This month, Old Academy Anew explores Random Harvest. The film tackles amnesia, the ravages of war, and the dark turns of the human mind. Here I stop to ask myself, why the “human mind?” Do other beings on this planet have the same concept of mind as us? Do they need it or is it just a product of our own sense of self-importance that we add “human” to the concept of mind?
THOSE QUESTIONS WON’T BE ANSWERED BY RANDOM HARVEST, BUT THE FILM WILL TAKE US ON A TWISTED JOURNEY WHERE HOPE AND DESPAIR WALK HAND IN HAND AND STEAL KISSES FROM EACH OTHER.
IDENTITY
“Our story takes you down this shadowed path to a remote and guarded building in the English Midlands— Melbridge County Asylum. Grimly proud of its new Military Wing. Which barely suffices, in this autumn of 1918, to house the shattered minds of the war that was to end war.”
The disembodied voice of the narrator, the score, the imagery— all conspire to entrap you as desolation flows toward the gates of the institution. It makes you wonder if you chose wrong and are about to watch a horror film.
We glide on those dark wings into an office where Dr. Benet (Phillip Dorn) talks with an elderly couple. In search of their missing son, they’ve come to meet a man traded with the Germans only six months before. “I should warn you that even if he’s your son, he may not recognize you. His memory is affected and he has trouble with his speech,” the good (?) doctor explains in an almost disturbing monotone.
The old lady is ready to see the patient, but the doctor adds more warnings before going to find his charge. “Please, Mrs. Lloyd, don’t hope too much. I’ve seen many disappointments.”
We follow the doctor to a shared hospital room. Men in several stages of convalescence linger in or around their beds. A uniformed guard presides over them. Doctor Benet greets the men with a cheerfulness that belies his previous interaction with the Lloyds. He checks the notes at the foot of the bed of one patient, his bright demeanor increasing exponentially with each passing second.
NEXT, WE SEE ONE OF THE CREEPIEST INTERACTIONS OF RANDOM HARVEST (AND THERE WILL BE PLENTY). THE SMILING DOCTOR TALKS TO A MAN WHO SEEMS TERRIFIED OF TOUCHING OR BEING TOUCHED BY ANOTHER PERSON.
I cannot explain to you how uncomfortable those mere 30 seconds make me. Still, I hope that’s our male lead. Alas, this handsome man doesn’t fit the profile Doc already gave us.
Our protagonist is by a window, looking confused and dejected. Interestingly, Dr. Benet has engaged every other patient in close proximity, almost invading their personal space. Not so with the unnamed man the Germans dubbed Smith (Ronald Colman); he keeps a wide berth between them despite his cheerful optimism. Well, that is until Smith seems in distress by his inability to remember or make sense of the name Lloyd. Dr. Benet not only approaches him then but grabs him by the arms, encouraging him to “Find your confidence.”
They make Smith presentable and take him to another room to meet the couple. Before the doctor’s assistant leaves, our protagonist tries to ask, “If…” twice. Understanding, the assistant supplies, “If they are your parents?” Smith nods and adds falteringly, “They would take me out of here?” The assistant gives him a look that mixes scorn, disdain, and sarcasm with practiced ease. “That’s rather a big ‘if,’ old man. Sit down.” Asshat exits after such a sweet remark.
Moments later, we see (through the glass door) the hopeful mother struggling with doctor and husband. In her desperation to meet the stranger awaiting them, she also disturbs us. They finally let her in— he’s not hers.
A PART OF ME WANTS THE OLD COUPLE TO LIE AND TAKE THE AMNESIAC EVEN IF HE ISN’T THEIR SON BECAUSE THEY NEED TO SHARE THEIR LOVE WITH SOMEONE OR EVEN BETTER— HAVE DARKLY ULTERIOR MOTIVES. THAT DOESN’T HAPPEN, BUT RANDOM HARVEST WILL NOT DISAPPOINT YOU IN THE DARKNESS DEPARTMENT.
REALITY
The prisoners, sorry, patients are allowed to walk around the premises unaccompanied after dark. The news of the war conclusion reaches the asylum during a foggy evening. Smith, taking a walk and practicing introductory phrases, hears the commotion. The entry guards rush toward the main building to spread the good tidings. The gate is not locked, and he simply walks out. Between the guards running and the ensuing exit, Smith is expressionless; the cacophony of brass instruments ebbing and rising is all we need to understand his state of mind.
Smith walks until he encounters the crowds celebrating in the nearby town. Since he wears a military overcoat, passersby keep cheering and patting him as one of the returning heroes. He escapes their enthusiasm by seeking refuge in a tobacco store. Barely a minute of respite before the owner comes from a different room to attend to her new customer. She’s somewhat rude, trying to make his business quick. For plot reasons, his indecision pushes her to conclude he’s from the asylum, and she says so. Now, she asks him to take his time and look around while she goes in the back to clearly report him.
Smith remains staring after the owner, slack-jawed and confused when a sultry voice floats behind him, “You are from the asylum, aren’t you?” When he turns, she repeats, “Aren’t you?” Looking a tad less dumbfounded he replies, “Yes, but— I’m… I’m alright. Really.”
Our heroine, Paula (Greer Garson), advises Smith to leave before the owner returns and opens the door for him. He waddles out, but never worry, these two will meet again— because she follows him… Paula allows Smith to traipse alone through the happy turmoil of the streets until it’s too much for him.
