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Sorry, this movie sucks

Great Film overall

best movie i've ever seen.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

In many ways "the" most outrageous amnesia story ever told yet, ironically (or should I say "iconically?") also one of the most successful. And memorable. True love. Passion. Everything you could ever want. And then, bang, he disappears. Patiently, she tracks him down. And tracks him. And tracks him. And finds him. And discovers that he lost his memory and is now a very successful businessman who, strangely, never married. The big meeting. He does not recognize her at all. (This was considered a 6-hankie movie by the way, and we just used up 4). So, aware he might never actually know who she is, she takes a job by his side. Because something is better than nothing. Many modern reviewers have criticized current TV dramas for "manipulating the viewer shamelessly." I am guilty of this myself. But the pattern, the template, for viewer manipulation was set here, decades ago. Yes, the acting was spectacular. I mean, OMG, Greer Garson! And Ronald ("a far far better thing I do") Coleman! You could watch these two sort laundry and it would still be a good film. But, fact is, the last 30 minutes or so of the film are spent with the audience always on the edge of its chair hoping that ANY MOMENT he will recognize her. And he does, sort of. Critics have said the ending under-performs the film. It does, but, think about it, with that kind of setup, ANY ENDING WOULD UNDERPERFORM. This is one of the must-sees.

Possibly the ultimate weepie,Random Harvest is directed by Mervyn LeRoy,produced by Sidney Farnklin,with a screenplay by Arthur Wimperis,Claudine West and George Froeschel, is based on the novel by James Hilton and stars Ronald Coleman,Greer Garson,Susan Peters,Henry Travers and Philip Dorn.Charles Rainier(Ronald Coleman)is a World War One veteran who cannot remember anything from his past,not even who he is.He has great difficulty in speaking due to shell shock.He is a patient at an asylum when news of the wars end comes through.He goes for a walk in the grounds and escapes into the town.There he meets beautiful music hall singer Paula(Greer Garson)she nicknames him Smithy and tries to help him remember his past.He cannot but she does enable him to regain his speech and the two fall in love and marry.Paula gives birth to a daughter and all seems well until Smithy receives a job offer and goes to Liverpool for an interview.He is struck down in the street by a taxi,the fall causes his blocked memories to come back to him,but there's a catch,he now remembers nothing of Paula or their life together.Paula searches for him and eventually discovers he is now Charles Rainier and takes a job as secretary at his firm to be near him,can she make him remember her?Well grab the biggest Kleenex box you can find and some chocolates and get caught up in this to find out.Coleman(in an Oscar nominated performance)is mesmerising as both the shy and awkward Smithy and the powerful but lonely Rainier,with Garson simply enchanting as the luminous love of his life.Susan Peters also received an Oscar nomination for her role as Kitty Rainier's young fiancé. Susan could have become a star after this but she sadly became paralysed when she was injured in a hunting accident and died a few years later.One of the best romances of the studio era,Random Harvest is one that you won't forget in a hurry.

I'd been looking forward to this for several years. It was no disappointment at all. Hilton's novel is long and episodic and to a certain extent so is the film, but it never strays from its narrative and maintains its leisurely pace without seeming either pushed or dragging. This was made in the throes of war and the "English" environment was meant to woo the international (and particularly American) audience, however indirectly. Part of it was rather unashamedly "tea cozy" and "Hollywood quaint" in depicting the English scene, a bit too cutesy or endearing and too often cloying to the senses. We had the white picket fence, the tree all in flower, primroses round the path - no wishing well though... and thank heavens no Greyfriar's Bobby to melt the hearts of the kids and chew up the scenery to boot. The performances were excellent and the script beautifully organized.Ronald Colman was a bit old for the part but Garson was splendid throughout. I can fully understand that this was her favorite film. I'm ordinarily not a big fan of Le Roy or Hilton but this was truly a lovely trip.Curtis Stotlar

I first saw this 68 years ago,at the Radio City Music Hall, Way back then they had a stage show as well, & for Christmas It featured in mime ,the Birth of Jesus,plus other acts, including a symphony Orchestra.They also showed a newsreel & a cartoon.Nearly every performance was shown to near capacity audiences. The theatre had slightly under 6100 seats.We probably went to a Sunday matinée,Total cost for the three of us was probably,just under $3.00Now back to the Movie.RANDOM HARVEST was one of the best films of 1942, I still think these many years later it still would be one of the best. It stars two of the biggest names in film history.Greer Garson (who was only making film for about 3 years & will win an Oscar for her previous film MRS MINIVER) Her co-star Ronald Colman (a movie veteran who will win his Oscar in a few years for(A DOUBLE LIFE).Now leave us ignore the fact that both actors were too old for the characters. The charisma & charm of both make us believe, they were younger.Mervyn LeRoy directed & it is based on James Hilton's novel,( he also wrote LOST HORIZON). Back then Hollywood loved to change novels to suit the studio owners.I do not remember how close to the novel the film is. The story in both novel & book is pure romantic soap opera & delightful romantic fantasy,This is the way they made films back then. The scenes supposedly in Liverpool were studio made & no there is no resemblance to the real Liverpool or to real homes etc.The running time is a very fast 134 minutes, the DVD also has about an hour of interesting extras.I had not started to keep records of the movies I saw then, that hobby started in January 1943.If I had my rating would be the same as today.Ratings" **** (out of 4) 98 points (out of 100) IMDb (10 out of 10)