Random Harvest

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Random Harvest

1942,

2h 4m,

Drama

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Watchlist

92%

12 Reviews

Tomatometer

89%

2,500+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

12 Reviews

89%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

A veteran of World War I, Charles Rainier (Ronald Colman) has lost all memory of his life before the war. Left to wander, Rainier meets a showgirl, Paula (Greer Garson), with whom he falls in love. Rainier and Paula are soon happily married, but when Rainier travels out of town, a car hits him -- erasing the memories of his life with Paula, but restoring those of his life before the war. While he returns to his previous life, Paula tries to find a way to be reunited with her husband.

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Oct 7, 2026

3/4

The soap is lathered into a fine frenzy in this adaptation of James Hilton’s novel, even if it never really gets into the eyes.

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Apr 20, 2026

2.5/4

...a watchable yet far-from-enthralling drama that never becomes quite as stirring or emotionally resonant as one might’ve anticipated...

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Aug 14, 2020

10/10

Boasts a deviously heart-wrenching plot, dripping with sentimentality and efficaciously tear-jerking romance, even though it was altered notably from the source material.

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Mar 1, 2008

B-

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

Feb 16, 2006

4/5

Dated, but still moving '40s classic with Garson and Colman.

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Michael W. Phillips, Jr.

Goatdog's Movies

Apr 17, 2005

2.5/5

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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Hermione R

Mar 1, 2019

Please give this movie a try. Coleman is superb , as was Garson. Excellent

Albus P

Feb 15, 2019

The major plot inconsistencies wreck this movie the second time around. The first time, I was enthralled. But the second time: a 51 year old soldier boy coming home from the Great War? He is supposed to be 18. Colman is 51 and it just doesn't work. At first you think Garson is his mother but then you realize he is her son. No? It doesn't work. No returning soldier boy looks like this. Nor is this how amnesia works. You can't look past these monstrosities. An 18 year old actor, or anyone close, could have worked. But this was not Colman's part. Random Harvest is a mockery of what it could have been.

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Feb 2, 2019

The best romance movie ever made!

Albus W

Nov 23, 2018

This is a gem. I hunted down the novel on which it was based. Interestingly, the movie turned out to be better than the book.

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Harry M

Mar 18, 2018

Both Colman and Garson are fantastic. Colman (who was a wounded WWI vet) is especially moving in the first half!

Han G

Feb 26, 2018

A truly fantastic film! Greer Garson carries the intensity of the story with the most wonderful facial expressions and sincere emotion. Love it!

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Mervyn LeRoy

Director

Ronald Colman

Charles Rainier

Greer Garson

Paula Ridgeway

Philip Dorn

Dr. Jonathan Benet

Susan Peters

Kitty Chilcet

Reginald Owen

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Synopsis

A veteran of World War I, Charles Rainier (Ronald Colman) has lost all memory of his life before the war. Left to wander, Rainier meets a showgirl, Paula (Greer Garson), with whom he falls in love. Rainier and Paula are soon happily married, but when Rainier travels out of town, a car hits him -- erasing the memories of his life with Paula, but restoring those of his life before the war. While he returns to his previous life, Paula tries to find a way to be reunited with her husband.

Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Producer: Sidney Franklin
Screenwriter: Claudine West, George Froeschel, Arthur Wimperis, James Hilton
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 17, 1942, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 21, 2016
Runtime: 2h 4m

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