RANDOM HARVEST DOES ITS THING, MOVING THE SOUNDS FROM THE HARMONIOUS SINGING OF THE CELEBRATION TO THE JARRING CHAOS INSIDE SMITH’S HEAD.
Paula emerges to assist, guiding him to a pub where the party is in full swing. Here we meet some of the colorful characters who populate our heroine’s life. Her manager shows up to remind her that she needs to get to the theater soon to prepare for her number. She seems intent on leaving Smithy by himself back on the street, but we know that ain’t happening. After she changes for her act, they have a lengthy conversation, where Paula obviously does most of the talking; right there, she renames him Smithy, but we also learn things about her. On second view you realize this conversation gives subtle clues to her future actions.
Smithy finds himself watching the Highland Lassies act from a vantage point arranged by Paula. It’s a really good number, and the thick accent Paula affects while performing is outright hilarious. You’ll probably understand just half of what she’s singing/saying, but what you get is hella funny. The show ends with the mostly military spectators storming the stage and dancing with the Lassies, only to slowly pan to an unconscious Smithy.
An undisclosed amount of time passes. We find ourselves back in the merry pub where Paula happens to have her quarters upstairs. Smithy seems to have improved somewhat in his speech condition. Paula, her manager, and him get ready for a trip together. He seeks reassurance from Paula that the manager isn’t engaging him because she forced his hand. She tells him not to worry about it because no one can force her manager to do anything.
For plot reasons, Smithy stays in the room while Paula and her manager kill time downstairs with the other patrons of the pub. One of the guards of the asylum enters for a drink. Mind you, a quick one because, after some loony ran, management is on their asses (well, arses since it’s England).
WE’RE BARELY THIRTY MINUTES INTO THIS TWO-HOUR FILM, BUT YOU DON’T REALIZE IT UNTIL RANDOM HARVEST GIVES YOU THE FIRST UPPER CUT FOLLOWED BY A KICK IN THE NUTS.
When asked if the escapee is dangerous, the guard babbles about how you never know with them; they can be sweet one minute and the next come at you with an ax. Paula returns to her quarters to inform Smithy her manager doesn’t want him to come along. That he should return to the asylum to be cared for. She tells him she’s been selfish for keeping him around; instead, she should’ve put him in the hands of those who know how to help him properly. This illogical one-eighty goes on for ages.
Defeated, Smithy remains wordless as Paula drones on about why he should go back. The thing is Smithy ain’t crazy, he only lost his memory; he’s not like the other inmates, I mean, patients. If he goes back, he’s going to end up like them, and that scares the bejeezus out of him. Still, he says nothing as Paula keeps talking.
The silent treatment pushes Paula to a resolution. She’s not going to participate in that mysterious errant the trio intended; no, she’s going to take Smithy to the country, so he could get better. She directs him to wait for her by the back door while she says her farewells to the pub’s owner.
Her manager is unconscious (perhaps dead) at Smithy’s feet when they reunite.
ILLUSIONS
I’m going to stop telling you about this movie here and encourage you to watch it. The roller-coaster of emotions you will encounter is better faced as blindly as possible because you’re almost watching two films. When Smithy recovers his memory, the resurging of his identity erases all the time he spent with Paula. The only time she truly allows him out of her sight, she loses him in the most devastating way possible.
RANDOM HARVEST NAVIGATES THE CONSEQUENCES OF WAR AND FAMILY DUTY WITHOUT BEING AFRAID TO BREAK YOU. ITS INTENTION IS TO MAKE PONDER YOUR VALUE WITHOUT YOUR PAST, WITHOUT THE THINGS YOU CHERISH THE MOST.
Here, we ask that pesky question always driving Old Academy Anew, can this movie be made today? The answer is perhaps more a “shouldn’t” than a “couldn’t,” but not for the reasons you might think.
Regardless of modern Hollywood’s penchant for grabbing every known and “with potential” IP and turning it into something barely resembling the source material, Random Harvest in itself is a tricky movie. A true product of its time, this film cannot be reproduced once filtered by the cynic aesthetic of today’s scriptwriters. Or the legions of keyboard warriors ready to hatefully type their discomfort at “sins” of the past.
Paula is an extremely complex character: flawed but with an endearing strength at odds with what is considered a strong female character nowadays. I absolutely see certain aspects of this movie entering Misery (1990) territory fast after how women are written in 2023. Moreover, Smithy would emerge from the anti-patriarchy filter, not an amnesiac but a bumbling idiot incapable of redemption.
The obsession with an alternate history can only spell doom for our future. Instead of enlightening us, it only erases the reality of nations and peoples; the suffering of those who were different but aren’t supposed to be now. Whoever coined the phrase “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” did not joke; it was a warning about willful ignorance and complacency.
HOLLYWOOD CANNOT BRIDGERTON EVERYTHING. THE IMPORTANCE OF HOW OUR MEMORIES SHAPE OUR REALITY PORTRAYED IN RANDOM HARVEST ISN’T EASILY ASSIGNED TO JUST ANY CHARACTER. FOR THAT, WHOEVER FACED THAT SCRIPT WOULD NEED TO PUT THEMSELVES ASIDE TO EXPLORE ANOTHER HUMAN BEING’S PERSPECTIVE, AND WE’RE FULLY AWARE OF THE LACK OF EMPATHY RAMPANT IN THE CURRENT CREATIVE CIRCLES.
This film is a solid 9/10 for me. Funny enough, that missing point is exactly because of the actions of some women in the story.
Random Harvest is available on Amazon Prime.
