A few of my favorite film mothers

who are guaranteed to inspire a sense of well-being or possibly tears on Mother’s Day (in no particular order).

1. Lillian Gish as the stalwart mother of Burt Lancaster, Audrey Hepburn, Audie Murphy, and Doug McClure in The Unforgiven. Her dying speech manages to be sad and comforting at the same time.

2. The wonderfully dotty Josephine Hull as Veta Louise Simmons, mother of Myrtle Mae and sister of Elwood P. Dowd (Jimmy Stewart), in Harvey. Did we not tease our mother about a certain likeness to her?

3. Myrna Loy as a supportive and loving wife and mother in The Best Years of our Lives. She and Frederick March are a lovely couple, but then, Myra is always wonderful.

4. Jo Van Fleet as Paul Newman’s mother in Cool Hand Luke. She and Paul Newman make a perfect doomed mother/son pair. Her sad, chain-smoking, self-aware portrayal is spot on.

5. And of course, one of my role models, Morticia Addams, played to serene perfection by Angelica Houston.

Who would you add to the list?