Random Harvest (1942)
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89% of critics liked it
(9 reviews) -
90% of users liked it
(2,659 ratings)
At the close of World War I, shell-shocked amnesia victim Ronald Colman is sequestered in a London sanitarium; with no identity and no next of kin, he has nowhere else to go. Unable to stand the loneliness, Colman wanders into the streets, then stumbles into a music hall, where he is befriended by… More At the close of World War I, shell-shocked amnesia victim Ronald Colman is sequestered in a London sanitarium; with no identity and no next of kin, he has nowhere else to go. Unable to stand the loneliness, Colman wanders into the streets, then stumbles into a music hall, where he is befriended by good-natured entertainer Greer Garson. That Colman and Garson fall in love and marry should surprise no one; what is surprising, at least to Colman, is that he discovers that he has a talent for writing. Three years pass: while in Liverpool to sell one of his stories, Colman is struck down by a speeding car. When he comes to, he has gained full memory of his true identity; alas, he has completely forgotten both Garson and their child. Returning to his well-to-do relatives, Colman takes over the family business. Having lost her child, the distraught Garson seeks out the missing Colman. Psychiatrist Philip Dorn helps Garson, advising her that to reveal her identity may prove a fatal shock for her husband. To stay near him all the same, Garson takes a job as Colman's secretary. "Strangely" attracted to Garson, Colman falls in love with her all over again. Will there be yet another memory lapse? Under normal circumstances, we wouldn't believe a minute of Random Harvest, but the magic spell woven by the stars and by author James Hilton (Lost Horizon, Goodbye Mr. Chips etc.) transforms the wildly incredible into the wholly credible (just one quibble: isn't Colman a bit long in tooth as a "young" World War I veteran?) The film was one of MGM's biggest hits in 1942--indeed, one of the biggest in the studio's history. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Mervyn LeRoy
- Written By
- Claudine West, George Froeschel, Arthur Wimperis
- Genres
- Drama, Classics
- In Theaters
- Dec 17, 1942 Wide
- Studio
- MGM Home Entertainment
Critic Reviews
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
LeRoy's schmaltzy and literary romantic melodrama, about a WWI vet who suffers from amnesia, was a huge commercial hit due to Greer Garson and Ronald Colman's acting and the fact that it was released in the midst of WWII.
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Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com
Dated, but still moving '40s classic with Garson and Colman.
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Michael W. Phillips, Jr., Goatdog's Movies
Parts of it are tender and beautiful, but other parts are overplayed, maudlin, and about as subtle as a clunk on the head or a taxi across the sternum.
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John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
...a remarkable story of love and devotion, patience and endurance, an original and fascinating motion picture.
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John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
...it is the kind of love-found, love-lost, love-found tale that appeals to most anyone's sense of romanticism, nostalgia, and fair play.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Cast
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Ronald Colman
as Charles Rainer/John "Smithy" Smith
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Greer Garson
as Paula Ranier
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Philip Dorn
as Dr. Jonathan Benet
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Susan Peters
as Kitty
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Henry Travers
as Dr. Sims
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Edmund Gwenn
as Prime Minister
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Reginald Owen
as "Bitter"
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Bramwell Fletcher
as Harrison
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Rhys Williams
as Sam
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Una O'Connor
as Tobacconist
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Melville Cooper
as George
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Margaret Wycherly
as Mrs. Deventer
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Aubrey Mather
as Sheldon
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Arthur Margetson
as Chetwynd
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Alan Napier
as Julian
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Jill Esmond
as Lydia Chetwynd
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Marta Linden
as Jill Kitty's Mother
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Ann Richards
as Bridget
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Norma Varden
as Julia
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David Cavendish
as Henry Chilcotte
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Ivan Simpson
as Vicar
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Marie de Becker
as Vicar's Wife
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Olive Blakeney
as Woman
- David Clyde
- Alec Craig
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Henry Daniell
as Heavy Man
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Elizabeth Risdon
as Mrs. Lloyd
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Lumsden Hare
as Sir John
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Sam Harris
as Member of the House of Commons
- Forrester Harvey
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Terry Kilburn
as Boy
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George Kirby
as Conductor
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Peter Lawford
as Bit Part
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Cyril McLaglen
as Policeman
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Kay Medford
as Wife
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Leonard Mudie
as Old Man
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Helena Phillips Evans
as Ella the Charwoman
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Hilda Plowright
as Nurse
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C. Montague Shaw
as Julia's Husband
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Reginald Sheffield
as Judge
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Arthur Shields
as Chemist
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Arthur Space
as Trempitt
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Ian Wolfe
as Registrar
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Frederic Worlock
as Paula's Lawyer
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Lowden Adams
as Clerk
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Madge Crane
as Mrs. Sims
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Pax Walker
as Sheila
