Rating: 
Summary: Does anyone remember Greer Garson and Ronald Colman?
Review:
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.
It was the end of the First World War, and the "asylum" for war shell shock cases in Great Britain was full of problems. John Smith was only one of them, He lost his memory due to the horror of war, and escaped the hospital in the excitement of war's end. Paula (Greer Garson) gave his life meaning again, and then, on a trip to Liverpool, he was hit by a car and lost it once more. But, unfortunately, he lost that which he had most recently lived through--the current three years--and remembered the rest. There are flaws in the science of memory loss, but the story is good nonetheless. The story is Garson's effort to help him regain his memory and his lost love. Colman and Garson were once both great actors--the first rank. This movie was a good one. No filthy language to prop it up, or gutter histrionics, but--strangely enough--they managed to tell the story anyway, in spite of all those restraints. Once, we appreciated stories like these. Today's audience probably thinks it "corny." I wish we had more of them, but I am, admittedly, a dinosaur. Joseph (Joe) Pierre
author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books
Rating:
Summary: Does anyone remember Greer Garson and Ronald Colman?
Review:
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.
It was the end of the First World War, and the "asylum" for war shell shock cases in Great Britain was full of problems. John Smith was only one of them, He lost his memory due to the horror of war, and escaped the hospital in the excitement of war's end. Paula (Greer Garson) gave his life meaning again, and then, on a trip to Liverpool, he was hit by a car and lost it once more. But, unfortunately, he lost that which he had most recently lived through--the current three years--and remembered the rest. There are flaws in the science of memory loss, but the story is good nonetheless. The story is Garson's effort to help him regain his memory and his lost love. Colman and Garson were once both great actors--the first rank. This movie was a good one. No filthy language to prop it up, or gutter histrionics, but--strangely enough--they managed to tell the story anyway, in spite of all those restraints. Once, we appreciated stories like these. Today's audience probably thinks it "corny." I wish we had more of them, but I am, admittedly, a dinosaur. Joseph (Joe) Pierre
author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books
Rating:
Summary: Class
Review: 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 an asylum as the war closes. Escaping, he is befriended by dance hall entertainer Greer Garson, they fall in love, and as they embark on a life together he is injured in a traffic accident and forgets his years with her. Instead, he remembers all that happened up to the war, but nothing after. Garson and the audience must wait to see if he will ever remember his true love again. This story of amnesia could have seemed ridiculous or far-fetched, but in the hands of all concerned it works very well. Colman is his smooth, classy self, believable at every stage of the story. But Garson is the real treasure here, creating a subdued, warm portrait of a woman who knows she must wait, perhaps forever, to have her love returned to her. Susan Peters, as a young woman in Colman's life after Garson is very good, particularly in a scene in a church where she realizes where she really stands with him. Director Mervyn LeRoy paces the film perfectly along with the screenwriters. With the class of its stars and the MGM production values, Random Harvest stands as one of classic films' greatest love stories.
Rating:
Summary: beautiful and tender
Review: 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".
Rating:
Summary: beautiful and tender
Review: 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".
Rating:
Summary: Those irreplaceable old films!
Review: Beautiful tender story about two people who genuinely love and care for one another. Very refreshing and a pleasure to watch! Great acting! Great stars! It boggles my mind why the studio is delaying bringing this film onto DVD. This, along with "A TALE OF TWO CITIES" and "IF I WERE KING" (Colman's best) should have been available long ago in DVD!
Rating:
Summary: Greer's Overlooked Assets
Review: Everything else has been said, but one of the best reasons to get this is to see the all-too-often stately Greer Garson kicking up her heels SINGING AND DANCING! Not only that, but wearing an extremely short skirt and displaying as shapely a pair of legs as you could find on a showgirl!
Rating:
Summary: Timeless masterpiece
Review: Greer Garson always stated that of all the fine films she made during her heyday at MGM in the 1940's "Random Harvest" was her personal favourite. After another viewing of this grand work directed by the terrific Mervyn LeRoy it is very easy to see why. For lovers of well written, beautifully acted love stories "Random Harvest' is unsurpassed and the memory of its wonderfully moving story will stay with you for a long time. This tale includes a vivid telling of the story of Charles Rainier (Ronald Colman in one of his best performances)a shell shocked World War 1 veteran suffering from amnesia who is befriended by , marries and then loses his great love Paula (Greer Garson in another superb performance). Although Ronald Colman is central to the action here Greer Garson really steals the film lock , stock and barrel in her depiction of the lovely dance hall performer who falls in love and marries this mysterious man with no past only to see him regain his former life and in the process forget her. Greer's self sacrifice in the scenes where she becomes the newly well Colmans' personal assistant just to remain part of his life while never revealing her true identity to him are the stuff that romantic dreams are made of. Realistic? I doubt that strongly, but Colman and Garson are so professional and committed in their playing that we the viewers believe what is happening and are in there barracking for them . "Random Harvest" never fails to move me and ranks right up there with those other great emotional dramas of the time like "Waterloo Bridge", "Blossoms in the Dust" and "To Each His Own". It has the added benefit of a typical sterling MGM supporting cast with Henry Travers, Reginald Owen, Una O'Connor give the film that special "British" feel that MGM was so good at producing during the war years. It's obvious that cast and crew never once left the Hollywood sound stages but that doesn't matter as it is a beautifully put together production created with alot of love and care for the material. It ,in my belief deserved the multiple Oscar nominations it earned and in a way was a big comeback for Ronald Colman after a few ordinary years as a Hollywood star. If you are a fan of Greer Garson or Ronald Colman like I am you wont fail to love the sentimental and beautifully put together film of "Random Harvest" . It is movie making in the old style at its very best and definately the type of film that Hollywood doesn't make anymore. Definite 4 hankerchief material and one that will never fail to move you with each viewing. Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: Effective Melodrama
Review: I came to this film through a recommendation of a friend. When he described to me the basic premise of the film I was kind of resistant to the film because it sounded it to me like, well, schmaltz. On paper that's how "Random Harvest" sounds but as executed by director Mervyn LeRoy it is a very rewarding experience. MGM knew how to manufacture this kind of material and make it palatable. The film is also enhanced by superlative performances by Ronald Colman and primarily Greer Garson, who also won an Oscar for "Mrs. Miniver" the year of this film's release. Garson manages to cut through the more saccharine aspects of the story and make the story more compelling. I would also like to reiterate what a previous reviewer from Australia stated and say she has a great pair of legs. Colman for his part is most effective in the earlier portions of the film when his character is in the throes of amnesia. As good as Colman is, however, it seemed to me that he may have been a little old for the part he was playing. This is most apparent when he shared the screen with Susan Peters. I wasn't just thinking that he looks old enough to be her father but possibly her grandfather. That quibble aside, "Random Harvest" is a highly efficient and effective entertainment.
Rating: 
Summary: Great film, Poor DVD transfer
Review: I give the film itself 5 stars ... the DVD release gets NO STARS.
I first discovered Random Harvest about a year ago when it was shown on the Turner Classic Movies cable channel. I have watched it numerous times and was thrilled when the DVD was finally released.
I am dreadfully disappointed in the DVD. The picture is dark and the picture is not sharp - looks like a poor transfer from VHS!!! My VHS copy from TCM looks a thousand times better!!!
I will never watch this DVD again. In fact, I'll probably just toss it.
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