 "Mama's Bank Account", her best-known work, was published in 1943 and revolved around the daily struggles and aspirations of a Norwegian family living in San Francisco in the 1910s.Forbes' book served as the inspiration for John Van Druten's 1944 play "I Remember Mama".In 1948, a film version of the play was released by RKO Pictures and starred Irene Dunne as Mama and Barbara Bel Geddes as her daughter, an aspiring writer.