Random Harvest

 

 

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One of the all time great four hanky tearjerkers, "Random Harvest" (1942) is a bittersweet tale of love and sacrifice, set against that mythical backdrop of jolly ol' Britain that never was. It stars Ronald Colman as Charles Rainier, a war veteran who is suffering from amnesia. Paula Ridgway (Greer Garson) is the unfortunate dance-hall hostess who falls in love and marries Charles - renamed John Smith. But true love never runs a straight course and John and Paula's brief chance at divine happiness is overturned when a car accident jogs John's memory. He returns to the life he once knew, oblivious that his new and fragile world with Paula ever existed.

Colman's gentlemanly congeniality, as always, astounds with genuine canter and frank grace and maturity - qualities soarly lacking from the leading men of today's cinema. Garson is charming; blowing in as a summer's breeze and just as passionate, divine and charming as Colman. Director Mervyn LeRoy modulates each plot point and circumstance with subtle panache and quiet rectitude for his subject matter. There's never a point at which the melodrama becomes cheap, exploitive or overwrought. Ah, but the years may pass and memories fade, but "Random Harvest" has proven to be that rarest of eternal cinematic treasures - genuine and outstanding in every way.

Warner Home Video delivers a marvelous DVD transfer. The gray scale has been impeccably rendered with fine tonality and attention to fine detail. The picture is generally sharp and pleasing on the eyes. Blacks are very rich, deep and solid. Whites are on the whole clean. Occasionally one will detect a note of edge enhancement and the odd age related artifact, but these are bare quibbling on an otherwise flawless presentation. The audio is mono and very nicely balanced. A hint of background hiss is detected in quiescent scenes, but again, for a film element that is pushing 70 plus years, there's really nothing to complain about here. Two vintage short subjects, a trailer gallery and audio only broadcast of the film round out the extras. A very nicely put together trip down memory lane from the good people over at Warner Brothers. Top marks and highly recommended!

An exquisite romance, a love that survives "for better for worse, for richer for poorer", and a wartime tragedy all make this well written melodrama very engrossing, and it stars two of the most gorgeous and popular stars of their era: Ronald Colman was one of the handsomest men that ever drew breath, with a voice of liquid gold...a voice that helped him make the most successful transition from silent films to "talkies" of any actor, and this was Greer Garson's year, as "Mrs. Miniver" was also released in 1942, which won her a Best Actress Oscar.
There are many unexpected twists to the plot, saving it from being "sappy and sentimental", and it is blessed with lovely cinematography (by Joseph Ruttenberg, who also filmed and received an Oscar for "Mrs. Miniver"), an atmospheric score by Herbert Stothart, and sensitive direction by Mervyn LeRoy.

There are some numbers connected with this film: It is # 36 in the American Film Institute's "Top Romances", it was nominated for 6 Academy Awards (Best Picture and Best Director lost to "Mrs. Miniver", and others were Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress with the excellent Susan Peters as Kitty, Screenplay, and Score), and Ronald Colman was my mother's # 1 heartthrob, as he was for so many women during those golden years of the cinema. Total running time is 2 hours and 7 minutes.
Recommended additional viewing for these two marvelous actors is of course, "Mrs. Miniver", and Ronald Colman as a Shakespearean actor in the superb psychological thriller "A Double Life".

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) presents "RANDOM HARVEST" (1942) (126 min/B&W) -- Starring: Ronald Colman, Greer Garson, Philip Dorn, Susan Peters, Henry Travers, Reginald Owen, Bramwell Fletcher, Rhys Williams

Directed by Mervyn LeRoy

Director Mervyn LeRoy must be given credit for bringing it to the screen in a film that has all the ingredients to keep the viewer glued to his seat. Author James Hilton gives us a glimpse into the lives of two people who met not once but twice with strange results. Mervyn LeRoy, the James Hilton story and that wonderful company of players make this a perfect fiilm or our viewing pleasure.

There is a magic to this film, with several twists and turns about lost love and rediscovering those lost moments when all seems hopeless.

Ronald Colman plays his dual characters with an ease that is mesmerizing to watch, made these two men credible as if they were separate persons and yet not at all - the amnesiac soldier, as well as the business magnate that he was prior to losing his mind in the war.

Greer Garson was one of the most accomplished actress' of the time, with her natural beauty, her tact, gentle humor and intelligent restraint are in perfect service to her character and the story, made us believe she is the woman whose love for her man is everything, that of Mr. Ronald Colman very talented and a leading man in Hollywood of the times.

