Remake This: "Random Harvest" by James Hilton

World War 2 helped create the response to Mervyn LeRoy's Oscar nominated film. 1942's "Random Harvest" brought in 4.5 million on a 2 million investment and its premiere broke attendance records at its premiere at the Radio City Music Hall. In all, the film generated $8,147,000 and made a profit of $4,384,000, being far more popular with audiences than the critics although being nowhere near the original novel which was written like a fragmented mystery.

Bosley Crowther from the New York Times called the Ronald Colman-helmed film "a strangely empty film. Its characters are creatures of fortune, not partisans in determining their own fates. Miss Garson and Mr. Colman are charming, they act perfectly. But they never seem real. And a sense of psychiatric levels is not conveyed in either the script or direction." Variety points out that Colman "is not quite the romantic type that he was years ago. In fact, he looks older than he should have been for film expediency." But journalist and author James Agee takes it steps further by criticizing "I would like to recommend this film to those who can stay interested in Ronald Colman's amnesia for two hours and who could with pleasure eat a bowl of Yardley's shaving soap for breakfast." (Kamp, Levi. The Film Snob's Dictionary: An Essential Lexicon of Filmological Knowledge. (2006))

Matt Smith as Charles Rainer

Jayne Wisener as Helen Rainer

Justin Chatwin as Mr. Harrison

Josie Taylor as Kitty