King Vidor]] and [[Leslie Fenton]] were credited as the directors. [[John Huston]] had directed one segment and went uncredited. In Stevens's segment, Stewart and Fonda portray jazz musicians who are members of a traveling jazz band. Their caravan breaks down in the small town of [[Sycamore, California|Sycamore]], California where they tried to [[Match fixing|fix]] a talent contest so the mayor's son wins. Stevens insisted he be uncredited for his contribution.{{sfn|Sinyard|2019|pp=93–94}} 

In 1944, [[Frank Capra]] approached Stevens to join his new independent production company, [[Liberty Films]]. Stevens held off on the decision, and while he was in France, he met with Harry Cohn and promised he would rejoin Columbia Pictures when he returned. However, Stevens reneged on his promise and joined Liberty Films.<ref>{{harvnb|Moss|2004|pp=120–121}}, {{harvnb|Cronin|2004|pp=115–116}}</ref> In February 1946, Capra held a press conference announcing Liberty Films, and named Stevens, [[Samuel Briskin]], and [[William Wyler]] as his partners. Stevens held a 25 percent ownership of the company's shares.{{sfn|Moss|2004|p=122}}<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/variety161-1946-02/page/n178/mode/1up?q=capra |title=Capra Will Give Nod to GI's at Liberty |magazine=Variety |page=3 |date=February 27, 1946 |access-date=April 22, 2025 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> At Liberty Films, Stevens developed a comedy titled ''One Big Happy Family'' which was to star [[Ingrid Bergman]]. However, he shelved the project as he lacked confidence in the story. Stevens told several friends, "After the war, I don't think I was ever too hilarious again."<ref>{{harvnb|Moss|2004|p=123}}, {{harvnb|Sinyard|2019|p=92}}</ref> Capra's ''[[It's A Wonderful Life]]'' (1946) lost money at the box office, and in January 1947, Capra decided to sell Liberty Films. By May 1947, [[Paramount Pictures]] acquired the company, and as part of the buyout, Capra, Stevens and Wyler became contract directors with Paramount.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1947/05/17/archives/paramount-deal-with-liberty-set-studio-acquires-assets-and-stock-of.html |title=Paramount Deal With Liberty Set |work=The New York Times |date=May 17, 1947 |page=9 |access-date=April 22, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250411013629/https://www.nytimes.com/1947/05/17/archives/paramount-deal-with-liberty-set-studio-acquires-assets-and-stock-of.html |archive-date=April 11, 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref> 

[[File:George Stevens and Barbara Bel Geddes I Remember Mama.jpg|thumb|right|225px|Stevens with [[Barbara Bel Geddes]] on set of ''I&nbsp;Remember Mama'' (1948)]] 

Beforehand, due to contractual obligations, Stevens had been loaned to RKO to direct ''[[I Remember Mama (film)|I Remember Mama]]'' (1948). RKO had purchased the film rights to [[Kathryn Forbes]]'s 1943 novel ''Mama's Bank Account''. Meanwhile, it was adapted into a [[I Remember Mama (play)|1944 play]] written by [[John Van Druten]]. [[Harriet Parsons]] had offered the title role to [[Greta Garbo]], but she declined. [[Irene Dunne]] was then offered the role, to which she agreed. From a list of five directors, Dunne selected Stevens to direct.{{sfn|Moss|2004|p=124}} Stevens had seen the play, which starred [[Mady Christians]], and connected with the material. In 1974, he stated, "It was set in San Francisco and I was a kid there during that period. I thought it would be fun to reconstruct the period."{{sfn|Cronin|2004|pp=115–116}} 

Principal photography began on March 27, 1947 and lasted six months. During production, Stevens worked closely with screenwriter [[DeWitt Bodeen]] on revising the shooting script. Boden remembered, "It was a long, long production, almost double the budget on a number of shooting days because George wanted it right..."{{sfn|Moss|2004|pp=124–126}} ''I Remember Mama'' opened at the Radio City Music Hall on March 8, 1948 to positive reviews.{{sfn|Moss|2004|p=128}} Herman Schoenfeld of ''Variety'' praised the film as "a layer of warm and deeply moving nostalgia that plucks at that special heart-string" while Dunne was praised for "holding down the most demanding role in her career".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Schoenfeld |first=Herman |url=https://archive.org/details/variety169-1948-03/page/n65/mode/1up |title=Film Reviews: I Remember Mama |magazine=Variety |page=10 |date=March 10, 1948 |access-date=April 22, 2025 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>