Cast:
Ronald Colman, Greer Garson, Philip Dorn [ More ]Director:
Mervyn LeRoyWriters:
Claudine West, Georg Fröschl, Arthur WimperisProducer:
Sidney FranklinCinematographer:
Joseph RuttenbergEditor:
Harold F. KressProduction Designer:
Cedric GibbonsProduction Company:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
According to the frontispiece on James Hilton's novel Random Harvest , the title comes from a German Official Report: "bombs fell at random." According to various news items, Hilton's novel was purchased in galley form by M-G-M. Although the film generally follows the storyline of the novel, there are significant differences in the disclosing of events between the novel and the film. The events of the novel evolve through the narration of "Harrison" (a minor character in the film), who meets "Charles Rainier" on a train on Armistice Day, 11 Nov 1937. Kitty, a prominent character in the film, is only a minor character in the novel. The novel ends at the start of World War II, whereas the film ends in the mid-1930s.
HR news items in Sep and Oct 1941 noted that director Clarence Brown was about to sail for England to film the story there, with Ronald Colman and Greer Garson. Following America's entry into World War II, a decision was made to shoot the film on the M-G-M lot in Culver City, CA, and in early 1942, Mervyn LeRoy was assigned to direct the picture. Actors Donna Reed and Edmund Gwenn were at one time cast in the film. Reed was to have played Kitty, a role taken over by Susan Peters, and Gwenn was cast as the Prime Minister, a role not in the released film. Richard Ney and Charles Ray were both mentioned in news items as being cast, but they were not in the released film. HR news items also include George Broughton in the cast, but his appearance has not ...
More
Less
According to the frontispiece on James Hilton's novel Random Harvest , the title comes from a German Official Report: "bombs fell at random." According to various news items, Hilton's novel was purchased in galley form by M-G-M. Although the film generally follows the storyline of the novel, there are significant differences in the disclosing of events between the novel and the film. The events of the novel evolve through the narration of "Harrison" (a minor character in the film), who meets "Charles Rainier" on a train on Armistice Day, 11 Nov 1937. Kitty, a prominent character in the film, is only a minor character in the novel. The novel ends at the start of World War II, whereas the film ends in the mid-1930s.
HR news items in Sep and Oct 1941 noted that director Clarence Brown was about to sail for England to film the story there, with Ronald Colman and Greer Garson. Following America's entry into World War II, a decision was made to shoot the film on the M-G-M lot in Culver City, CA, and in early 1942, Mervyn LeRoy was assigned to direct the picture. Actors Donna Reed and Edmund Gwenn were at one time cast in the film. Reed was to have played Kitty, a role taken over by Susan Peters, and Gwenn was cast as the Prime Minister, a role not in the released film. Richard Ney and Charles Ray were both mentioned in news items as being cast, but they were not in the released film. HR news items also include George Broughton in the cast, but his appearance has not been confirmed. An item in LAEx on Sep 1942 noted that producer Sidney Franklin, who frequently appeared in background shots in his films, was not seen in Random Harvest , but sang with the choir that provided background music to one scene. The song, "She Is Ma Daisy," (called "She's Ma Daisy" in the onscreen credits) performed by Garson in the film, was popularized by well-known Scottish music hall star Sir Harry Lauder, whom Garson briefly imitates. Although Random Harvest was completed in Jul 1942, it did not have its premiere until mid-Dec. According to news items, M-G-M delayed the release of the picture to avoid competition with another very popular Garson film, Mrs. Miniver (see above).
Random Harvest received seven Oscar nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Colman), Best Supporting Actress (Peters), Art Direction, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture, and Adapted Screenplay. Screenwriters Arthur Wimperis, George Froeschel and Claudine West did win the Oscar in that category (along with Random Harvest novelist James Hilton), but for their work on Mrs. Miniver . According to M-G-M studio records at the AMPAS Library, the picture's negative cost was $1,210,000. Its gross was $8,147,000, yielding a profit of $4,384,000 and making it one of M-G-M's biggest hits of the decade. Colman and Garson recreated their roles for a Lux Radio Theatre version of the story, broadcast on 3 Jan 1944. Another version, which also starred Colman and Garson, was broadcast on 1 Apr 1948.