Colman and Garson are the perfect grownup romantic couple: they make intelligence and maturity seem impossibly glamorous, and they embody the idea that friendship, loyalty and mutual respect must be at the center of every enduring love, which should be in every releationship.

Nominated for Oscar Best Actor in a Leading Role (Ronald Colman), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Susan Peters), Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration (Black-and-White), Best Director (Mervyn LeRoy), Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (Herbert Stothart), Best Picture (M-G-M) and Best Writing, Screenplay

Special Footnote: -- Ronald Colman had first-hand experience of shell shock - he had fought in the British army at the Battle of Ypres in World War I, during which he was also gassed.

Ronald Colman fought with the British army in World War I at the battle of Ypres in 1914 where he received severe shrapnel wounds to the knee and ankle of one of his legs. He was decorated for bravery and was invalided out of the army several months later.

Reported to be Greer Garson's favorite of all her film career appearances.

BIOS:
1. Mervyn LeRoy (Director)
Date of Birth: 15 October 1900, San Francisco, California
Date of Death: 13 September 1987, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California

2. Ronald Colman [aka: Ronald Charles Colman]
Date of Birth: 9 February 1891 - Richmond, Surrey, England, UK
Date of Death: 19 May 1958 - Santa Barbara, California

3. Greer Garson [aka: Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson]
Date of Birth: 29 September 1904 - London, England, UK
Date of Death: 6 April 1996 - Dallas, Texas

4. Philip Dorn [aka: Hein van der Niet]
Date of Birth: 30 September 1901 - Scheveningen, 's-Gravenhage, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
Date of Death: 9 May 1975 - Los Angeles, California

5. Susan Peters [aka: Suzanne Carnahan]
Date of Birth: 3 July 1921 - Spokane, Washington
Date of Death: 23 October 1952 - Visalia, California

6. Henry Travers [aka: Travers John Heagerty]
Date of Birth: 5 March 1874 - Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England, UK
Date of Death: 18 October 1965 - Hollywood, California

Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 5 Stars
Performance: 5 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 5 Stars
Overall: 5 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

Total Time: 126 min on DVD ~ Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) ~ (January 11, 2005)

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5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Movie
Giving this movie a category in its description might deter some viewers from watching it; yet not doing so would make it hard to describe. Read more

Published 22 months ago by Michael J. Richards

5.0 out of 5 stars Based on a novel by James Hilton
am being simple in my description but it is the action and interaction of the character that make the movie, not really the story line. Read more

Published on Nov 23 2006 by bernie

5.0 out of 5 stars Does anyone remember Greer Garson and Ronald Colman?

This is an old black and white (1942), but that's all we had at one time. It was more than a generation ago--it was the greatest generation ago. Read more

Published on May 8 2004 by Joseph H Pierre

5.0 out of 5 stars <sigh> Pass the hankie!
This wonderful,extremely romantic movie was made for anyone who is a romanticist at heart.I cannot get enough of Ronald Colman's voice.. Read more

Published on April 18 2004 by ellafan

5.0 out of 5 stars INSOMNIA AND AMNESIA
When I cannot sleep, and this happens quite often for my own disgrace I read or watch tv. Well, one of this sleepless nights I found out this great film, and in original version... Read more

Published on Feb 3 2004 by M. Ferrer

4.0 out of 5 stars Recommended (Don't Forget the Tissues)
I had to see this movie after Jean (Judi Dench) made a reference to it in the TV series As Time Goes By. And there's nothing like a good amnesia story. Read more

Published on Jan 17 2004 by takingadayoff

5.0 out of 5 stars A well-crafted romance story... great acting!
This touching, classic melodrama features Ronald Colman as a shell-shocked WWI veteran who returns to England without any memory of his former life, and Greer Garson (va-va-voom! Read more

Published on Sep 12 2003 by DJ Joe Sixpack

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Old Hollywood
"Random Harvest" is NOT a "tearjerker", as some amazon friends have suggested. In fact, it may be the definitive feel good movie, if the open -minded viewer gives the chance. Read more

Published on Aug 30 2003 by Mcgivern Owen L

5.0 out of 5 stars Class
Although I'm not a fan of romance movies, you have to admire this film about devotion and trust. Ronald Colman is a shell-shocked WWI soldier who develops amnesia and is sent to... Read more

Published on May 18 2003 by James L.

4.0 out of 5 stars Sometimes good does come from doing the right thing.
Many reviews have called this film "the ultimate tear jerker." I think not. We develop genuine interest in the characters played by Ronald Colman, a WWI English... Read more

Published on Feb 24 2003 by Russell Fanelli

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