More
Less
addl scenes began 23 July 1942
On 11 Nov 1918, "Smith," an amnesiac, shell-shocked officer, who has lived in a county asylum in Melbridge, England for many months, wanders into town for the first time, attracted by the sounds of celebration at the end of World War I. In a tobacconist's shop, Smith's hesitating speech alerts the owner that he is from the asylum, but a kindly entertainer, known as Paula Ridgeway, whispers that he should leave, then takes him to a local pub. Paula invites him to her show and gently draws him out. Because "Smithy," as Paula calls him, has come down with the influenza, she and her friend, barkeep "Biffer," take him in and nurse him back to health. Smithy thrives under Paula's care and she obtains a job for him with her troupe. When an asylum caretaker reveals that they are still looking for a missing inmate, though, Paula runs away with Smithy and takes him to a small town in Devon. They stay at a local inn, and soon she gets a job as a typist, while a thriving Smithy begins to write. When he sells his first article to the Liverpool Mercury , Smithy tells Paula that he loves her and proposes. After their marriage they move into a small cottage, and in November 1920, Paula gives birth to a baby boy. A few days later, Smithy receives a telegram from the Mercury asking him to come to Liverpoool to discuss a permanent position on the paper. Because Paula is still recovering from a difficult birth, he reluctantly travels alone, planning to return the following night. After checking into his ... + −
On 11 Nov 1918, "Smith," an amnesiac, shell-shocked officer, who has lived in a county asylum in Melbridge, England for many months, wanders into town for the first time, attracted by the sounds of celebration at the end of World War I. In a tobacconist's shop, Smith's hesitating speech alerts the owner that he is from the asylum, but a kindly entertainer, known as Paula Ridgeway, whispers that he should leave, then takes him to a local pub. Paula invites him to her show and gently draws him out. Because "Smithy," as Paula calls him, has come down with the influenza, she and her friend, barkeep "Biffer," take him in and nurse him back to health. Smithy thrives under Paula's care and she obtains a job for him with her troupe. When an asylum caretaker reveals that they are still looking for a missing inmate, though, Paula runs away with Smithy and takes him to a small town in Devon. They stay at a local inn, and soon she gets a job as a typist, while a thriving Smithy begins to write. When he sells his first article to the Liverpool Mercury , Smithy tells Paula that he loves her and proposes. After their marriage they move into a small cottage, and in November 1920, Paula gives birth to a baby boy. A few days later, Smithy receives a telegram from the Mercury asking him to come to Liverpoool to discuss a permanent position on the paper. Because Paula is still recovering from a difficult birth, he reluctantly travels alone, planning to return the following night. After checking into his hotel, Smithy walks toward the Mercury office but is hit by a car and knocked unconscious. When he comes to, he has no memory of the past three years and recalls only his life as aristocrat Charles Rainier. Although confused, Charles returns home, where he finds that his father has died and his siblings are anticipating their inheritance. He also meets Kitty, the teenaged daughter of his sister's new husband. By 1932, Charles has become known as "the industrial prince of England" for vastly increasing his family's fortunes, but is haunted by the missing past that is tied to a latchkey he found in his vest pocket after the accident. He has been loyally served for two years by his private secretary, Margaret Hanson, whom Charles does not recognize as Paula. One day, while dining with Kitty in a London restaurant, Charles hears the voice of Melbridge psychiatrist Dr. Jonathan Benet and is briefly reminded of something in his past, but, as always, the memory passes before he can capture it. That same day, Charles tells Kitty, who has always loved him, that he returns her feelings and later announces to Margaret that he is going to marry Kitty. Margaret, whose son died in infancy, struggles to maintain her composure and that night begs Benet, who has become a good friend, to let her tell Charles everything. Benet makes her realize that Charles has to find memories of "Smithy" on his own. On the day that Kitty and Charles are selecting music for their wedding, one melody inexplicably reminds him of his past and he momentarily looks at Kitty as if she were a stranger. Seeing her cry brings him back to the present, but she tells him that they cannot go through with the wedding because he can never return feelings for her that belong to someone from his past. After Charles goes to Liverpool for clues to his past, Margaret follows him to say that the Liberal party has requested that he stand for election to a newly vacated seat in Parliament. While in Liverpool, Margaret tries gently to lead him to clues about his lost life, but even finding "Smithy's" suitcase does not jar his memory. Charles is soon elected to Parliament and confesses to Margaret that from time to time he has had the feeling that he knew her in the past. He then proposes that they marry in a kind of "merger" in which she would help him in his political life and says that he can offer only sincere friendship. She discusses the proposal with Benet, who loves Magaret himself, and disregards his admonition that she will be hurt. After Margaret and Charles marry, she becomes his greatest asset and dearest friend. Charles is soon knighted and on their third anniversary Charles gives her an expensive necklace. Despite Charles' affection and friendship, Margaret yearns for the love she shared with Smithy and decides that she needs to go away for a few weeks. As Charles uneasily sees her off on the train, he receives word that there is labor unrest in his cableworks in Melbridge. He soon settles the dispute, and as he goes through the town, he surprises his assistant, Harrison, by going right to the tobacconist's shop, even though he had just said that he had never been in Melbridge before. The next day, Margaret, who had been staying at the old Devon inn, learns from the proprietress that a man has just been by asking for the former owner and inquiring about a nearby cottage. Margaret then rushes to her old home. At the cottage, Charles's memories begin to flood back as his latchkey opens the front door. When Margaret arrives and calls him "Smithy," he finally recognizes that Margaret is Paula and the two happily embrace. + −
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement AwardTOP SEARCHES
CASABLANCA
During World War II, Casablanca, Morocco is a waiting point for throngs of desperate refugees fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe. Exit visas, which are necessary to leave the country, are at ... >>
CITIZEN KANE
Seventy-year-old newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane dies in his palatial Florida home, Xanadu, after uttering the single word “Rosebud.” While watching a newsreel summarizing the years during which Kane ... >>
REAR WINDOW
Laid up with a broken leg during the height of summer, renowned New York magazine photographer L. B. “Jeff” Jeffries enters his last week of home confinement, bored and ... >>
RAGING BULL
In 1941, at a boxing match in Cleveland, Ohio, pandemonium breaks out when Jake La Motta, an up-and-coming young boxer, loses a decision to Jimmy Reeves, suffering his first ... >>
CITY LIGHTS
At an outdoor dedication ceremony, a tramp is discovered sleeping in the arms of a statue as it is being unveiled before a crowd. He is chased into ... >>